The Puffer Forum

Does anyone know if you could keep a T. Occelatus in fw (or even low salt bw)? I researched here and elsewhere, and could only find post that said they converted theirs to sw. I have had mine over 2 months in fw and he seems happy and content. I was going to convert him, but wanted to see if anyone has any info on someone trying this.

He was very aggressive at first but has become used to my other fish. I usually give him frozen brine shrimp, the occasional snail, and he has taken a liking to the goldfish i feed my other fish.

Any info is greatly appreciated to keep this beautiful fish alive.

These fish are high end of the salinity scale to full marine and shouldn't really be kept in FW.

Why does he seem so content in my fw tank?

I doubt he'll last long. Goldfish are a poor choice in food, as they can introduce disease and cause liver damage to the other fish that eat them.

What else could i feed him to keep his belly full? when he is not full, he kills my other fish(2 irredesent sharks, one gourami, one silver needle, one angelfish, and my big rubber pleco...so far)

Thats why he should be kept alone.
Try cockles, mussell, crabs,krill,prawns etc.

A BW/SW fish may do ok for a while in FW but in the long run it will have a lowered immune system causing early death/shorter lifespan. It may also become stunted.

About how long do i have to convert him, i need to save up the $$$ to convert my tank over. getting rid of my other fish of course

Thanks

ASAP! Especially if it's eating your other fish. It's not fair to either of them.

Pufferpunk wrote:ASAP! Especially if it's eating your other fish. It's not fair to either of them.

Agreed...this is why we need to know about fish before they're purchased...it's so hard to play catch up later. How wants to start a LFS called "we actually care about these fish, they're not just dollar bills swimming in a tank"?

Assuming that you mean Takifugu ocellatus, they are perhaps the most difficult puffer to maintain in captivity in any case. But they should not have tankmates other than in huge tanks, and should not be kept on a diet of feeder goldfish.

You might want to do a search here on them.