View Full Version : freshwater puffers
dave76
08-07-2003, 9:45 AM
I have an empty 55gal I have an angel that I was going to transfer into, I was going to get him/her some company to try and get a breeding pair (possibly.) If they dont breed I dont care really. I have been thinking of some tank mates. I was thinking of true freshwater puffers. Can anyone think of any puffers that will be compatable with angels for the span of thier life in a 55 gallon? My water parameters are pH 7.8 gh 150ppm kh 300ppm.
Thanks for any responses.
Dangerdoll
08-07-2003, 10:35 AM
I used to keep dwarves (3) in with my 2 angels and they seemed to get along fine. My guess is because there were plenty of plants to break up the tank space up. This is very controversal though because of the puffer's reputation and tendencies to fin-nip, though this never occurred in my tank per se. It's an individual trait per puffer, the angels seem to be a nice target for them because of the full fins they have. I never had/tried any other puffer with them so can't really advise on that other to lean towards the "don't do it" theory. If you can watch carefully and have a place to put the dwarves in case of a nip-scenerio, you can test with the dwarves..... they did fine in my 55.
OrionGirl
08-07-2003, 11:27 AM
Agree on the dwarves-some are buggers, others never seem to notice tankmates.
Of the other freshwater puffers, the brazilian puffer (colomesus asellus) is reported as being very peaceful, though it will get to be about 6 inches long and should live for 8+ years. I wouldn't trust a puffer completely--they can change their mind overnight and turn to serious hazards to other fish.
Also, you'll need to increase your maintenance--puffers are messy fish, and contribute much more to a bio-load than an angel.
dave76
08-07-2003, 11:31 AM
tank maintence is no big deal for me, I keep cichlids as well so I am familar with messy eaters:D . any other suggestions for fresh water puffers other than the dwarfs. I have read that figure 8 are brackish on some sites others say they are FW. cany anyone confirm this? a species tank is not out of the question. I can always take the angel back.
OrionGirl
08-07-2003, 11:33 AM
Many puffers end up being thrown into fresh water when they would prefer brackish, or vice versa. F-8's, IMO, are brackish. Check out Ian's site: http://www.pufferfish.co.uk/ for more info, and species list.
i have two 1 inch colomesus asellus in a tank with some cories. they both like to nip fins, to the extent i had to give away two bronze cories that seemed to be the focus of their aggression.
they are currently in a 15 imperial gallon (18 us) tank, and with more room would not be too bad with the remaining cories. they don't chase them for example, just take a quick nip when the opportunity arises! they are moving to a larger tank as soon as i move house (around a month).
from what i can find out 4 inches is more likely for these fish (but i'm only going on what i read on the net). also i'm not sure what they'd be like with fish that swim as angels do - i've only seen them with cories. they always seem to get the cories on the ground.
all in all great little fish and full of character.
oh, and you'll need some snails...
HTH
dave76
08-07-2003, 12:07 PM
Can you tell me something? what does the HTH stand for? The only thing I can think of is in the states HTH makes pool conditions chemicals? Do you work for them or something. Several people who post on this forum have that. I saw some dwarfs and figure 8's at a LFS in my area that is the reason I am asking. I liked what the 8's looked like and was hoping I could get a couple. If you have pics of yours I would be interested to see them. Thanks.
Rocketman
08-07-2003, 12:09 PM
Stay away from Red-Eye Puffers...
We have one at the Pet Store I work at. When the fish order came in last friday, I wasn't there so someone just put the bags in different tanks. When I got there, I put them all where they shouldv'e been. However, someone had put a bag of Algae Eaters, (I think they were gold Algae Eaters,) into the Red-Eye tank. This was just the same plastic bag you buy fish in....
THe Red-Eye Puffer had chewed upon the bag, released the 20 Algae Eaters, and eaten about 5 of them before anyone knew what happened. The week before that, someone had introduced some Sailfin Sharks to the same tank. The Red-Eye bit off the entire last half of the shark. Clean.
