this is the only advice worth taking. suck it up, and do the right thing.
take the fish back:wall:
long tent anem & porc. puff compatability
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take the fish back:wall:
well.. I do want to upgrade my tank. But how long do i have? Do i have 2 years? If i dont have that kind of time, I should really consider sending the little guy back. Wow i love this fish man. He is so relaxing to watch. What a little personality. He will turn and look strait at me and almost have a staring contest with me... very cool.
LOL. I completely know the feeling. I fell in love with my first puffer. He lived at least 11 years before I lost updates on his well being. I kept him by himself in my 29G tank (that I have setup now as a reef, not the same puffer in the picture at the top though) for over 5 years! The tank was just him, and a cow box fish for a couple of those years in the FOWLR tank. I don't really know if you could consider it FOWLR as there was only a couple pieces of rock and I doubt there was much live about it.
There are some people on here who would tell you that it impossible to keep a porcupine puffer in a 29G tank for 5 years but I have myself and many witnesses to that fact. He had so much personality.. play games, let you pet it, would eat goldfish out of my hand. Show me any other fish for an aquarium like that because I haven't found it. Oh man that brings back memories. I had to take a break from tanks though as they were multiplying and the cost was getting out of hand. I had a 55 with a Stars and Stipes puffer and wolf eel for about 4 years. That was a mean tank. I took them all back to my LFS when I took a break and kept tabs on the porcupine puffer for many years after.
When I got back into aquariums I used the 29G tank that the puffer lived in for all those years and decided to try reef. My neighbor when I moved saw my empty tanks and bought my 55 from me and started to get into Reef. He really didn't have the "drive" to tackle it so I, to this day, still do all the research for him. Since I was doing all the reading I decided to try my hat at reef with my 29G. Well, of course, early on, I loved the puffer so much I had to get another even though I knew better. Well.. a puffer may do ok in a 29G by himself.. but not so well in a reef and I had to take him back. Thats the puffer you see in that picture at the top.
So I completely understand the feeling and wanting to keep it but unfortunately if your going to go with a reef, that fish just can't be in with it. Sad, I know, but thats the reality.
Here is my first puffer at about 4 years old, living in the same tank. Really old pic, was actually a screen capture of an old video camera recording I took.
There are some people on here who would tell you that it impossible to keep a porcupine puffer in a 29G tank for 5 years but I have myself and many witnesses to that fact. He had so much personality.. play games, let you pet it, would eat goldfish out of my hand. Show me any other fish for an aquarium like that because I haven't found it. Oh man that brings back memories. I had to take a break from tanks though as they were multiplying and the cost was getting out of hand. I had a 55 with a Stars and Stipes puffer and wolf eel for about 4 years. That was a mean tank. I took them all back to my LFS when I took a break and kept tabs on the porcupine puffer for many years after.
When I got back into aquariums I used the 29G tank that the puffer lived in for all those years and decided to try reef. My neighbor when I moved saw my empty tanks and bought my 55 from me and started to get into Reef. He really didn't have the "drive" to tackle it so I, to this day, still do all the research for him. Since I was doing all the reading I decided to try my hat at reef with my 29G. Well, of course, early on, I loved the puffer so much I had to get another even though I knew better. Well.. a puffer may do ok in a 29G by himself.. but not so well in a reef and I had to take him back. Thats the puffer you see in that picture at the top.
So I completely understand the feeling and wanting to keep it but unfortunately if your going to go with a reef, that fish just can't be in with it. Sad, I know, but thats the reality.
Here is my first puffer at about 4 years old, living in the same tank. Really old pic, was actually a screen capture of an old video camera recording I took.
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wow ace u draw those with a crayon? j/k cool puffer, if i could afford a 100 gallon for just one fish. i would have one. lol
its not a cant thing dude. i dont understand your attitude towards good advice.
hell you could keep the thing in a five gallon tank.
but its life would suck, just the same in a 29gal.
the idea here in the hobby is to like provide the animals we choose to house with the best home possible.
not to be arrogant and spoiled and just buy something because YOU want it.
not to cram something in a tank that will make its life suck, just because you want it.
and also, id like to point out that you fed GOLDFISH to a sw puffer? man. you should like pick up a book sometime, or google is good too.
were supposed to help fellow reefers and their animals, not hinder them
I thought we were supposed to share our personal experiences to help others, not just go by what someone in a book says is truth. Oh well, I guess every LFS that has a puffer in a 10G tank for years is ok, but someone wants to put them in a tank 3x the size and take care if it and its not ok.. whatever.
