The Puffer Forum

Dear all,
I was thinking of going with sand as my substrate and a rocky landscape for my 4 by 2 by 1.5 fahaka tank... what do you guys think about that.. If i keep the sand depth to about 1 inch would i still have to worry about all those ammonia pockets and stuff? and also what are the cons of maintaing sand? I got to stir it every week right or something? Thanks for all the advice O and the tank has all black background the bottom and sides and back...


Eddie

I prefer small gravel. How long do you plan on keep the fahaka in that tank?

I personally on bigger tanks recommend gravel. Sand is a PITA and too risky.

i tried sand in my fahaka tank, but in the end it was to much of a mess i sucked it out with the gravel siphon and ended up putting in a mixture of fluorite and gravel that is the same color.

I use smooth gravel in mine.

yeah I' go for smoothe gravel and stay away from sand. if disturbed it will end up in your filter

Its going to be its long term tank.. is it too small? i have asked around in this forum and all were saying that its comfortable enough.. though of course a bigger tank would be the best but i just cannot afford that... so yeah.. i see.. okay maybe a lighter small gravel and some big nice rocks and make shift caves yeah?

Sounds ideal if thats as big as you can go. Be aware of the eventual swimming room and resting space on the substrate he will need. If you set it up now like that, I suggest around the edges and back, you may not need to change it too much in the future. The reason I say this is that he may not be too happy of your intrusion on his tank if you have to move things about in the future. Failing that you could buy a pair of chainmail gloves

That's about 90g and we recommend at least 125g.

i know that 120g is the optimum but i have also heard that 4 by 2 by 1.5 is also sufficient as there is a 24 inch allowance for its fins to turn and stuff... but this is really the best i can give already.... yeah i know i would not want to have to shift the stones around after i have placed them in lol who knows what kind of carnal damage can a 15 inch fahaka do to your fingers.. haha

The minimum gallonage is not just about turning room in a tank. Big puffers and their diets ultimately mean big waste produced and the gallonage specified gives you a buffer to the waste. Physically the tank may give him enough room but you may find yourself doing a hell of a lot more big water changes to keep the water parameters optimal for one.

i agree.. thats when the overfiltration comes in.. i am intending to use at least a 2000l/hr cannister...

anthrax wrote:i agree.. thats when the overfiltration comes in.. i am intending to use at least a 2000l/hr cannister...

I'm not agreeing with you on choice of tank size in terms of gallonage.

You're still going to end up doing more frequent big water changes to keep the nitrates at a satisfactory level. You'll have a big filter and it may provide great mechanical filtration and have a large bio-media section for bacteria colonies and the more waste produced, the bacteria are going to convert it into nitrates, so the water changes are still going to be required.

Either way a bigger tank for a full grown specimen is recommended and 125 is our recommended minimum to house a specimen for life.

Good luck.

Dear Hilly and other people,
Pardon me about the previous post i have tried posting 2 other times but have failed so i was just trying out posting. Anyway lets talk about my current situation..

I do know that 120g and above is recommended for a fahaka, however the maximum i can go is a 4 by 2 by 1.5 and i have also enquired about the sufficiency of a tank of that size and have gotten positive remarks.

To cope with the problem that you mentioned, i am prepared to do stuff like cleaning up after every feeding and doing water changes every week (both of which i am already doing for my other tank) and in addition i could also add a skimmer as well to remove dissolved waste.

Thus, i believe that all these with the aid of a good canister will result in good quality for my future fahaka..

Eddie