The Puffer Forum

Hi fellow Forum-mates,

This post is about my observations of Fishball, my new Congo.
We got this little bugger 1 month ago and when we got it, it was a mere inch of a fish.
It had grown to twice that size since.

What baffles us it that it barely ever buries itself.
It spends most of its time in the water column stalking ghost shrimp and hunting instead of ambushing them.
And when it sleeps, it does not bury itself like a typical Congo would.
Instead, it swims over to its favorite leaf and just sleeps on it.

What's up with this behavior?

Hi

What substrate are you using?

Ok, to help things along, this is a picture of Fishball sleeping on his favorite leaf.

I wonder what he was kept in before you got him and how big he was when he was captured. This may be learned behavior? My Arrowhead rarely buries itself choosing instead to live in a cave, he's happy, healthy and comfortable so I'm not concerned (only found him buried 5 times since I got him). They are God's creatures and every one of them is different....

That is so flipping cute!

You can see a ghost shrimp on the left sitting on a leaf looking at the puffer...

"Is he asleep??..Please be asleep...please..please...ok, guys he is asleep..come on out.."

Mine used to hang out in a plant a lot too but she also buried herself. i bet one day you'll not be able to find her & realize she's under the sand.

Actually sPuffalopagus, I don't think your Congo is behaving so strangely. Not all puffers are going to behave exactly as every other one. That would be like saying all people from Europe should behave as every other European, which of course, isn't so. I think puffers have their own preferences. Yours might prefer sleeping in the plants more than burying itself, and I don't think that's so odd. As for ambushing, I had a Congo that wouldn't ambush either, she was a hunter in that she would go after food, not wait for it to come by her mouth (as my large Congo does).
I just think yours is behaving a tad differently from most, but I don't see that as being anything wrong with it though.

Dadof4 wrote:I wonder what he was kept in before you got him and how big he was when he was captured.

From my understanding Congo Puffers are being bred in captivity by wholesale facilities.

I know in Germany they are available year-round as small as 4cm (1.57inches) and an importer in Oregon has them every few months as small as 1-1.5"

Not saying ALL congo puffers being bought and sold aren't wildcaught but it is a possibility. But I HIGHLY doubt that they are breeding year round in the wild supplying all these world wide people with these small ones.

MY congo used to sleep on the leave also. I had sand substrate but it seemed to enjoy sleeping on the leafs (it was well planted with java fern, hygro, and giant vals). So I don't think it's behaving that strangely. It used to hunt my Rasboras like that! lol.

Well... seems that this one is going to join my family of odd fishes...
I guess that is the thing that makes keeping puffers interesting. They are NEVER predictable.
Whatever is the case, Fishball is having a swell time in it's tank and that is the most important thing!!

ok....So the problem is that fishball is a cutie...hhhhhhm I don't get what the probllem is.

I dont see an issue. He looks fantastic. I want one really bad.

Mine hasn't burried himself yet either - but I've only had him for 5 days, lol mine is also a hunter, he will go after his food and not wait for it to come to him.

I wonder what he will do when he is much bigger and possibly cant fit on those leaves?!