The Puffer Forum

I know I also posted this in the MFK forum, but I figure if I ask my questions to a larger audience, then I may be able to get more informed answers


I've gone through countless articles on the internet about these fish, and viewed various youtube videos of these beautiful fish, but I'm just left with a couple simple questions that I'm sure a couple of fahaka experts will be able to shed some light on .
Actually, I've got MANY questions, so if you could provide help with even just a few questions, I'd be sincerely grateful. I have been reading about these puffers for quite some time now, and when I stumbled upon some unexpectedly at an LFS, I knew that I was meant to have one LOL.

Anyways, I know that I'm looking at a tank that is at least 120 gallons if I plan to keep this fish for quite some time, which I do.
Would it be suitable to have a finer substrate in the tank? I'm not talking about your standard coloured aquarium gravel, but I'm looking for some less-than-fine sand for the tank to go for a more natural look instead of having rainbow coloured gravel. Is such a subtrate suitable for the fahaka? And if so, how deep should the subtrate be to avoid any anaerobic pockets developing in the subtrate if I do settle with a very fine sand?
Secondly, I've read that fahakas need "caves to explore", and in the following sentence, I've read they need "open swimming areas". The two statements seem slightly contradictory to me, as "caves to explore" would incline one to believe that they suit a more rocky environment, and yet "open swimming areas" lead one to believe that they are suited for a bare tank. Should I set-up a medium sized rock formation in my tank, for both the fish to feel comfortable and aesthetically ?
Also, is it safe to add hardy aquarium plants? I really want to try to include a nice piece of driftwood with some java ferns attached to it. Would these plants be safe with my fahaka?
Lastly, I have a couple questions about feeding. I know everyone says that fahakas require a meal of mollusks and crustaceans, but I still find this to be slightly vague. What would one reccomend to feed, specifically, to a fahaka as it grows with age, and how frequently should one feed?
I know I should set-up a tank and try to breed ramshorn snails, but this is simply not an option for me, and I'd rather be able to feed whole frozen shrimp or something similar to my fahaka. Essentially, I need to know what types of crustaceans are fair game to the fahaka, and at what age these types of food are suitable.
Second lastly, how frequent should water changes be with my fahaka in a 120+ gallon tank, and what quantity of water?
I know I need to invest in a couple of water test kits to ensure that my tank is fully cycled and that the water is suitable, because I've lost way too many fish because of the bacteria in the tank being unable to support the amount of fish in the tank.

I know I have a lot of questions, but I really want to have a truely happy fahaka, and I really want to get all of this right the first time around.
Thanks for all your help : ) !

I'm not a fahaka *expert,* but here's my two cents...

Caves and open spaces aren't really contradictory; you just need to have some of both, rather than all caves or all open space.

It's safe to have plants, but fahakas usually dig/tear them up.

Favorite mollusks and crustaceans would be crayfish, crabs, clams, mussels, etc. Snails won't be good for long - a fahaka grows an inch a month, and would soon lose interest in tiny ramshorns. Maybe large mystery snails would work.

In a fully stocked puffer tank, 50% w/c weekly is usually great. But as long as nitrates are below 20, then your w/c schedule is fine.

Yes, water test kits are really important!

I agree with LilGreen, and want to add how important test kits are. Not just the dip stick tests, but the test tubes with the bottles. I just had a puffer die and I needed to keep track of the ammonia in my tank for my other fish in the tank. When your tank is new, its always good to know if any levels are off, before the conditions go down and make your puffer sick or it dies. My first puffer died of an uncycled tank. The ammonia was horrid. I don't even know the level because I didn't have a kit, except that I took some of the water to Petco (of all places) and they used a test strip to test it and the guy's eyes went out of his head and his draw dropped to the floor. I can only imagine that it was either at the top of the chart or above. That was my gsp, but I've had a dwarf puffer for almost 3 months who is hunky-dorey and an F8 for a month who is doing great.

