The Puffer Forum

Ive finally got them!

they have been in the tank since last wednesday, thay are amazing little things

but...i have some questions still!

1. Will they ever puff up?? If they do does it show unhappiness??

2. How often do u feed your puffers? Cos mine dont seem to eat much at all, my male dwarf puffer eats more than both put together, especially the female irrubesco

3. The male chases the female abit, he sort of moves quickly toward her, and she moves, he doesnt pursue her after that, but sometimes he does it when they are close, but most of the time they hang about together with no trouble, they seem to want to be next to each other all the time really

4. The irrubescos spend most of the time swimming up and down the glass, even though there is so many places they can go and explore...are they bored???, and they tend to be at the corner where the current is strongest....do they like current?


Cheers!!!

Also is anyone knows of any articles on irrubescos, i would be very grateful, want to know all about them!!!


Ta

1. They usually only puff up if they feel threatended, however sometimes they will do a practice puff.

2. Number of feedings generally depends on size. If they dont want to take food every day, try every other day and see if they take iot more readily.

3. He's probably just showing his dominance, but if he starts ripping into her all the time then would be the time to separate them.

4. They've only been in there a short while it may take them some time before they feel comfortable and start exploring more.

cheers


he doesnt seem to want to hurt her... as when she moves he leaves it, unless she goes close again.....but its only very seldom happening, most of the time they are swimming together up and down and up and down.

she seems to be able to see him coming and moves quick enough to stop whatever he intends to do from happening

if he wanted her dead he would persist more?? and wouldnt usually be able to swim with her

its interesting how he has never showed any interest at all in the male dwarf puffer, this is why im unsure of his interest in her

seroe wrote: 1. Will they ever puff up?? If they do does it show unhappiness??

Mine haven't, not that I've seen, anyway. Mostly, they just hide.

seroe wrote: 2. How often do u feed your puffers? Cos mine dont seem to eat much at all, my male dwarf puffer eats more than both put together, especially the female irrubesco

I give mine a meal once a day, first thing in the morning. Mostly krill or bloodworms. I might pop in some snails later on if they're looking peckish. Like others, I've noticed that they are most active at dawn and dusk, and so feed them close to those times.

seroe wrote: 3. The male chases the female abit, he sort of moves quickly toward her, and she moves, he doesnt pursue her after that, but sometimes he does it when they are close, but most of the time they hang about together with no trouble, they seem to want to be next to each other all the time really

Yep, mine go through phases of being very friendly and then atagonistic. Possibly a spawning cycle? The female seems to swell up every few weeks, then get thing, so possibly they are spawning in the Java moss somewhere. No sign of it though.

seroe wrote: 4. The irrubescos spend most of the time swimming up and down the glass, even though there is so many places they can go and explore...are they bored???, and they tend to be at the corner where the current is strongest....do they like current?

Interesting. Mine mostly hide. They like their coconut shell caves I made for them, and stay either inside them or within the Java moss encrusting the coconut shells.

seroe wrote: Also is anyone knows of any articles on irrubescos, i would be very grateful, want to know all about them!!!

Don't know anything specific. They seem to be very similar to C. lorteti except less aggressive and more shy. One thing I'll mention is that a few weeks after getting mine, they developed some kind of mucous/skin infection. Grey slime on the bodies. Never figured out what the problem was, but two 20-minute seawater dips fixed the problem. That was something like six months ago, and so far, so good.

Cheers,

Neale