The Puffer Forum

Just got myself an orange congo. really bright orange at the lfs. now brownish in my bare bottom holding tank which is black all sides and placed directly above white foam.

im planning to add substrate when i get a new tank. what substrate should i use if i want to maintain his bright orange? lfs owner said to use white sand, but another forummer from a diff forum said that white sand made his congo turn darker. so which substrate to use? black sand? red sand? black + red sand?

I used 75% black sand & 25% red gravel to keep my gal bright red.

so to keep the puffer as light coloured as possible, use a dark gravel?

and should the tank be clear on all sides, or blue background on both sides and back? the lfs tank had a blue background, and the congo was bright orange.

It's the red gravel that kept the puffer red. I preferred mixing it with the black sand.

100% red sand would do as well i suppose?

If you can find it but then, you'd never see that puffer!

i guess thats the fun in it - looking for the puffer.

for the tank, which option would be best to keep the puffer's body colour as light-toned and as orange as possible?

1. blue background on back and sides
2. black background on back and sides
3. clear glass tank on all sides

I like natural, "picture" backgrounds that look like plants & such.

im not a fan of those picture backgrounds. looks too artificial to me. im thinking of going blue background this time.

I would go with a black background. I have tanks both with blue and black background, and I must admit I hate the blue ones. The tanks with black background, on the other hand, I love. It gives a much more calm impression.

all my tanks are with black backgrounds. mbu tank is black. ray and bichir tank is also black. congo tank was black, until yest. i tore off the sticker cos black just made its body colour turn darker. the tank is clear on all sides now, but its body is still dark. im probably heading to the lfs tmr to get some blue sticker.

pufferpunk, from your avatar and pictures from pufferpedia, ur congo was kept in a blue tank? and what are those white pebbles on the tank floor?

pufferpunk,

do u have any full tank shot photos of ur congo tank?

i asked cos my once bright orange congo has now turned into a dark brown congo. that really sucks.

would the right environment be able to make him turn back to bright orange?

Absolutely--they are the best puffer at camouflage that I am aware of. My Congo died many years ago. i'd have to look back & see if I have any pics of her tank.