Puffer Tanks

[TonyO]

So, now I want a puffer, too.

I want one for it's own tank (something in the 20-30 gallon range), and I've been checking out the species.

I'm kind of hoping to see or hear about some of the tanks of the folks here, for inspiration, you know.

Please post!

[imagirlgeek]

I'm a puffer junkie, so I've got a few...

Auriglobus modestus (bronze puffer, avocado puffer)
I keep him alone in a 29gallon. I had 2 together while they were small, but as they got bigger the aggression increased and I had to split them up.



Carinotetraodon travancoricus (Pea Puffer)
Currently lives in the same tank with the Peruvian Puffers



Colomesus asellus (Peruvian Puffer, South American Puffer)
This one does well in groups, but you'll have to clip their teeth every 6 months or so.



================================================== ====================
:!: These puffers are too big for a 20g - 30g, but posting them anyway :!:

Tetraodon lineatus - Fahaka Puffers (in different tanks because they would absolutely kill each other)

Homer....


Beeker...


Tetraodon Mbu

[cichlid1409]

awesome

[TonyO]

No kidding. Impressive collection!

[black_knight]

Girl geek
Awesome collection! Esp. like your bronze puffer (they liken those to pirahna in Asia). Have you ever kept fugus? As with many puffers it's like the movie Gremlins. Everything starts off cute, then we feed them and ...every fish for themselves. Can I say AWSOME collection again!

Tony,
The pea puffers are awsome. Lots of personality. I had some (I kept one- my wifes pet- he has a 0.9 gallon tank to himself for the last 8months- eats freeze dried bloodworms, snails, mysis shrimp, freeze dried and live brine shrimp, and occ. guppy fry). They will breed in a nicely planted tank with enough cover. SAP (south american puffers) are cool too. They do well in groups. Will feed from your hand, just make sure you don't feed them your hand (using feeding tongs works). They are a purely freshwater species. A group in a 30 gallon is pretty cool. Girlgeek is right about the tooth growth, even if you feed them a steady diet of snails. Which is why I haven't keep them in years. Rarely see them in shops. Man, that's a nice group of SAP in that pic.

[imagirlgeek]

Girl geek
Awesome collection! Esp. like your bronze puffer (they liken those to pirahna in Asia). Have you ever kept fugus? As with many puffers it's like the movie Gremlins. Everything starts off cute, then we feed them and ...every fish for themselves. Can I say AWSOME collection again!

Thanks! Puffers are just so personable...I can see myself eventually keeping nothing but puffers. Feeding would get pretty expensive though. I've never kept Fugus, but they are beautiful and I just might have to give that a try one day. The only puffer we've kept (and I use that term loosely) that isn't pictured here would be GSPs when we first got started in the fish hobby. We just couldn't keep them alive so we went off puffers for a while. I'm so glad that we decided to give it another shot. I can't imaging not having these guys!

[black_knight]

Thanks! Puffers are just so personable...I can see myself eventually keeping nothing but puffers. Feeding would get pretty expensive though. I've never kept Fugus, but they are beautiful and I just might have to give that a try one day. The only puffer we've kept (and I use that term loosely) that isn't pictured here would be GSPs when we first got started in the fish hobby. We just couldn't keep them alive so we went off puffers for a while. I'm so glad that we decided to give it another shot. I can't imaging not having these guys!

GSP are alittle tricky. Extreme Pets has a nice group of semi adults (4 inches), very nice.
I raised a group of about 15 individuals ( 1 inch) in a 40 breeder (brackish- use good marine salt). Fed them chopped bait shrimp, dried crickets, krill, and dried meal worms. I avoided feeder fish (disease). I fed only once a day. I lost 3 with in the first few months. I read that these guys need almost full saltwater by the time they reach adulthood. I kept raising the SPG every couple of months. After over 1 year I was keeping them in at around 1.016 (sometimes more when I got lazy to top off ). At near 2 years they where about 4inches- 6inches in a 120 gallon (species only). They form a pecking order. Just watch your fingers (feed with tongs!). They've drawn blood! They stay "cute" (as a girl I was dating put it) as adults. I killed a batch of about 50 before this when I put some small ones in a tank of about 6 dog face puffers (not a pretty picture). I killed another batch by trying to feed them cichlid pellets, feeder fish, and raw chicken as a diet. I tried keeping 2 together (then there was one blind one). I gave up my 12 fat GSPs to try Fugus.

Fugus are very cool predators. They burry 2/3rds of their bodies and as a shrimp or fish goes by snap. They are very colorful with the neon bull's eye on their flanks. I had several of these as juvies. They also need that transition to marine enviroment. They grown fast, but mine perfered live prey (had to keep a colony of gambusia- they are very disease tolerant- and you can raise them outside without much filtration) such as fish, snails, and live crickets. They did eat bait shrimp. As adults, they are UGLY. They are also mean, and they jump at you and eventually kill each other. I was left with one . But it is neat seeing them grow, as they are one of the most beautiful puffers that live in brackish/marine conditions. IMO the prettiest is the "figure 8" tied with lineolated's.

Seeing your puffers makes me jealous. I never have enough space time or tanks. I've never kept the bronze puffers. Are they picky? Your's looks pretty big. How big is it?