The Puffer Forum

I would probably be getting one.

I'm thinking of a 2ft X 1ft tank as a permanent house. That enough right?

Next about the sand. I'm adding sand for sure. Is 15cm of sand too much? I only have to stir the sand thoroughly once a week right?

As for the congo itself, what types of crayfish do you guys feed? I used to have a congo too, but after eating a crayfish, it stopped eating and burying itself, and it died 2 days later! I had that guy for months!

Thanks for any help.

That tank sounds a bit small to me. Two feet by one foot by one foot is only 15 US gallons, and two square feet is not much floor space or swimming/exploring room either. About 30 US gallons is the usual minimum suggestion around here.

Look for a 40 breeder or a 55. Plenty of flor space.

I thought they only get to 6" and since they are lurkers won't need THAT much swimming space. How about a 3ft X 1.5ft?

I don't know how to calculate the gallons.

What about the substrate problem?

And of course the crayfish thing.

Thanks.

Substrate should be fine grain sand that is as high as the puffer is long. It's a little dramatic. If the puffer is 6" go for 4"-5" sand. You'll need a higher tank than you think when you say they don't need swimming space. They need a lot of sand to bury themselves with, let alone to swim up into a UN-stressable short tank. For example, today at my LFS One tank, could have been 30g X-L(ong) but it's height maybe could have only stretched a good 6". . How do they expect to make money off a almost flat tank? lol[/b]

I'm pretty sure there are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot.

Still a larger tank the better. More decor can be added for the puff to hide. As well as more sand can be added for more spots to bury themselves.

To calculate US gallons:
l x w x h /231

My vote is always for a larger tank. I'm not as excessive as some, but I enjoy seeing the behavior that comes with a lot of room. At times it's dramatically different.

Yeah, you want to see a big difference in personalities, try having a 2/10 gallon per DP rule. (j/k)

I guess I know what you guys mean.

5" of sand is alot... Tank is going to be heavy...

My sand is about 2-3mm. Is that fine enough? I hope it is...

How about cleaning and maintaining the sand?

Be sure to stir it up every week or so to allow pockets of gases to be released. Other then that just as simple as gravel IMO.

Okay. Thanks.

I'll update when I've gotten my puffer.

Be sure to take pics

I need to know...

Are there 2 variants of Congo puffers? Or are they the same thing, just that they change their colour (from red to brown or vice versa) according to their environment.

There are many color morphs of the same species. Some change according to their surroundings.