The Puffer Forum

Anybody know anything about the possibilities of mixing mbu with some larger frontosas?

Any imput would be great

Thanks

I know some people have mixed their Mbu with other fish. How big is your Mbu and what size tank is he in?
How many fronts and how big?

The two big things here are Bio-load and aggression...

99% of mbus will go well with other tankmates. there are exceptions for example my big boy doesnt like plecos. The only exception to this rule is STINGRAYS are a NO NO NO with mbus i have no idea why but rays will be killled.

Mbus as adults will tolerate each other ( to the point of cuddling up next to each other) but juvies will not they will scrap and fight

I keep my baby 4" mbu with a GT and some blue acaras fire eel but they are relitavly the same size. my larger mbu is with about 100 other fish danios tetras dwarf chilids A Borelli etc... and 3 blue acaras also. I would steer clear of fonts as they can be fairly agressive ( i know GTs are to but i have only one ) if you pick less agressive chilids you should be fine as they will just bicker with each other. I would steer clear of flower horns, GTs (in groups), fonts and parrots as they are very very agressive. I think if the mbu is larger there wont be a issue but its its smaller there could be issues. Im under no doubt the mbu wouldnt hold its own in a scrap but i cant see a reason why anyone woul put a fish in that possition

Main problem with chilids is pairs + breeding! they are just too terratorial! thats why i keep only a single specimen in community tanks or less agressive ./ dwarf varieties

As anything new with large predatory fish be prepared to split them

Yeah some good points there, especially about the terrororial times. he is at roughly 3-4 inch, he will be in either my 100 gallon or my 250 gallon, hoping to get some ziare to mix him with.

i like to keep things biotope with my tanks, same distribution etc on the fish. would like to get some rays in the other tank to him to just deciding on some stock to aquire, thanks for the imputs people

Dom

Oh forgot to mention, filteration on the 100 gallon is a tetratec 700 and a 1200, and on the 250 is a trickle filter with bio media, etc

Do you have a larger tank for him eventually?

I know the growth limitations of this fish and researched thoroughly before i bought it, i wouldnt have purchased the fish if i knew i couldn't provide a suitable aquarium for it in the long run.

Mbootiful wrote:I know the growth limitations of this fish and researched thoroughly before i bought it, i wouldnt have purchased the fish if i knew i couldn't provide a suitable aquarium for it in the long run.

long run may be a slight understatement in 3 month my baby has grown about 3" bubba went from 2" to 17 in 1 1/2 years

Good for you. he is in better hands with me than someone unwise to their potential size, a suitable sized tank is well within my budget and have good knowledge on how to keep the fish healthy and happy as possible.

Thanks for the input

I guess he's going into the 250 then?

Mbootiful wrote:Good for you. he is in better hands with me than someone unwise to their potential size, a suitable sized tank is well within my budget and have good knowledge on how to keep the fish healthy and happy as possible.

Thanks for the input

well there is no such thing as over filtration so healthy wont be possible if your sticking to a "budget". I was trying to be helpful giving some information on what you should expect. Just to give you some insight i have spent over £13000 on setups and about £2000 on strenthening the floors ( well removing them and replacing with concrete ).

My only advice is try to get a 7x3+ otherwise your mbu will suffer with water quality issues And puffers as they have no scales are prone to skin conditions if the quality is lacking. but best of luck to you

Was not intending to offend, i was just stating that i can provide a sufficient home for it, i can easily obtain a 7x3 but for the time being it isnt nessesary. Everytime someone mentions a mbu puffer on the forum they seem to get pummeled with questions and statements of need for the fish, i understand that they need a large tank when fully grown. maybe instead of picking at the aquarist, try picking at the suppliers of these fish. i considering my purchase of mbu as a rescue from other inapropriate tanks or the stores dinky holding tanks. Just seems like some are hypocrite's, i.e. the mbu for you article mentions the keeper housing the mbu in a 5 ft tank. already i have a larger tank for the fish and a plentiful budget to comply with the fish's needs

If we could go after the suppliers, by all means we would. But rescuing a fish like that from those conditions, only to keep in a tank not sufficient for it (I don't necessarily mean you) only goes to show the supplier/shop that no matter how many they buy & no matter how poorly they are housed/treated, they are good sellers & they just go & purchase more of them.

Yeah it's true, unfortunately if the shop is not keeping them properly it's best to leave them. But what's done is done, and you have an Mbu which you need help with, and that's what this forum's for. The reason Mbu owners get pummeled with questions is because most people don't realise (through no fault of their own sometimes) how large a tank they actually need for them. Nobody was trying to pick on you, just trying to make sure you knew what you were doing. The author of that article is very respected in fish forums and the reason for that article is to show how quickly you need to upgrade to a larger tank, because they grow so quickly, and just how larger a tank they need. If you can get your hands on a larger tank, then you might as well do it now, then it won't end up being a rush or anything at the last minute, and your puffer will just be happier and healthier, whether you feel it is necessary or not.

riggers wrote:Yeah it's true, unfortunately if the shop is not keeping them properly it's best to leave them. But what's done is done, and you have an Mbu which you need help with, and that's what this forum's for. The reason Mbu owners get pummeled with questions is because most people don't realise (through no fault of their own sometimes) how large a tank they actually need for them. Nobody was trying to pick on you, just trying to make sure you knew what you were doing. The author of that article is very respected in fish forums and the reason for that article is to show how quickly you need to upgrade to a larger tank, because they grow so quickly, and just how larger a tank they need. If you can get your hands on a larger tank, then you might as well do it now, then it won't end up being a rush or anything at the last minute, and your puffer will just be happier and healthier, whether you feel it is necessary or not.

fantastic point! even my baby mbu went straight into a 6x2. another thiong to consider is actually moving a 13-14" fish. I did it 4 months ago with bubba at 16" its not easy by any stretch of the imagination