The Puffer Forum

Hi all, my name is Niels and im from the netherlands. As of this week I got my new pet a fahaka named Boo! Hes still young and only like 1-2 inches big. Most of the time he is chilling in and under the sand and when he feels like it he does some window surfing for a couple of hours. Today I noticed one of my by apple snails being eaten and my fahaka having quite a fat stomach. It seems to be fatter at certain parts of the tummy though. Is this normal? I fed him some bloodworms just now and he came out of the sand and ate. Thnx for your help in advance

Greetz

Yes, a lumpy tummy after eating is normal.

Ah thank you pufferpunk, that takes away my worries

Im gonna wait a day or something till his tummy is normal again though before feeding em. He seems fat enough for now

are your apple snails meant to be food for him? if not, better put them in another tank, because they will be food if you dont take them out... same with any "friends" they dont usually do well with friends in the tank

Hi Velisse, Nice to have you here on the Forum!

Seems your puffer has helped himself to some snacks.

hihi yes he did I only got him since last tuesday and hes the cutest fishfriend ive ever had! However, I think mine is pretty lazy though He just lies in the sand most of the day chilling, and only comes off his feet when food gets dropped in the tank lol. I still have the cycle GF in the aquarium, so maybe they are stressing him out or something. I will get rid of those today, but I want to house them in my lil brothers tank lol, because I dont really wanna flush em through a toilet.

Since he is still small Im thinking of trying to house Boo with some other fish. I already bought a pack of Kardinal Tetra's, and I was also thinking of buying a pack of Tiger barbs. However, I heard tiger barbs can be aggresive and nip fins. I do not want to bring Boo into any danger, so what do you guys think?

Well let me just say that my little Fahaka is only about 2" long, and I would NOT put any living thing in with him. The way he attacks the earthworms makes me think he would attack another live fish just as wildly. Personally I would not put any other fish in with your Fahaka, but that's just me.

I'm also glad to hear that you do not want to flush the goldfish, afterall, not their fault what they are, and they deserve to live just as much as any other fish.

If I were you, I'd put those Cardinal Tetra's in another tank, not in with your Fahaka, but again, that's just how I feel about it. And I certainly would not go out and buy any Tiger Barbs. How big is the tank you have your Fahaka in?

Maybe other members will have a different view on this .... but I would leave the Fahaka alone in the tank. I don't intend on putting any live fish in with my little Obie, as I don't think he would appreciate any tankmates.

Boo is about 1-2 inch at the moment, and ive housed him in a 80 gallon tank. When Boo gets bigger I will make sure a 100g+ tank will be ready waiting for him About the tank mates, well im trying to "train" him to get along with certain species to make the tank a bit more living. Also in the wild he is likely to encounter many other fish, so I want him to feel like hes in an everchanging evironment. I will obviously not overcrowd the tank with dozens of fish lol, but just 1 or 2 packs. Like I said I was thinking about 10 kardinal tetra's + 5 tiger barbs.

Ow btw, ill get you guys some pictures of my tank and of Boo soon!

Welcome landgenoot

I think, when he's growing older, everything in the tank became food
My Fahaka also alowed some "friends' for a wile.. NOw she is 20cm, nothing lifes longer than 10 sec.. or they must find a very good hiding space

I like to see a pic of Boo