The Puffer Forum

Hi all,

Are there any owners of adult fahaka's that noticed a change in behaviour when fahaka's pass the age of 2? Yoda my fahaka seems to be acting different the past month or 2. Not swimming up to the glass to greet me when i enter the room, laying on his spot all day either normal or burried and only acting up on feeding day or a rare occassion. Either his lurker instinct (or lazy mode) is kicking in or something else is wrong.

Mine displays similar behaviour but less so after a starve day is he fed really well?

Mine has always done that

bertie 83 wrote: is he fed really well?

I feed him every 2-3 days. He's nice and fit


Glad to hear it's a normal behaviour for adult fahaka's. I was starting to get worried something might be wrong.

i would say if you havent already test your water. if everything is within check then i dont think you have much to worry about... other than obesity lol

I have had 3 of them. One was a nice puffer, but allowed nothing else alive in the tank. One was the aquatic equivalent of a bad berzerker trip, 24/7/365 - anything that approached the tank was attacked, including me. The other was about midway in between. None buried themselves after juvenile age was past. All were attractive, but rarely rested when there were humans in the room, they either begged or just patrolled (the mad one rather frantically, with splashes). All could see the other two, but each had refuges out of sight of the others.

Mine has started burying more now then when he was a baby

at what age do fahakas sexually mature?

If they are not stunted, approximately 2-3.

RTR wrote:If they are not stunted, approximately 2-3.

Months?

years

Yep, years. Sorry for the lack of specificity.

Severely stunted fish likely take longer.

RTR wrote:Yep, years. Sorry for the lack of specificity.

Severely stunted fish likely take longer.

Can females lay eggs before they are mature?

Nope, egg production in fish or any other animal is a definite a sign of sexual maturity. The fish will likely not be full adult size at that time, as fish grow throughout their lives, just more slowly post-puberty.

RTR wrote:Nope, egg production in fish or any other animal is a definite a sign of sexual maturity. The fish will likely not be full adult size at that time, as fish grow throughout their lives, just more slowly post-puberty.

Well my Fahaka has laid eggs but she seems very small if she is over a year old. My guess is I bought her from a LFS that got her on a turn in and she is stunted.