Whihc puffer for me

[vorton]

Hey all,

ive been keeping fish for about 8 years now on and off . My favourite was my stars and stripes puffer snoopy who i had to give away about 4 years ago to my Friend when i went to uni .

So after about 4 years i want another puffer as i have the time and cash to care for one properly again. Currently have a 6 x2x2 tank which originally was going to be a nice community tank but found myself longing for another puffer,once you have had one its hard to really want anything else but am at a lost as to what to puffer to get in it.

I am going fresh water set-up, i want a big puffer i have looked a mbus but am a little unsure if at the moment about them due to there vast size and tank requirements, although i am prepared to get a bigger tank as required.

Any other suggestion as to what other big puffers i could look into getting, i do want to get my puffer smallish and grow him up so information on growth rates would be nice to know aswell

Thanks.

[sevenyearnight]

That sounds like a great tank for a fahaka.

[J-P]

+1

and

welcome to the forum!

[vorton]

Anything else apart from fahaka ?

[sevenyearnight]

Well, as far as larger freshwater puffers go, yes.

[Pufferpunk]

Fahaka is a wonderful pet, full of personality & attitude!

Who could resist this smile?

[vorton]

by big i ment around 10 inches give or take alittle.

i think its gonna end up being a Fahaka to be honest. no one could resist that smile : ) at all

for decoration stones or bog wood or mixture of both ?

[xrayjeeper83]

No a fahaka is the only large puffer that will fit, that is easy to find at least. A crossriver puffer would fit but is stupid expensive if you even find one. A MBU would be WAY to big for that size tank.

[vorton]

As i said if i had a mbu i would be upgrading the tank to somethin like an 8x4x3 custom job qhich i have allready seen but expense and probly still on the small side i think a nile puffer shll be what i get the cross river are ailly expensive

[goldielocke76]

As i said if i had a mbu i would be upgrading the tank to somethin like an 8x4x3 custom job qhich i have allready seen but expense and probly still on the small side i think a nile puffer shll be what i get the cross river are ailly expensive

If you did a custom 9x4x4 (they need space to turn around) that gives you approximately 1077 gallons of water, and it is (in theory) doable, but make sure to have huge sump and refugium to add water volume and help with water quality as the recommended water changes are 50% weekly. 1000g of water minimum is recommended for a mbu. This is just what have have learned and read on the forum. There is someone here (RTR) who has years and years of keeping fish and he personally wouldn't keep a mbu in less than 3-4 thousand gallons of water because the bioload is just massive. Also, they get up to 26 inches long. Just my two cents, I'm sure you will have more people jump on and give their expert opinion. =)

Welcome btw! =D

[vorton]

Mbu is simply to much money and totaly inpractical to keep plus i need to be fair on the fish. i think a nile puffer will do just fine thank for the help

[Srkoe]

Fahaka's are the best!!! I would love an Mbu but honestly I don't think they should be kept as pets, there are few people that have the time, space and money to care for such a large species. You will love having a Fahaka! Ares is my favorite puffer. So much personality!!!

[vorton]

Yeh im stoked ive found a puffer thar suits they looke like they have bags of charecter im looking foward to the hours on fun stress and those magic moments you only get with puffers.

Any sudgestions about tank ser up and decoration atm got bog wood and fime sand substrate got a big open area with all the wood piled up in one corne.

What are fahakas like for biting decor ? My old stars an stripes loved nibberling on rock for example

[xrayjeeper83]

Like all puffers they will bite the decor and rearrange it to fit their needs lol

[Srkoe]

Ares tears up plants. I'm sure it will depend on personality though. I have driftwood, plants, limestone and a huge piece of PVC elbow in Ares tank. He likes to sleep in the pipe. The elbow has a large diameter, if he ever happens to puff in it he won't get trapped. You sound like you're off to a great start! Lots of decorations are great for them to explore!



Last but not least...my fave pic of Ares!