The Puffer Forum

I *believe* Mbu puffers have a similar growth rate to that of Fahakas. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they grow about 1 inch per month until they get to about 9-12 inches and then their growth plateaus to a much slower rate. As such, you'll probably be okay with the 85 gallon for a little while (assuming there aren't any other tank mates), but you'll have to upgrade to a 180 - 300 gallon within a year or so.

I do confess not to know all that much about Mbus, though, so you should wait for confirmation from some of our more experienced staff.

Very quickly.
I would not get an MBU except if you had it's final tank when you buy it. Especially since you never know if things might not go as planned and you can't upgrade for whatever reason.

yeah, most people buy them with the intention of upgrading but few ever do

Ditto...in my experience upgrades are not possible when they are needed for whatever reason. Don't make this beautiful fish suffer because life gets in the way of more tank space.

Be sure to read the mbu article stickied in this forum & also the one in our Library before considering this monster species. Take into consideration, cost of eventual tank size, filtration, lighting, even water changes.
Also consider the weight of such a huge tank.

i would say if you dont have the tank big enough for a adult now dont buy a mbu. I have 2x mbus 15" and 2" the baby went straight into a 450 uk galon tank at 1.5". I had to have the floor of my place braced to accomedate over 2000 galons which cost me almost the cost of my car! Youll find the small mbus will grow at up to 1" a month so within a year you can easilly have a foot long puffer in a year! youll find after that they grow fairly slowly about 3" in 6 months! really consider cost before hand. I would recomend getting the full setup before hand. My tanks cost a lot to maintain the smaller has 2x external eheim filters 2080 + 2999 and the larger has a huge 6x2 sump system!

I only had Clooney for two years and he was 17 inches when he finally died, all because I had a tiny 5ft tank. I swear I will only get another Mbu if I can section of half a basement and flood it

I'm not seeing 1" a month on my Mbu (she's about 5-6" including tail) fed once a day 5-6 days a week (with a little extra snack every now and then, the little begger!). Had her for 2 or 3 months, don't notice much growth at all, but maybe that's because I see her every day.

hello sexy,how are you today.
i love ya loads babe and cant wait to get my hands on you as my mbu growth rate will be a lot faster than a inch a month

Weird post...

Just a little bit...

Maybe it was suppose to be a PM!

dmill82 wrote:hello sexy,how are you today.
i love ya loads babe and cant wait to get my hands on you as my mbu growth rate will be a lot faster than a inch a month

Haha yeah its sort of confusing.