The Puffer Forum

Hi guys . Brand new to this board and have a few questions maybe yall can answer.
I was at the local fish shop yesterday and saw these awesome puffers that I fell in love with. I didn't buy it though, decided to do some research first
The species looks to be either Miurus or Suvattii but I don't have that nailed down as of yet. Are there some distinctive characteristics between the two?
Also, I currently have a 75 gal. tank with 6 angels, some whitecloud minnows and some black neon tetras. I run a magnum 350 and an Eheim 2026 for filtration, my PH stays stable @ 7.6 and my temp. runs about 83 to 84 degrees. I don't really have any room for another tank at my house and my question is would it be possible to fabricate a tank divider out of plexiglass in order for me to house this puffer? I really want this puffer and I'm trying to find a way for me to keep the fish I have but also house the puffer without any extra expense for a new tank.
Thanks for any of your suggestions.

Kudos for doing your research. Have you seen the puffer list? You'll quickly learn to differentiate between the two species. See also our very own Photo ID section.

Miurius prefer sand substrates for burrowing. Your bioload seems pretty light - how many tetras & minnows? - and filtration pretty strong, so that looks okay.

If you don't mind the appearance of a tank divider, it could work. You probably wouldn't want the puffer to be able to see the other fish, though, so opaque would be ideal, but it needs to allow for some flow between sides. It could be more than a little tricky...

between the minnows and the tetras I probably have about 15 of them.
I thought about drilling small holes in the plexiglass to allow for water circulation.

Actually, they make commercially made tank dividers that are all set up to allow water flow. Depending on the dimentions of your tank, you should be able to find one.

Ditto what Myaj has said. You can buy ready made dividers they are not hard to find.My question though is do you quarentine your fish after purchase?
As for identification the T.suvattii is commonly known as the Arrow head puffer which is very obvious on the head of the fish.

http://www.thepufferforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=320

Actually I don't quarantine my fish first . I know, I'm breaking a cardinal rule, but I just have the space for another tank. I have been lucky so far. By the way, where can I find these ready made tank dividers?

Well, you can find them at http://www.petsolutions.com or http://www.drsfostersmith.com, but not sure if you'll fine one large enough for a 75 gallon. What are the dimentions of your tank?

Here's they ones they sell at Drs Foster Smith:

10 gallon 9-5/8" x 11-1/4"
20 gallon long 11-3/8" x 11-1/4"
20 gallon high 11-3/8" x 15-5/8"
29/55 gallon 11-3/8" x 17-1/4"

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 004+113766

I'm still looking to see if I can find any larger ones, it would probably be an option to attach 2 of those to each other though, with silicone or epoxy to make it higher, if you can find the correct width.

Or hey, if nothing else it'll give you some ideas on how to make your own. If you do a google search on "tank divider" you'll come up with lots of DIY projects, mainly using plastic grid or crafting plastic mesh, which allows good water flow. Probably wouldn't be all that attractive though.

I don't have my tank dimensions at this point, I will have to measure tonight. I did find some prefabbed dividers but, like you found, they only go up to a 55 gals. specs. I did find quite a bit about diy dividers. That will probably be my best bet. Hopefully this will only be temporary until I can figure out what to throw out of my house to make way for a new tank