How's mbu with others ?

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Mbu are all wild caught "master of puffers " don't know what the difference would make if they were bred in captivity lol

Perhaps your tanks are not large enough . Your not understanding. My mbu will not be crammed into a small box with rays that are always hiding under sand. And that other thread I know those people also its the only time I've heard of this happening. I don't keep sand in my tanks so its not like theirs two eyes sticking up. He's going to see a much larger animal than him below and I doubt a big ray would just sit there and let a puffer bite at its eye . I'd like some responses from people who aren't cramming a massive fish into a small aquarium and actually hear the damage the mbu has actually caused to tank mates in their own homes and the conditions in which the individual mbu is in.
Have your mbu ever attacked or bitten other fish ? You must be mistaken about rays also. lots are very active and rarely are laying still .


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calgaryflames said:
..Have your mbu ever attacked or bitten other fish ?
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I have 3/4's of a Syndontus eupterus swimming around somewhere in my tank. Not just the tail, the whole base too. Never would've thought a fish could survive having a quarter of its body bitten off but he looks fine on the rare occasions I see him.
 
It all comes down to the personality of the individual MBU I went thru 2 that were mean and 1 I did notice that it was always trying to bite the white spots of my black rays! and nip at my Arowana's fins. But the current MBU I have now leaves everything alone!!! He's fantastic and is around 15" and been with me since he was WC around 7" from Oliver, so it's really trial and error but.... it's a very risky trial and error. Fortunately I was lucky enough to observe this behaviour before it became serious , so it's all up to the risk your willing to take. They are great fish ! He has so much personality!!! He just loves to people watch! I think he enjoys watching me more than I enjoy watching Him ha ha ,
 
Jenerik said:
I have 3/4's of a Syndontus eupterus swimming around somewhere in my tank. Not just the tail, the whole base too. Never would've thought a fish could survive having a quarter of its body bitten off but he looks fine on the rare occasions I see him.
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Well I'd compare a ray to a catfish or Pleco maybe a bit more active. But not a free swimming fish. That's scared me


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Here's the deal: You like your rays, right? I assume you like your Mbu as well, right? I also assume that you have some money and can afford big tanks, because Mbu are not cheap and rays, I suspect, are even more expensive still.

Why would you even take such a risk when you could keep the rays with fish you 100% know will not give them any problems and likewise, show off your Mbu (which will be 10X more inpressive than a stingray when it gets to be an adult...) with other fish that you know will never cause any issues? This is the part of "monster fish keeping" I will neverr understand: The desire to jam a bunch of large fish which may or may not get along, all into one aqaurium, and say, "Look at my awesome setup". I think it would be great to have a ray and have always wanted one (they are forbidden here in TX...) but if I could have one, I would set up a tank for rays, just like I have a tank for my Mbu. And I would make it f-ing perfect, just like the tank for my Mbu is...

DecemberMbu.jpg

checkingoutthehand.jpg


... Why would I risk spoiling what I have just to "see what might happen"? But, maybe my opinion is in the minority and most of the people who keep Mbu are like I see at the local fish store, where it is in some bare-bottom 240 with a giant pleco, some oscars, and an arowana or two. No idea, I would just ask people to realize that it is a real opportunity to have a very special fish (rays as well as Mbu...) and don't squander that opprtunity because you are bored or whatever. Everyone has heard what I have to say, I'm out of this discussion. TS, good luck to you and I wish all your fish long, healthy lives.
 
Very nice mbu !!

Your opinion is valued. I've got alot of space for him. Lots of different large tanks he could go into.

And yes keeping him on a bare bottom tank would not be all that impressive. He's just a lil guy about 6" right now in my 300gallon system my plan was to eventually move him into my 1100 gallon with the big rays?


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calgaryflames said:
Mbu are all wild caught "master of puffers " don't know what the difference would make if they were bred in captivity lol

Perhaps your tanks are not large enough . Your not understanding. My mbu will not be crammed into a small box with rays that are always hiding under sand. And that other thread I know those people also its the only time I've heard of this happening. I don't keep sand in my tanks so its not like theirs two eyes sticking up. He's going to see a much larger animal than him below and I doubt a big ray would just sit there and let a puffer bite at its eye . I'd like some responses from people who aren't cramming a massive fish into a small aquarium and actually hear the damage the mbu has actually caused to tank mates in their own homes and the conditions in which the individual mbu is in.
Have your mbu ever attacked or bitten other fish ? You must be mistaken about rays also. lots are very active and rarely are laying still .


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Click to expand...

Our mbu is not in a small box and don't understand why you make such a connection ? Please provide your thought pattern... I suggest appropriate research... Obvious information in print/internet or otherwise is largely anecdotal. I would track down the references in Aqualog "The puffers" by Dr Klaus Ebert if you want too avoid the "best of three argument", that is the definitive hobbiest guide, and suggest bigger fish can co-exist but the temperament of the individual puffer individual is more important than the "general approach" (exemplified by slednex11 post), also you need to think about the bioload and rapid changes in the need to overcome the effects of "messy eaters" and the effect on dissolved oxygen and sudden potential changes in water quality over the long term, not just now. Having said this, you also need to go further and look into the academic literature and the citations to make sense of that, as they were discovered and written about from 1899, so common sense suggests until you have assessed these potential issues before you mix the two for the long term. Mbu's live beyond 15yrs and are difficult to "flip" between tanks when they are large without major stress, I don't know much about rays, but in my mind they need wide tanks and very very good water quality. With Puffers, we have acquired quite a lot substantiated information.
 
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