The Puffer Forum

Hey everyone,

I'm just about ready to start a new tank. I previously had a GSP (Ooka) which unfortunately didn't make it long because I took the advice of a terrible LFS. Since then I've done a lot of research on my own and was interested in SAPs. I'm debating between those or another GSP. I loved how my GSP was so personable and would greet me at the glass every time I walked in the room. I also loved the fact that it was a tough guy. I was wondering if SAPs have a similar personality, or if they could care less about their owner haha. I know they are a little less territorial, but would they go after guppies? Maybe sick, but I always loved to watch Ooka hunt. I will be working with a 55g tank. Let me know your experience with these little guys.

Thanks!
Steve

I really like my SAPs but mine aren't as personable as my GSP were...mine could be diff than others though..I swear mine don't like to hunt much...snails seem to last forever in that tank...you could house 5 SAPs in your 55 gallon! I bet they'd be fun to watch!

I like the GSPs a tad better than the SAPs (don't tell them!) but you'd have to deal with the brackish water and such. My GSPs seem to want to see me more than the SAPs do...unless it's feeding time and the SAPs give me attention then! lol.

+1, i think they aren't as personable. They also prefer to live in shoals. See the article on them in our Library.

I agree also. SAPs are lifetime schoolers; most other puffers only school as fry and juveniles. Schoolers by their group orientation are not as personable as individuals.

One reason I like keeping SAPs and Carinotetraodon irrubesco together is you get to enjoy a nice contrast in terms of behaviour. The C. irrubesco become curious and "watch you" when you're sitting by the tank, especially if you have lots of shade (floating plants!) to encourage these crepuscular puffers to come out during the daytime. On the other hand, SAPs are certainly active and lively, and so make the tank interesting to watch even when the C. irrubesco are hiding. In terms of behaviour, the two species seem to be perfectly suited, one staying at the bottom and being mildly territorial, and the other buzzing about the middle of the tank and exhibiting no interest at all in territories or caves.

Cheers, Neale

+1 Mine only swim around the tank, and stop only to eat, they don't like snails much either, mine have come to the glass a few times when I was watching, but not for more then a few seconds, there still neat to watch.

Good luck

Don

nmonks wrote:One reason I like keeping SAPs and Carinotetraodon irrubesco together is you get to enjoy a nice contrast in terms of behaviour. The C. irrubesco become curious and "watch you" when you're sitting by the tank, especially if you have lots of shade (floating plants!) to encourage these crepuscular puffers to come out during the daytime. On the other hand, SAPs are certainly active and lively, and so make the tank interesting to watch even when the C. irrubesco are hiding. In terms of behaviour, the two species seem to be perfectly suited, one staying at the bottom and being mildly territorial, and the other buzzing about the middle of the tank and exhibiting no interest at all in territories or caves.

Cheers, Neale

Do you think it would be ok to house my SAPs and my C. Lorteti's together? In a larger tank of course.....This would be great for me if I could

That would be neat.

Lortetis are not C. irrubesco, my any stretch of the imagination--much more vicious fish!

Jeni makes a valid point here. C. irrubesco is, in my opinion, by far the most peaceful of all the non-marine puffers in the trade. C. lorteti can be much more aggressive, though according to Frank Schaefer at Aqualog, this does depend on where they come from. Specimens from Vietnam are, he tells me, quite peaceful, while those from Thailand are nasty fin biters. Why they should be so different I cannot say.

As it happens, the C. lorteti imported into Europe are apparently most often from Vietnam. But with that said, whenever I see this species for sale, it is often mixed up with C. irrubesco, and vice versa. There are often signs of aggression rather than fin-nipping when the two species are mixed, though oddly enough mostly between male C. lorteti, the male C. irrubesco seeming to be less often targeted. It is also possible that given C. irrubesco comes from Sumatra and Borneo, specimens of other, more aggressive Carinotetraodon species like C. borneensis sometimes sneak into these batches of fish. So when selecting your specimens you do need to be careful.

I've toyed with the idea of mixing C. lorteti with SAPs, but I haven't done it yet. In a big tank, I'd expect they'd largely ignore one another, but I will say that SAPs are certainly not immune to fin-nipping themselves: when I kept SAPs with Ameca splendens, the Ameca would sometimes lunge at the SAPs! So while I might try the combination out as an experiment, I'd first check the specimens for sale were from Vietnam, and then I'd want to have a Plan B so I could remove the C. lorteti if things didn't work out.

Cheers, Neale

Pufferpunk wrote:Lortetis are not C. irrubesco, my any stretch of the imagination--much more vicious fish!

PS. By way of illustration, a couple of photos of mixed batches of C. irrubesco and C. lorteti.

Note below the relatively intact fins of the C. irrubesco in the centre compared with the C. lorteti at lower right:


Here you can see the tatty fins on the male C. lorteti very clearly.

Hey all,

I wanted to jump in here, and tell you all a few things I have experienced with these puffers, the SAPS i have are extermely peaceful I have them in my 55 Gal with mollies, platies, guppies, cories, tetras and a pleco and the SAPS have never bugged anyone, the Redeyed striped I had were super super super aggressive, 4 of them in a 20 Gal tank, with heavy planting they still picked on each other all the time, i placed the redeyes in with my SAPS in the 55 Gal
when i first got them, and I watched my male Redeye latch himself onto the side of a SAP. I had to tap the tank to make him release.

So I sold my Redeyes, mainly because I didn't have a big enough tank for them.

just thought I'd share

Merry Christmas all!!!

DOn

I'm not sure if I want to try this or not..My lortetis aren't aggressive at all...they did show some aggression to each other when I first got them and had them QTed in a 10 gallon tank...I figured because the space was so small..they are now housed in a 45 gallon long with a couple of Darters..they don't bother the other fish. My SAPs have never shown any aggression but have only been kept together in a tank. If I tried this it would be to have a more interesting tank not because of lack of space..and I would have pleanty of options if they needed moved..I'll need to give it more thought of course but I'm thinking it would be ok for the ones I currently own..I don't think I'd purchase any more to add to the tank in case they were more aggressive than the ones I have...

Thanks for the input everyone. I think the interactive personality of my late GSP is what I loved the most. I think I'm going to go ahead and get a couple of GSPs for my 55g.

That would be a nice set up for two GSPs good luck! and we are here to help if you need it!

Thanks! I wish I knew about this forum when setting up my first tank. This is probably the most informative and interactive site I've seen for puffers. I'll definitely stick around!