The Puffer Forum

hi everyone

great forum btw!!

well after loads & loads of research 2 weeks ago i decided to get a mbu puffer.(oh no a mbu you say!!) haha.
well i fully understand there adult growth and needs.good job i have the money and space.
i currently have a 2.5inch mbu in a 54 gallon tank on his own.hes been in there for a few days. im running a cannister filter that turns 2000 lph.had no problems.everyday i syphon out his mess either poop or left over food and i pour the water back in through a net to catch all the dirt.by doing this ive had no problems with water parameters at all.my ammonias is always 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate is at 10.i change 50% every week.i always test my tanks every friday and sometimes twice a week just to make sure alls in check.
ive been keeping fish for 7 years from basic tropicals to malawi and tbh i just wanted something more challenging as i was getting bored.
my tank has been cycled for almost 4 years.ive never kept puffers before the mbu but i feel confident enought to keep one.
well next year im planning on getting him a 6ft wide by 4ft high by 3 ft depth tank.maybe bigger but no smaller.from all the reading ive been doing i understand he will be able to stay in this for the rest of his life.i will be running 2 x 2000 lph canisters on it plus a sump.

well my mbus name is rocky.hes got so much character and full of life and his colourings are beautiful.
i got him from a local aquatics.paid £50 for him and hes worth every penny.i had him on hold for 2 weeks so i could get his tank set up and ready for him.his tank has sand substrate with a few plants and some ocean rock.my current ph is 7.2 and the rock takes it up to 7.8.
he was quite thin when i got him and in a tiny tank and he looks soooo much better now and loving his tank.atm im feeding him on bloodworm,snails,prawn,mussels,cockles.i popped some ghost shrimp in there last week and hes not caught a single one yet haha.hes not quick enough yet.i keep his temp between 25c-26c.
my local aquatics gives me snails free every week so thats great.

Welcome to the forum, there have been lots of discussions on mbu's recently. Your planned tank will have a gross capacity of 530 usg. You would be far better off with a slightly larger footprint even if you have to sacrifice height.

hi bertie

thanks for your reply.sure when i stated maybe bigger i was thinking of going higher.i want to give him as much room as i possibly can.

I would favor "wider and flatter" over "taller" if I were designing an Mbu tank. Obviously, the bigger the better.

Best of luck with your fish.

Yes aim for bigger footprint over height.

well 6 1/2 foot is the widest i can go from wall to wall with enough gap to get either side.so height and depth is all i an play with really????

thanks for your replys guys

pufferluver87 wrote:well 6 1/2 foot is the widest i can go from wall to wall with enough gap to get either side.so height and depth is all i an play with really????
thanks for your replys guys

In that case, I would go for as much depth as you can. The vertical height is less important, but 36" would be really nice.

Out of curiosity, are you planning a glass or an acrylic tank for this?

i prefer glass as acrylic scratches very easily.

Good luck witht that mbu. I hope he gets huge. Try and keep pictures as he matures. Itbe cool tosee