The Puffer Forum

hey guys im new to puffers but have been keeping fresh water tanks for years. basicly a month or so ago my oscar died which left me with a big empty 55g and after weeks and weeks of looking the only puffers i can get are Tetractenos hamiltoni so since i have seen them in large loose groups in the wild i though i would try my luck with 3 in my 55. i was just wondering if any one here has kept them and if they have any info for me. currently the tank is cycled with a sg of .010 but im not sure on the ideal conditions for these guys as they are found in full sea and brackish as well

Here is some basic care info on them.

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=13447

Welome to the puffer forum

Thanks for that. Im still a bit unsure on sg anyone know??

Welcome

Welcome Sorry, I don't know what SG they do best with. Best of luck!

It's mostly a marine fish, keep it in a marine tank and probably avoid tropical temperatures, keep it temperate.

So wat temp and sg do u think

Temperate temperature would be around 70-72 degrees Fahrenheit, and a marine S.G. would be between 1.020-1.024, ideally between 1.022-1.023.

+1 And welcome to the forum.

do u guys think an sg of 20-25 is still appropriate sine thease guys are found in estuarys aswell? id like to try and keep some live plants with em if possable

also from every sorce i have come across thease guys are not found near reefs so if i bite the bullet and bring the salinity up to say .018 where its hevily brackish should i just include some live rock??

If they are anything like gsps, brackish water is ok for juveniles but adults prefer full marine. Live rock wont stay live at that sg, so if you want that you MUST have marine sg. Overall, if they are kept in high end brackish converting them to full marine should be easy and safe. If in doubt, do more research, gather info from many sources.

hey dave i am glad you found my favorite site.

hey terrence good to see u ( so to speak) i wasnt getting alot of help at the other forum so i figured ask the experts. well at the moment im gonna have to introduce these guys next week ( since its the only time i can get em) but the tank is at .010 atm so im gonna try them at a range of SG while i bring em up a bit higher.
im just a bit confused since these guys live in both estuarys and full salt and there is very little info on keeping em
oh also these guys are known for schooling with a max size of 5" (rare) do u think 3 in a 55 is too much, i have 12x filtration on this tank, id love to see if i can breed em.

G S P Freak wrote:If they are anything like gsps, brackish water is ok for juveniles but adults prefer full marine. Live rock wont stay live at that sg, so if you want that you MUST have marine sg. Overall, if they are kept in high end brackish converting them to full marine should be easy and safe. If in doubt, do more research, gather info from many sources.

live rock will live in sg of .017 and up. my problem is i dont have an issue keeping a marine tank for them but if they would be just as happy in a lower sg id rather try to keep em with java ferns and large amounts of drift wood rather then a pile of live rock, but the previously posted fact sheet is just about all the info out there about keeping these guys in aquariums unfortunatly.

but at any rate these guys are coming in 4 days regardless so ill be able to have the sg up to 0.12 by then and ill just have to bringe em up from there