We've been re-arrangeing some tanks.. and have actually weeded out most of our community fish down to a couple of solitary fish. always been interested in puffers but never wanted to deal with Brackish/Saltwater. At work we've had a lil' terror of an avacado puffer who's been there for quite awhile, and we just got in a Fahaka.. I'm seriousely debating picking up either or of these guys. Which one would you pick? any why? I know enough about both species I think to be capable of careing for either. But what are some real pros and cons of each? I find them equally intreagueing as fish. btw the Fahaka is approx 2" if that, and the Avacado is approx 3-4".
Fahaka or Avacado?
- Thread starter MonsterMinis
- Start date
For a community tank or a tank with non-puffer fish, I would not choose either of these puffers, both have high aggression levels towards other fish (especially new additions)
As long as no other fish are with them...If you want the Fahaka you will need a tank around 150 gallons, for the avocado 20 gallons should suffice.
Here are their species profiles
http://www.**************.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/A_Modestus/
http://www.**************.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Lineatus/
As long as no other fish are with them...If you want the Fahaka you will need a tank around 150 gallons, for the avocado 20 gallons should suffice.
Here are their species profiles
http://www.**************.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/A_Modestus/
http://www.**************.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Lineatus/
Every puffer has his own personality. The fahaka may take out all the fish in a tank if you throw him in a community tank. I have 2 avocados with my pair of mbus and all 4 get along just fine. When I had my avocados in the same tank as a few figure 8s, the avocados would nip at the 8's fins. They don't do it to my mbu...thank god!
mbpuffer;4869154; said:
None of those puffers should be housed together, ever.
Avocados are too small to be with MBUs, even if the MBUs are housed properly which I am sure they are not.
And Fig 8 are brackish water, not FW as the avocados are.
Your puffers are juveniles and have not fully matured into their nature aggressive selves, give them time.
I agree with PC. mbpuffer's tank is an accident waiting to happen. I wouldn't trust modestus with any fish.
If you are truly prepared for it (and I believe most people are not) I would highly recommend the fahaka. Keeping in mind that it will not tolerate tank mates once it reaches maturity, you're going to have a much higher food bill than your average fish (they need snails, clams, mussels, market shrimp, ghost shrimp, night crawlers), and they really need a tank with a minimum of a 5 x 3 footprint eventually. These fish forage naturally covering immense amounts of territory. They are extremely intelligent and benefit from a high degree of structure in the tank, changed often to keep their interest. I would also recommend sand as a substrate, particularly while the fish is younger. My fahaka loves blowing the sand around and tucking himself in partially buried.
With all of that said, they're incredible pets. They are extremely interactive and entertaining to watch. They have faces similar to small children. Mine comes to greet me whenever I walk by his tank wagging his tail like a dog giddily anticipating a snail or shrimp. They move around like little hovercrafts, I could literally (and sometimes do) watch mine for hours. Well, that's my two cents.
With all of that said, they're incredible pets. They are extremely interactive and entertaining to watch. They have faces similar to small children. Mine comes to greet me whenever I walk by his tank wagging his tail like a dog giddily anticipating a snail or shrimp. They move around like little hovercrafts, I could literally (and sometimes do) watch mine for hours. Well, that's my two cents.
I think I miss typed... as I have no problems dedicating a tank to either fish.. But atm I don't want to get them both. I've had alot of puffers at work but never taken one home. and I have no intention of mixing puffers.. I've heard/seen to many horror stories. If i decide to go with the Fahaka How long would he work in a 75 gal? approx 1 year? or less?
I'm not worried about the feed bill ( I keep fire eels that have specialized diets that eat very similar foods) But I am abit worried about the tank size.. as there seems to be alot of conflicting info reguarding it. I have no issues with a 120 in the next year.. but much larger then that and I may run into some issues realistically.
I think this is where I'm stumped with these 2 fish. I know I can house the Avacado no problem for life. I have a few 20's and an extra 55 laying around. But I really like the larger species of fish in general. I'de liek a Mbu eventually but atm I know I can't house one yet.
I think this is where I'm stumped with these 2 fish. I know I can house the Avacado no problem for life. I have a few 20's and an extra 55 laying around. But I really like the larger species of fish in general. I'de liek a Mbu eventually but atm I know I can't house one yet.
MonsterMinis;4869509; said:
If properly fed and kept in water with good parameters, a fahaka should grow 1" per month while increasing in girth and muscularity until it reaches 12"-14". In my opinion a tank with an 18" width would only be suitable for a specimen 7" or less which would give you about 5 months starting with a 2" fish.
In addition, you really can't overstress water quality and filtration with these fish. They are messy eaters and very sensitive to ammonia. Its also important to physically remove snail and clam shells quickly as they can scratch their bellies on them.