puffer fish

has anyone ever kept freswater puffer fish my son wants to get a tank for these and just wondering does anyone no anything about these which ones to keep etc

avril keeps one,and 2poc as ar as i know..

i think you can only one per tank.

Nice one Dave, this is my fahaka puffer



@pauladair1994
Fahaka puffers are big brutes, get 18 inches long and bite anything that moves so not a great choice for a first puffer.

What size tank do you have? Puffers are sensitive critters (especially sensitive as they have no scales) so important to get the right fit.

Cheers,
Patrick

My sons tank is 2 by 2ft wat are the water perimeters your puffer is lovely what size was hevwhen u got him how old is he and are they hard to get also was he expensive

super pic patrick,i heard all about this bad boy..

stunning

Cheers Dave, puffers are a great fish. Its the one fish that I could never sell, you really do form a relationship with them like you would a dog or a cat.

2 by 2 is a niced size tank for smaller puffers.
My puffer is African and requires hard water, high PH. Typically they can adapt well to different water chemistry but nitrates can wipe them out.
I have mine about 3 years, she's about 13 or 14 inches I'd say. You can only keep one Fahaka in a tank as it will kill anything else, even its own kind (there are exceptions, some people keep them with other fish with mixed success). Price-wise I think fahaka puffers go for around 40 Euro for small specimens.

For a 2 foot tank I'd recommend looking for some C. Irrubesco puffers (red tail, red eye puffers). They are little stunners, can be kept in groups & arent insanely aggressive. They stay small and you should be able to pick them up for less than a tenner. C. Lorteti are a very similar species so gotta be careful which you get as Irrubesco are calmer and nicer fish. (Both sometimes sold just as 'red eye puffers')

Cheers,
Patrick

I had a pig face puffer for a while ,it was about 4 inches in length .They dont do much ,just lie in wait for anything they can eat .If they cant swallow it whole they bite chuncks of just .Stay clear unless you want to keep one fish in your tank .I think the hairy puffer is something similar

Thats a great pic Patrick!
Some very good advice too; fair play

@bigcatman, the congo puffer doesn't do a whole lot alright.. The red morph is beautiful though.

Congos are lurkers, Irrubesco are far more active and engaging which is why I'd strongly recommend them.

@andrewo glad you like her

Did anyone ever see the one that grov had when they where on the beersbridge road it was massive and had teeth like a baby, from what I remember it cost them a fortune to feed as it ate tiger prawns, but you'll be okay on that one Paul

Sounds like a mbu puffer Kelly.
Mbu are the largest freshwater puffers, followed by the fahaka.

Gotta feed all puffers hard shelled food - e.g. snails, mussels as a significant part of their diet to keep their teeth worn down.

Re: prawns, my fish eat about 15 quids worth of prawns a week, they're killing me, I don't eat as well as them...

Honestly don't know what it was I just remember the teeth on it, someone else will know with a bit of luck someone might have a pic of it

I remember it kelly think it was an mbu it was mean looking i couldnt catch eniugh prawns to feed that beast

hi the puffer they had was called rover he was a mbu i have a mbu puffer he eats cockles in shells they are fresh water puffers but they grow very big the one i have is in with clown loaches and a snowball pleco hes more like a dog to be honest his eyes follow you class fish will post some pics

cichlidlover7 wrote:hi the puffer they had was called rover he was a mbu i have a mbu puffer he eats cockles in shells they are fresh water puffers but they grow very big the one i have is in with clown loaches and a snowball pleco hes more like a dog to be honest his eyes follow you class fish will post some pics

Looking forward to seeing it, love mbu puffers. Pity they get so huge, 7000 litres is the recomended tank size for an adult

R the mbu puffers hard to get

pauladair1994 wrote:R the mbu puffers hard to get

Grosvernor has one at the minute for sale, £90. A friend of mine got the other one- she's a member on here cichlidlover7 pm her and she could give you a bit of info.

Sorry she has already posted above! Lol

Kelly wrote:Did anyone ever see the one that grov had when they where on the beersbridge road it was massive and had teeth like a baby, from what I remember it cost them a fortune to feed as it ate tiger prawns, but you'll be okay on that one Paul

Yes Kelly i remember that tank and puffer very well, it was up beside the counter. I wonder who has that tank now as it was a biggy, make a good malawi tank :)

That is one nice puffer 2poc, and a good bit of advice aswell, thanks for sharing

cichlidlover7 wrote:hi the puffer they had was called rover he was a mbu i have a mbu puffer he eats cockles in shells they are fresh water puffers but they grow very big the one i have is in with clown loaches and a snowball pleco hes more like a dog to be honest his eyes follow you class fish will post some pics

So whats a mbu

minky wrote:

Kelly wrote:Did anyone ever see the one that grov had when they where on the beersbridge road it was massive and had teeth like a baby, from what I remember it cost them a fortune to feed as it ate tiger prawns, but you'll be okay on that one Paul

Yes Kelly i remember that tank and puffer very well, it was up beside the counter. I wonder who has that tank now as it was a biggy, make a good malawi tank :)

That is one nice puffer 2poc, and a good bit of advice aswell, thanks for sharing

They lost the fish when they moved so one of the staff said

Cheers jordy

Kelly wrote:

minky wrote:

Kelly wrote:Did anyone ever see the one that grov had when they where on the beersbridge road it was massive and had teeth like a baby, from what I remember it cost them a fortune to feed as it ate tiger prawns, but you'll be okay on that one Paul

Yes Kelly i remember that tank and puffer very well, it was up beside the counter. I wonder who has that tank now as it was a biggy, make a good malawi tank :)

That is one nice puffer 2poc, and a good bit of advice aswell, thanks for sharing

They lost the fish when they moved so one of the staff said

Thats a pity! was a beauty. Do them puffers actually puff up. Ive never seen one in real life puffing up before.

mine hasnt puffed up but i think thanks good as grosvenors told me they puff up when unhappy or feel threatened so i am happy enough he is now eating 5 cockles a day i miss out feeding him every 3rd day that was there advise about feeding he has also started to eat alage wafers
he is in 300l tank at the minute cause hes only 5 " but i will move him on as he grows i want him to grow as big as possible x