2fishy Posted August 6, 2006 Report Share Posted August 6, 2006 Im just wondering if anybody has the puffer fish tetraodon fluviatilis? and what tank mates did u have with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 6, 2006 Report Share Posted August 6, 2006 Well it depends on how the shop has labelled them but if it is a GSP (Green spotted puffer) they are very cool fish I currently have 2, they do have special requirements though and alot can be read on the website http://www.thepufferforum.com. Just to summarise: They are puffers and therefore require crunchy food to keep there teeth down ie snails, crabs, musells, shell on shrimp. The GSP's can grow to 6 inches and require at least a 50 gallon tank (200 litres) to keep the happy at this size. They start of as a brackish fish and slowly migrate to full marine so be prepared to go full marine ie skimmer and such. They are scaleless fish so you cant use normal medication for disease. As for tank mates due to the fact they end up full marine I would sugesst you keep the tank as a species only tank. If you have your heart set on tankmates right away you can choose one of the many brackish fish ie bumble gobies but be prepared to keep replacing them as the puffers will eat or at least try to eat many tankmates. They are also fin nippers so the larger the tank the better especially when adding new tank mates as this will lessen the stresses. Also make sure you tank is cycled BEFORE putting them in as you will basically kill them they have no tollerance for ammonia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 whoa thanks 4 that info. how do u know wen to make them marine fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 You go by there size as to when to go full marine, as the grow you change the sg of the tank ie less than 2 inches is low brackish, greater than 2 - 4 inches is mid-high brackish 4-6 inches is marine. If you are going to purchase them, make sure they are GSP and not figure 8 puffers as the latter stays in brackish, it is very easy to tell the difference. Also if you are going to purchase them make sure you find out what sg they are in now due to the fact that not all fish shops stick to the rules regarding these fish. Other than that enjoy you will have a fish with alot of personality and also amazing hunting ability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted August 7, 2006 Report Share Posted August 7, 2006 not to highjack this thread but is there a freshwater species of puffer? Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2006 Ok i will ring and ask the supplier (im getting them in for the pet shop i work at), i did ask the supplier but he was pretty vague about the sp of the water, just called it brackish. I will keep them in a species only tank more than likely. Thanks for your help and if u think of anything else i should know please let me know! I want to keep these fish as happy as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Yes there is a number of freshwater puffers however getting them in new zealand is a different story. If you want something that grows to be a moster then you are looking at something like a fahaka puffer which can grow to 15-18" or you can go with a brazillian and dwarf puffers which stay around the 1.5-3" mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 thanks for that Opius will have to keep an eye out for some of the smaller ones, I'll have a spare tank soon. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 ok i couldnt get hold of the supplier but i floated them ages etc and they seem happy enough, they make me LOL they are so damn cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 Congrats Try and get some pictures up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 the sg is 1.010. is this enough? what should the sg be? haha thanks hopefully they will continue to be ok and i will take photos of them and their tank within the next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 If that is what they are used to at the moment then leave it there, how big are they Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 well they seemed happy enough wen i left them tonight at work.....but im not sure wat they were in at the suppliers. they are maybe about 5-6cm. they remind me of little mini whales lol wat do u feed urs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 I feed mine Mussells, shrimp, scallops, squid, vege mixes, Krill, Mysis, and also rockpool critters such as crabs and snails as they need crunchy stuff to eat to keep there teeth down. Also at 5-6cm 1.010 should be fine, provided that they were either A) Previously in a tank that was at this SG B) Have been acclimated to this SG Over the next couple of days watch the belly colours and tail to give you an indication on there health constantly dark means there COULD be a problem. What size tank are they in and what sort of filtration are you using. Also the tank was cycled BEFORE putting the puffers in right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 yes the tank was cycled, its 84L (too small i know but i can upgrade later on) , the filter is a cannister which is also cycled. They were acclimated to 1.010 by me, they love frozen bloodworms, is this ok? should i pull some snails out of the other tanks for them to munch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 10, 2006 Report Share Posted August 10, 2006 Bloodworms are fine, but not as a stable diet. Try and get them use to snails you may have to break the shell so they figure out that there is actually food in there. Just watch how many snails you put in due to the fact that a dead snail can take your whole tank with it, especially at 84l. Just so you know you will need to look at a 50 gallon (200 litres) tank minimum for these guys I would suggest you get it sooner rather than later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2006 yeah we have 240L tanks i could use. i feed them frozen marine green mix mostly. i put a couple little snails in the tank dunno if they will eat them tho. where do u get the mussels and scollops from? are they frozen or fresh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Supermarket is the best place to get them as they are cheap. Frozen is fine, just inspect what you buy as sometimes the delivery agencys stuff up and accidently/purposefully refreeze the stock which is not good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 well wat about the crunchy stuff they need to eat for their teeth? where would i get that from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 raid your other tanks for apple snails :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 baby ones i meant :lol: not sure how a little puffer would do taking on a almighty adult apple snail- probably very badly i would say :lol: 2fishy- have you got any ramshorns in the shop tanks? perhaps they would be ok? the younger ones shells are quite soft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Apple snails are good though, 1 will feed both quite quickly. My puffers loved them when I used to feed them. You can also use shell on shrimp/prawns but obviously not a whole prawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted August 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 I ordered in some small ramshorns, but only a few were actually small enough and the rest they just sucked the snails out of the shells. was pretty yuck to watch! the snails bled!! but they loved the snails anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 :lol: sounds... exciting? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 I give my puffer rockpool shrimps - really easy to find once you know where a good spot is and you can keep them for ages in a bucket with an airline. They live for a good 20 mins in the tank once you put them in which is plenty of time for the puffer to eat them. You can find any size from 1cm to about 6cm... and they are FREE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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