The Puffer Forum

Hello guys, just joined the forum, it looks great! Long story short, been a fishkeeper for around 8yrs, always had a love for puffers, so now I'm going for it! Iv decided on colomesus(sap) iv had a set up running for 3-4wks now, 150ltr tank, fully planted, rockery/caves from slate, a wooden area and an open space(feeding area), the thing is I'm struggling to get any puffers? Iv got 8 on order but the shop just isn't getting any. I'm from kent in the uk. Any advice or info would be fantastic, I'm aware of beak trimming, advice on that is also welcome. Thanks guys.

Maidenhead aquatics at hickstead had some last week, teeny ones. If they have sold out I'm sure they could get you more. Welcome to the forum. That shop is by the a27 near Crawley, give them a buzz they might still have some

A 150 liter tank is much too small for 8 SAPs. Read the Pufferpedia entry on SAPs for more detail.

HTH

I misread that as 150g lol. I personally wouldn't keep saps in anything shorter than 5 foot, the pacing experienced from smaller tanks drove me crazy

I think a 48" 55g tank would be long enough & large enough for4-5 SAPs.

Thanks guys, I tried maidenhead Bertie, he had one left but could get more in for this Friday, issue is that he wanted £20 EACH for them!! I have 8 on order from Aylesford aquatics in kent at £11 each.
Aylesford aquatics is a respected fishshop locally and the guy said I could get up to 10 in there which I was shocked at hence why I just ordered 8.
So, are you guys saying the tank is no good for sap's or maybe just 4-5?
You guys are the experts in my eyes and I'm not one to over crowd or offer less requirements just for my own pleasure or gain, I want saps but I want the best for these fish.

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Fantastic pufferpunk, great links! I had read the top one but the other two are great. Thank you all for your comments/advice. Very helpful indeed.

They are mental swimmers and huge waste producers, they need tons of space to swim swim swim. £20 is about the going rate down here, a little local store in Brighton can get them for around £16 but you have to wait a while for them to arrive, months lol

I will never argue about SAPs being compulsive swimmers an no slouches at waste production. Considering their hyperactivity levels, the least that you can say is that their excretion rate is a reflection of their energy expenditure. I will second everything Bertie says about them, including the fact that it appears impossible to over-house these fish. In the USA we have a series of 2x2 foot cross-section tanks, 4, 5, or 6 feet long. Any one of those could be an ideal SAP tank, depending on you willingness to change water and to generate ramshorn and/or common pond snails. My personal choice would be one of those tanks with a "Circus Maximus" set-up with a central oval "island" of dense plans, edges of Crypts and center loaded with Tall Cyypts, Val, and an Amazon Sword or two. The edges would all be an unplanted 6-8" band circling the whole tank, with canister intakes and returns in each of the 4 corners establishing and holding an overall circular current.

If you add the day's portion of snails during the tank's dark cycle, the snails will scatter through the central "island" enough to make the snail hunt at least be some exercise for the SAPs. The rest of the day they can spend chasing each other around the sides of the tank for all the exercise they want and need. The only other fish I would use would be the smallest Otocinclus cats. I'd do at least 50% partials weekly and keep an eye on the parameters in case more is needed.

FWIW

Pufferpunk wrote:I think a 48" 55g tank would be long enough & large enough for4-5 SAPs.

We have had our three in a 55gallon for around 2years now, we provide 2 counter current power circulators close to both long axes so they are basically swimming against the flow most if the time. Our usual x2-3 over filter capacity which we do on all puffer tanks except the larger ones which have even more head room. We use plastic plants feed them snails, and crustae (SP) with bloodworm and occasional krill... still no dentist visits to date!

+1 to Pufferpunk and especially to PufferGhoti's comments, and Bertie's earlier comments on larger tanks for them. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the proof of proper feeding to SAPs is in not having to trim the incisor plates. They seem undemanding on gender mixing - which is great since we cannot easily tell males from female. I have never seen dominance issues in their schooling myself. The more room they have, the better they act and look. They are far better behaved in schools than F-8s and don't need BW. That makes them the best schooling puffer in captivity in my book, by quite a wide margin. But if you cannot provide the right diet for them, they would be a royal PITA.

Hello guys, thought I'd give you a quick update. After your advice i decided that it's for the best to go for dwarfs instead. Iv had a group now for coming up to 2wks now and they are doing great!!:) I love them.
I spend ages just watching them.
One tiny problem I have is in regards to food/diet.
They love brime shrimp, live bloodworm but not so fussed on frozen. Iv dropped a few snails in which again keeps them busy for a while but I'm thinking as a main diet method really as fresh shrimp/b'worm don't last long even in fridge?
Any advice?
Apart from that they are so cool, so happy with them and glad I asked u guys about sap's.
Thanks again.

Mine only eat live blackworms.

Thawed frozen brine shrimp is very poor nutritionally. Live brine shrimp is weak nutritionally IF the LFS keeps them well-fed (most do not). But it is great appetite stimulant and a good way to introduce new foods together with live brine shrimp - the fish learn to accept the new food.

Like Pufferpunk's, my DPs eat primarily live California blackworms. But these work best fed via a worrm cone with a catch bowl/dish beneath it to avoid loading the substrate with blackworms.

If yours does not flourish on blackworms, your fish may have intestinal parasites.