Hey all, so I recently set up a 55 gallon and wanted to stock it. I wanted it to be complete freshwater and was wondering if their are any full freshwater puffers out there bigger than pea puffers. I used to own a 20 gallon with them and fell in love with puffers, but I am afraid they will be too small for this new aquarium. I just want to know what options I have reguarding them. Thanks!
Puffers
- Thread starter Frobins
- Start date
I had pea puffers in a 90, so I'm not sure why you don't think they would work in a 55...but look at Amazon/South American puffers, Colomesus asellus. They are fully FW, and tend to be better behaved in a community setup than pea puffers. They get to about 4 inches and like to be in a group. They do require LOTS more crunchy foods to keep their beaks from overgrowing, and are more sensitive to meds, but great fish.
There are also many large puffers, like mbu, fahaka, red eyes, and targets, that aren't really good in a community setup (or even as a pair, though the red eyes are usually ok) but they are fully freshwater.
There are also many large puffers, like mbu, fahaka, red eyes, and targets, that aren't really good in a community setup (or even as a pair, though the red eyes are usually ok) but they are fully freshwater.
Hey, so if I wanted to go with south American puffers, what kind of fish would fit well in the tank? And how many could i get? And it seems like most of the other puffers get WAY too big for a 55 gallon.
I would be planting it, but I did some very light reading on fahaka puffers and it says you need like a 125 gallon, is that correct?
I dont plan on getting a bigger tank, so if I decided to go with the south american puffers, what options would I have? How many in a species only, or what kind of community tank?Within a few years, yes. Most that you see in the stores are 3-4 inches, and will hit a foot within 18 months, then growth slows down. I didn't say it would be fine in a 55 forever.
I had 6 in a 40 and they were fine. Keep them with fish that are similar in size, and nothing too aggressive. Some of the larger, sleek tetras or pencils, some medium sized cories, and a pair of apistogramma would likely work well in a planted tank.
Just 2 questions, I have never actually kept tetras so do you have any recommendations, also do you think kuhli loaches would work? I have always wanted them, but I am worried the puffers might be too aggresive for them.
I can't recall if I had kuhli's in with mine or not. The puffers ignored other fish completely, though, so don't think they'd bother. Swap them for the cories, though, since both are bottom dwellers. I'm a fan of pencils more than tetras, so look at hockeystick pencils. Neat fish, get to be in the 2-3 range, happy in planted setups.