That all said, congrats on your fahaka and your BIG tank! I have a 30 and still think its big.

Also, welcome! This site is great. Hope to hear all about your new puffer friend.

True on the caves & open space, I suppose I'll try to incorporate a nice setup for my fahaka. The only thing that I may be nervous about how big would these caves need to be for a 12"+ fish to swim thru LOL

I've kept many many many aquariums in the past with varying species of fish, but in all honesty I've never been overly concerned with water chemistry, but I know now that that needs to change, if I want to keep an extremely healthy fahaka (which I genuinely do).

That being said, I'm obviously completely unsure of what types of test kits to buy, but hopefully someone at my LFS will be able to help me out!

No congrats necessary on my fahaka, because I don't even have it yet LOL. I'm just trying to clear things up in advance before I make a purchase and buy this massive tank (the biggest tank I've ever worked with was only 33 gallons!). But hopefully by the time that I'm ready for the fahaka with a nicely cycled tank, I'll have all the knowledge I need, which is why I'm here!

Most LFSs will try to sell you whatever they'll make the most profit on, regardless of whether it's what you really need. I'd go on DrsFosterSmith.com and get the API freshwater master test kit. (And sign up for Pufferpunk's rebates - you get $5 off, and if I don't mention it now, she will! She has like an omnicience with DFS posts. There's a sticky about it in one of the forums.)

I'm not sure on brand names, but the test kits that use liquid in bottles with glass test vials are much more accurate than dip sticks. I buy each one separately, but you can get a master kit for cheaper- actually, they test for PH, too, which I don't have. I have Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. The basics. Puffers are more sensitive than other fish to water quality.

This is true, maybe I should avoid dabbling into useless test kits!
I think I've actually seen that brand of test kit at one of the stores I've been to. I only say this because I'm kinda fearful of ordering things online, and since I live in Canada, I'm nervous about packages coming over the border and getting raped by customs when it arrives at my door LOL.

Its an adventure, that's for sure. I love my puffers. Such personality- and they're all different.

Here's Filbert's 125g tank with "caves" of fake mangrove roots on either end & open swimming room in the middle:


Filbert in his cave:


Ya gotta problem with my colored gravel?


I got that ridiculous colored gravel because I saw so many pics of gorgeous maroon striped fahakas & Filbert always looked mottled. So I thought if he saw lots of reds & maroons, he'd try to match his stripes to that. Didn't work & now I'm stuck with this crappy gravel because it would truely be a PITA to change it at this point.

Sand does work very well for substrate because these guys occasionally like to hunt for their food by blowing sand and on occasion will bury themselves when they are small. Sand bed can be about 1-2 inches deep to avoid anaerobic pockets. I personally really like swimming pool filter sand that you can buy at a pool maintenance store, it's very cheap (I pay around $5 for 50 lbs), its prewashed so there should be little to no dust, and it is a nice bright white/tan color. It's easy enough to darken with some black sand or river stone mixed in if it's too bright.

What are your plans for a filter for this large a tank? You need to aim for about 10 times the water volume per hour in filtration.

thats a truely beautiful setup pufferpunk !
esp with all the plants around the perimeter of the tank ! I may just steal some of your aquascaping ideas for my own tank hehehe.
good call on the pool sand. right now I'm just looking around for a good looking substrate because I'm not really sure what kind of sand I'd want to buy.
As for filtration, I'm definitely stuck on that one. Somewhere down the line while I save up my own money and sell-off some of my old bare tanks, I was planning on buying someone's used setup and hopefully their setup would come with an appropriate filter? LOL
10 times the water volume per hour ? Anyone know by hand how much such a filter would cost me if I bought one new? I've never had much experience with external filters either :/

I have 2 Aquaclear 500s & an Eheim 2217 on mine.

if you dont mind me asking, how much did you pay for each of your filters ?

Wet/dry filters work well too. I'm running a DIY wet/dry and a fluidized sand bed filter, the expensive part on that is getting the return pump.