The Puffer Forum

Wondering what you arrowhead owners have in your tanks. Plants? Foreground? Floating? Caves? What Kind? I'm rescaping my puffer's tank since its only had a couple of old caves. He never used any of the caves that came from petsmart. I'm considering trying flower pots as a cave.

What kind of caves do you guys use?

Would flower pots do well as caves?

How many plants is too much for the Suvatti?

I'm just thinking about planting a Java Fern and letting it grow / buy a huge one and grow it on a centerpiece driftwood. Also, how do arrowheads interact with driftwood? Sleep on it? Poke it? Swim through it? I know it really has to do with your own puffer's preferences since they have soo much personality. I'm just wondering what you previous owners have successfully set up. I just want my puffer to stay comfy as he can be. this ain't no motel 6.

Hiya Hobbes, I've got 2 suvattii and 1 Palembang in the same tank. I sort of have the bottom-of-a-river type tank, consisting of sand substrate, with small smooth rocks in the corners to hold some plants. I mostly have cryptocorynes for plants in there, that's what seems to thrive in that tank, but that's only because I don't have a light source for that tank, it didn't come with one, although I am thinking of adding one soon.
I have PVC tubes in there as "caves" and they do use them, even the Palembang does. I also have flattish pieces of bogwood with mosses on top, and I place the bogwood on top of rocks to make like a pavilion for them, and they seem to like hanging out under there. They sort of blow some of the sand away and they have a little hole to lay in. But they love having something over them, they like to hide.
And yes, I do have one of those standard paper backgrounds on the tank. I bought 2 tanks on a double iron stand and the tanks were completely bare, nothing with them, so I had to work from a blank canvas. I did have much more plants than what is in there now, and I'm slowly adding more, but I've gotten bitten twice whilst trying to put nice things in there for them, so now I'm being VERY careful.
Just to add, when I had my suvattii in the other tank, I had terracotta pots in there and they did like hanging out in those, but I traded the pots for the PVC tubes when I moved them to this bigger tank. However, my Baileyi loves to hang out in his terracotta pot. In fact, all my puffers seem to enjoy hanging out inside something whether it be terracotta pots, PVC tubing, slate caves, or coconut shells, they all like to hide.
I hope this has been a little bit helpful for you. +

i use flourite black with java, anubias and vallis and lots of it with ceramic pots from a garden centre heavilly decorated with 2 suvs. they ignore plants and dont redecorate uaully theyu will find a spot and stay there

For mine I have a lighter color sand bottom with multiple plant (not sure what they are, wife is the plant person). I put in a piece of drift wood that forms a long tripod and arch. I also have a hollow ceramic stump, that has 4 openings in it, on top of the drift wood that he loves to hide in. He does bury in the sand occasionally waiting for a meal. He generally leaves the drift wood alone except to occasionally sit under it, no picking on it.