I have read posts over and over on this and other sites stating that Takifugu ocellatus is not "suitable" for home aquaria. What I havent seen anywhere is why that is. I kept two healthy and happy for 6 years. Most puffers are able to be kept in the same fashion. (In their respective salinities ect.) Puffers need places to hide and feel secure, they need a varied diet, and the more you can make their tank feel like their natural home, the better your success will be.
I only wish I could find another couple.....
Irish
Takifugu ocellatus
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Hilly
- Mentor
- Posts: 1903
- Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2006 6:36 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Current: Tetraodon Lineatus
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Tetraodon Sabahensis
Montrete Abei
Tetraodon Biocellatus
Carinotetraodon Salivator - Location (country): UK
- Location: Nottinghamshire, UK
If you've kept 2 alive for 6 years then you've got to be in line for the longest captive housed Takifugu. Everything i've read is that just over a year or so they stop eating and die for no apparent reason.
How big have they gotten too, what SG tank temp etc.. do you keep them at. Got any pics?
How big have they gotten too, what SG tank temp etc.. do you keep them at. Got any pics?
Hilly
Unfortunately I don't have any pics.Hilly wrote:If you've kept 2 alive for 6 years then you've got to be in line for the longest captive housed Takifugu. Everything i've read is that just over a year or so they stop eating and die for no apparent reason.
How big have they gotten too, what SG tank temp etc.. do you keep them at. Got any pics?
I did get them from a friend who said that they weren't doing very well. He had them for about a month in FW. As soon I introduced them into my tank ( lower end of the brackish spectrum) they started doing much better. I slowly increased the salinity over a period of about a year to full marine. (I think in looking back, that it was more of a preference than a necessity.) They were sold to my friend as a pair, but as there we never any eggs, so I'm not so sure. One ( I believed to be the male) got to about 5 inches. The other (I thought was female) only got to about 4 inches.
I had them in my 55 gallon tank alone. When I first introduced them, I had live plants such as Java fern and moss, and plenty of driftwood hiding places. Of course later I found out that they like to bury themselves, so it didn't really matter much. Once they were fully adjusted to full marine conditions, I placed them in another tank with live rock ( 55 gallon). I kept the PH at about 8.2-8.4 during their entire stay in both tanks. The only problem that I ever had with them was that they didn't care for snails. So I had to make sure to give them half open clams (they loved those) to wear down their teeth.