Seriously, again, back when I bought the puffer in 1996, the only thing any LFS in the area, and I went to about a dozen, all stated to feed the puffer goldfish and krill. He wouldn't touch krill ever, but would eat about 6 goldfish a day for over 5 years. Did he ever get sick, show signs on any disease, look lethargic, not eat.. NO! And the proof to that is he lived at least 6 more years AFTER I got rid of him. I don't know what happened after 6 years as the person who bought him moved away last year and thats when I lost updates on him.
Seriously, again, back when I bought the puffer in 1996, the only thing any LFS in the area, and I went to about a dozen, all stated to feed the puffer goldfish and krill. He wouldn't touch krill ever, but would eat about 6 goldfish a day for over 5 years. Did he ever get sick, show signs on any disease, look lethargic, not eat.. NO! And the proof to that is he lived at least 6 more years AFTER I got rid of him. I don't know what happened after 6 years as the person who bought him moved away last year and thats when I lost updates on him.
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Well, all i have to do is really sit down and weigh out the pro's and cons. And really whats best for the puffer's well being. I really feel i will upgrade in a few years and give him the space he needs. I need a few nights to sleep on this.
When I bought him he was very tiny, maybe 2". Just a baby. When I got rid of him he was about 7". He didn't grow very much for the time I had him, and I am sure that was due to the bad diet he was given at the time. I now know goldfish are not the food to give puffers, but like I said, 12 years ago, that and krill were all anyone would say to feed them in an aquarium.
When I got my second puffer he was about 4" but in 3 months grew to about 6" so I could definately tell the diet did make a big difference. BUT, the second puffer I had was nothing like the first. Not nearly as friendly and definately didn't seem nearly as happy as my first puffer. Because it was making us both unhappy, him stuck in the reef tank, and me losing corals and livestock to the puffer, I had no choice but to do the right thing and take him back.
That still doesn't change the fact that the first puffer always seemed "happy" in the first tank, would always play and seemed to LOVE attention. I put him in my 55G once I set it up and he hated it for some reason. I have no idea why but he would just sit on a rock and not move much. As soon as I put him back in the 29G tank he would be happy again. Strange sounding I know, doesn't make sense, but that was my personal experience. Anytime I would enter the room he was at the glass wagging his tail wanting to play.. chase my finger, eat out of my hand, let me pet him, and not once did he try and bite me (something that happens everytime I stick my hand in my current tank by my Maroon Clown).
Just goes to show the difference that 2 identical types of fish can have completely different personalities. I have had my fill of puffers for now. I still think they are the coolest fish ever, but I wouldn't buy one again unless I had at least a 240G+ tank. I did learn my lesson, actually, probably didn't because I did have success, but I do know the reality that they do really require a large tank and I wont be sticking one in a small tank again, nor would I feed them goldfish ever again.
When I got my second puffer he was about 4" but in 3 months grew to about 6" so I could definately tell the diet did make a big difference. BUT, the second puffer I had was nothing like the first. Not nearly as friendly and definately didn't seem nearly as happy as my first puffer. Because it was making us both unhappy, him stuck in the reef tank, and me losing corals and livestock to the puffer, I had no choice but to do the right thing and take him back.
That still doesn't change the fact that the first puffer always seemed "happy" in the first tank, would always play and seemed to LOVE attention. I put him in my 55G once I set it up and he hated it for some reason. I have no idea why but he would just sit on a rock and not move much. As soon as I put him back in the 29G tank he would be happy again. Strange sounding I know, doesn't make sense, but that was my personal experience. Anytime I would enter the room he was at the glass wagging his tail wanting to play.. chase my finger, eat out of my hand, let me pet him, and not once did he try and bite me (something that happens everytime I stick my hand in my current tank by my Maroon Clown).
Just goes to show the difference that 2 identical types of fish can have completely different personalities. I have had my fill of puffers for now. I still think they are the coolest fish ever, but I wouldn't buy one again unless I had at least a 240G+ tank. I did learn my lesson, actually, probably didn't because I did have success, but I do know the reality that they do really require a large tank and I wont be sticking one in a small tank again, nor would I feed them goldfish ever again.
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I'd certainly not recommend keeping a porcupine puffer in a 29g tank for it's adult life. I'd think it would stunt it's growth and shorten it's life.
