The Puffer Forum

Hello all,

New to posting on this forum but have used it before as a souce for various bits of information about puffers i have kept previously.

This weekend i was noseing about the lfs to see if they had anything cool and intreasting in, turns out they did a baby mbu after a alot thinking on the subject 2 days worth infact i decided i would place a deposit on the fish and take it as soon as it was ready.

Now before the people start, YES i have a big tank, YES im pricing up and even bigger one, YES i realise the size this fish can get to, YES i realise they need an exceptionaly vast tank size and YES i understand they cost alot of time and money to be kept properly. and i am prepared for thiese things

I have said id never keep one every due to the above mentioned issues with them.

But it make me feel very sad knowing that this fish if left in the lfs to be solded to some idiot that buys it on a wim doesnt have a clue about puffers and is to lazey to maintian there tanks properly and most probley will either die very quickly or end up being moved around from lfs to new owneras it out gorws peoples tanks.

I have read about them before but the mbu seems to have very little information available especialy when they are in a juvernile stage ie how offten to feed them and what point i can start to give them hard shell foods to wear there teeth down. if any mbu owners have any feed back for me about all the asspects of keeping this fish please feel free to share with me as im sure your knowladge will help me keeping this fish happy and healthy also curiosu as to what type and how much decore you have placed in your mbu puffers tanks

Well first of all, congratulations for deciding responsibly about the MBU care and maintenance.
It is always good to read and get a lot of information before you own any kind of puffer,
i share your point of the "idiot who buys a unknown fish just because it is cool" theory....

Puffers eat once everyday, for adults and young, is the same, you must start to collect raw or uncooked frozen food like mussels (with shell is better), shrimp or crab (they love crabs, specially alive), this food must be defrozen with tank water, then you must add some vitamin drops to it, and then is ready for your little guy.

The hard shelled meal (mussels or snails) size is the size of the puffers eye, no bigger... i give mine some shell meal everyday (at least for what i´ve seen puffers must eat diary something hard to tear down their teeth).

This are just general points, as the matter of fact, i´ve never kept a MBU, so lets wait for those keepers that will guide you to the decoration and other specific stuff.
pd: did your "big" tank is already cycled?

Thanks alot for the info on the feeding i have started stocking up allready on the uncooked frozen foods allready the big tanks been cycled and has had fish in it for about 3 months now i wont be picking the little guy up for a few weeks due the the lfs shop quarantineing him and wanting to feed him up. im goin to buy a second external filter this weekend however to aid the filtration of the tank.

I believe when large puffers species are young, they are fed once a day, six times a week. When they become older and larger, feeding decreases to 2-3 times a week... to prevent obesity, and fatty liver disease I believe. They don't eat daily in the wild.
Good luck. MBUs are the most attractive puffers in my opinion, but I could never own one. The thought of those water changes... Eh.

i have heared the same about feeding the adults less to stop them becoming overwieght and developing related health issues, im wondering as he grows how much should i be feeding him im guessing snail muscle prawn is gonna be enought for him now but at what point does he need 2 or 3 etc etc, any info on growth rates would be good i know he will need a bigger tank in the end as i only have a 6x3x3 at the moment but im guessing hes gonna be ok in there for a year or 2.

Also to elaberate on the decore issue, do i go for a light tank with no alot in bright lights and bright decoreliek white rocks etc or should i go more dark colours like bog wood dark sand balck backing papaer for example.

It is sat whenever we do see these majestic "eventual" giants for sale anywhere. Occasionally, a responsible fish owner will purchase one & house properly but that isn't often enough for me to justify seeing any of them offered up for sale. I do hope you do right by this long-lived fish! Could you tell us the plans you have for it?
Have you read the articles we have here on this species?

It is sad, whenever we do see these majestic "eventual" giants for sale anywhere. Occasionally, a responsible fish owner will purchase one & house properly but that isn't often enough for me to justify seeing any of them offered up for sale. I do hope you do right by this long-lived fish! Could you tell us the plans you have for it?
Have you read the articles we have here on this species?

It is very sad when you see such fish in the lfs not only puffers. Like a few people on this site i feel that such fish should be available for general trade as people tend to be ignorant of the needs of such woderful fish.

I hope myself i do right by the little guy i intened to that for sure as i know when looked after corecctly these fish are not just pets.

as for the plans for him im not going to take the little guy from the lfs till im sure hes up to it. that said the sooner he gets out of that place the better as they arent known for there fish keeping skills in the local area.

Hes goin straight into the big tank which will looks slightly odd as hes only about 1.5 / 2 inches at the moment i have about 15 neon tetras in there atm whihc im hoping i wont have to chase about with the net for 3 hours trying to catch and remove them. IM guessing it a waiting game then i dnt no about growth rates but im guessing hes not gonna out grow a tank 6x3x3 too soon . The end plan is a big tank custome built perhaps as big as 10x4x3.

1.5 to 2in sounds very small.. Be darn sure its a mbu!!

Thanks raises some intreasting points and contains some intreasting information in regards to feeding and decore of the tank

I'll see if I can find the veggie filter articles for you.

That would be great the more info i have readily available the better

I believe MBU will be happy in a tank that looks like this:



Based on this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avuuJpM ... re=related

The tangananyka biotope setup, is the best decoration for an MBU, of course, the cichlids won't be there, your little guy will eat them hahahaha If you liked this set up you can put some anubia nana between the rocks and ad more wood or roots to give it a more natural look.

Yes, they live in rivers.