Dangerdoll
08-07-2003, 12:31 PM
Originally posted by dave76
Can you tell me something? what does the HTH stand for?
nah, nothing too complicated..... HTH = Hope That Helps
sorry, haven't got pics of mine as the camera got packed into storage before moving house.
i used to have 2 f8ps but they died. when i had them i found out as much as i could and i agree with OrionGirl, they are brackish. they will survive for a while in fresh water but need brackish as they get older. mine died as they were forced through a cycle in my ignorance :(
also they are considered not as friendly as colomesus asellus - but again it varies hugely with the individual fish. in a similar way to Rocketman's story i left a net with some live brine shrimp in it hanging over the water of my tank and went to do something. came back a couple of mintutes later and found two fat puffers and an extra few holes in my net. the point being, if you happen to get nippers, they can do a lot of damage with their cute little beaks.
if you like the look of f8s then you would probably like colomesus. they are a bit smaller, more active (need a complex tank to keep them happy) and are true freshwater.
do a google image search and there are a few pictures (although not very good ones - i prefer the look of mine to any of them).
i won't put HTH this time. oops :)
wanda_crab
08-07-2003, 1:06 PM
I have been wanting to get puffers for some time. Last weekend I finally broke down and bought another tank (29G) and set it up with sand substrate. I'm doing the fishless cycling thing (as I have done with my other two tanks) and I can't wait to be able to put some puffers in it.
As others have recommended here, I plan to get South American Puffers (Colomesus Asellus) as everything I have read indicates they are the least agressive puffer. I plan to keep one or two with my common pleco (who needs to move to a larger tank before too long anyway). Hopefully this will mitigate the messiness of the puffers at least a little (although pleco's produce enough waste all on their own!). One of my other tanks is overrun with snails, so I plan to pick them out and give them to the puffers.
SBA - you mentioned they need a complex tank. I planned to put in some synthetic corals. Do you have any other suggestions for what to put in to keep their brains happy?
I found an online store that sells these puffers (look for Brazilian Freshwater Puffers which is often how they are referred to):
http://www.*****************/pages/price_list_new_arrivals.htm
wanda_crab
perhaps 'complex' was the wrong word, but they are happier with not too many clear lines of vision through the tank (from their perspective).
as these are FW you can do that however you want really. i've got rocks, plants (crypts, java fern, anachris and salvinia natans) and coconut shell caves, but whatever does it for you!
they love looking in the plants for snails (or whatever).
also the extra cover is good for any tankmates!
dave76
08-07-2003, 2:22 PM
heck now that I know i just might start using it ;).
how big do your colomesus asellus get? I saw a profile for them on Ian's page. About 6"? it says 15 cm and I am metric/standard conversion stupid. I like the coloration of the colomesus as well, its just that not many lfs in the area carry freshwater puffers, and these guys dont stock the same thing a lot of times.
dave76
not really sure about the size. you read 6" in one place and less in another - i will be suprised if mine reach 6", but can't say for sure. mine are about an inch. when i got them they were just over 1/2 inch. i've had them for about 10 weeks.
i've only seen them once at the LFS i got them from in the last 6 months, but maybe the link provided by wanda_crab could help there?
dave76
08-07-2003, 3:59 PM
I think I will look around here locally, there are plenty of LFS around here I just would have to drive to get there. That places DOA policy sucks.
I personally have never seen a C. asellus more than just barely over 3" standard, so maybe ~3 1/2" total, nor do I know of anyone else who has either. Perhaps we are all stunting them, but I am a bit dubious.
The one thing with these fish is to keep the diet crunchy - snails, small bivalves, small shrimp with shells. These are the worst for tooth overgrowth.
Shop for color - there are huge variations in these fish, some are drab and never color up, some look like the shot at Ian's site and are showy.
I'd never put them with Angels myself, but I am very conservative with pufers. You might say I've learned the hard way.
http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/sapuffer.shtml
RTR - i was trying to find your article earlier - for some reason i can never find things at tom's place :confused:
wanda_crab
08-07-2003, 6:54 PM
That is by far the best article I have read on South American Puffers. I've done many, many searches on the web and never hit that one. Thanks! :)
SBA - the catlist of the articles is several issues behind, my apologies.
And wanda, thanks. I'm a bit of a puffer nut.
cdawson
08-08-2003, 12:50 AM
Originally posted by Rocketman
Stay away from Red-Eye Puffers...
We have one at the Pet Store I work at. When the fish order came in last friday, I wasn't there so someone just put the bags in different tanks. When I got there, I put them all where they shouldv'e been. However, someone had put a bag of Algae Eaters, (I think they were gold Algae Eaters,) into the Red-Eye tank. This was just the same plastic bag you buy fish in....
THe Red-Eye Puffer had chewed upon the bag, released the 20 Algae Eaters, and eaten about 5 of them before anyone knew what happened. The week before that, someone had introduced some Sailfin Sharks to the same tank. The Red-Eye bit off the entire last half of the shark. Clean.
Whoa dude! That right there is reason enough
check this out
http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=photo&action=display&num=1060099201
I was thinking about getting some, now I'm discouraged. I heard they were bad, but that's harsh.
RTR - that's ok, i'm glad its not just me! i've bookmarked it now!
wanda / dave - if you haven't already, follow the other two links on RTR's article.