Fahaka -- Questions

[jakezori]

So, I am 80% sure I'm going to get a fahaka puffer for my 90 gallon (starting at 2-3" and growing until 10"-1', then moving into a 120-180 gallon).


Questions I have:

1. What diet should he have starting at that size and how should the diet change? I've heard something gives them lockjaw if you feed them too much of it. I'd like a well balanced super puffer food formula lol

2. What sand should I get for him and how thick should it be at the bottom of the tank? (also just out of curiosity... does it really have to be sand?) ... Also, I despise play sand so def not going with that. Whats that sand that looks glassy, smooth, and lighter?

3. How fast do they grow? In 1 year, what should I expect?

4. How much filtration should I have? How often should I skim the bottom of the tank with a hose to suck up debris?

 

[PufferFreak88]

Fahaka grow pretty fast, I used to owned a couple of them in the past and they sure are pretty interesting fish.

Advice

1. DON"T keep any type of fish in the same tank with the Fahaka Puffer. You must keep one a Fahaka puffer alone.

2. they require really good filtration system, i use rena xp3 and aqua clear 500 for my tank because fahaka can be a very messy eater.

3. As for diet, they will accept meaty meal such as frozen krills, market shrimps with head chopped off, cockles with shell, clams with shell.

4. they are very sensitive to cold water, due to the fact that they are a scaleless fish, once they get ick it's EXTREMELY hard to get rid of ick compared to other fishes.

5. Fahaka requires weekly dental maintainance due to the fact that they have a beak-like mouth where its teeth can become overgrown if they are not fed with hard shell food to trim down their beak.

6. they love to hide and buried their whole body under subtrates such as sands. My fahaka puffer loves to dig up the gravels and hide all they.

7. provide good hiding caves or plant for the fahaka so they to get stress out.


These are the only advice I can give you about keeping a Fahaka puffer. Good luck finding one.

 

[Fat Homer]

All my answers are in RED

So, I am 80% sure I'm going to get a fahaka puffer for my 90 gallon (starting at 2-3" and growing until 10"-1', then moving into a 120-180 gallon).


Questions I have:

1. What diet should he have starting at that size and how should the diet change? I've heard something gives them lockjaw if you feed them too much of it. I'd like a well balanced super puffer food formula lol

Krill has been known to cause lock jaw in SOME predatory fish, and in the case of puffers, most people try to avoid Krill incase the same thing happens... but as for feeding, you can try things such as DE-FROSTED Market Shrimp, Scallops, Mussels, Squid and you can even thrown in some pellet foods if they will take it... but to help keep your puffers teeth trimmed, you can feed it Ramshorn Snails / Crays every once in a while, i personally breed both myself to make sure they are parasite free... And i should mention YOU DO NOT need to perform weekly dentistry on your fahaka, especially not if you feed it the correct diet, i.e. crunchy foods in which case it should NEVER need you to purposely trim its teeth

2. What sand should I get for him and how thick should it be at the bottom of the tank? (also just out of curiosity... does it really have to be sand?) ... Also, I despise play sand so def not going with that. Whats that sand that looks glassy, smooth, and lighter?

Depends on what you like personally some people use pool filter sand, others play sand, all really comes down to budget and what you want to use, although try and make sure its smooth without any rough edges to prevent your puffer getting cut... as for depth, i would say try and stay under 3" (round 2.5 inches max) unless you want to stir up your substrate WEEKLY to prevent toxic gas pockets forming...

3. How fast do they grow? In 1 year, what should I expect?

Normally fahaka's grow FAST, expect at least an inch a month for the first year, so you can expect to have at least a 12" puffer by its first birthday if not more... so your 90G may not last long depending on dimensions

4. How much filtration should I have? How often should I skim the bottom of the tank with a hose to suck up debris?


As with any puffer, more is better... also keep in mind these guys are messy eaters and they poop A LOT!!! some i personally have 2 cannister filters that turn my water over 4-6 times an hour, although i have thought about adding more...

Other than that, just make sure it has at least one good hiding spot and that your tank is completely cycled before putting the puffer in, since they do not do well in an un-cycled tanks... also, be prepared to have to get rid of any potential parasites it may have, since most puffers do tend to come with some sort of parasite, and at least in my experience i've had to de-worm every single puffer i've ever owned due to it having some form of ips when i first bring them home...

Hopefully that answers most your questions...

 

[Fat Homer]

Actually there is one point i forgot to mention which is; when it comes to moving your fahaka at 12"+ its not going to be easy, and probably not much fun especially if your new tank has to be setup in place of where your 90g tank is now... coz i'm guessing you already know they can't be exposed it to air incase it puffs up and can't de-puff again...

 

[jakezori]

wow great! thanks.

quick side question... can congo puffers and any other puffers live together?


can green spotted puffers and figure 8 puffers live together?

 

[JasonsPlecosCichlids]

My 2 cents...

I have a 22" MBU. Theres a piece of Texas Holey Rock in his tank and he regulary chews on it, I'm assuming to keep his hardware in check. He only eats frozen krill, shrimp and tiger shrimp. Also feed him crawdads, its funny watching him waddle thru the tank

He did get ich, not sure how but it was taken care of in a week. Water temp is at 83-84 degrees.

He isn't as colorful as other MBU's maybe because of his age, size, I'm not sure.

He is rather lazy.

I also have a congo which is very active, loves to dive into the sand and is rather bossy to other fish at only 3".

Some puffers dont mind other fish, some do. They all act different and if you decide to try out other tank mates, get something cheap just as a precaution. I have my MBU in with an Ornate, Giant Gourami, Sleeper Goby and a Sailfin. My MBU has taken a chunk outa the Aro but I'm assuming thats because when the Aro turned around his tail would graze the face of the MBU and it was just bad timing. The tail has since grew back and I no longer keep them together. My buddy has an MBU that flat out goes after other fish and takes CHUNKS outa them and he is only 16". So they are all different. I like that I can have more than one fish, other than just an MBU. But even if it was just him, he is so big and beautiful, I would be ok with that.

I'm assuming all puffers that get large are either nice or mean. Haven't owned a Fahaka but my buddy has one and its the only thing in the tank for obvious reasons. His buddy has one that Im trying to get that is nice as can be, looks like a Nerf Football, gorgeous.

My MBU puffs up in the tank at times and I'm not sure why, he is healthy as can be, seems he just does it for the heck of it and he gets HUGE. Wish I could catch it on video.

I love how big his eyes are, when you get up close to him, he moves them big bug eyes all around, then looks at you, its awesome. He likes to be petted when I hand feed him. He gets a lil crazy when I feed him so I make sure to feed him large chunks of shrimp so he doesnt take my finger with him.

I'm working on getting a 300-500 gallon tank for him soon, currently in a 210.

The dumbest thing I ever did was sell the smaller MBU that I had with my big MBU, trying to get it back. The lived together for a while without issues. Always hung out together.

 

[Fat Homer]

From my experience, its never a good idea to mix puffers with other puffers / fish... my congo when it was still alive basically would take out any tank mates that went in the tank with it... my palembangs would pick their fights, although if a meal ever arrived in front of them they wouldn't miss the chance to pick at it...

So overall it really depends on what puffs your keeping and their individual temperaments... since even with puffers such as fahaka's you do sometimes get one that will tolerate tankmates, although even then they can still turn at any point, some times even after years of living with tankmates...

 

[Big Business]

Other than that, just make sure it has at least one good hiding spot and that your tank is completely cycled before putting the puffer in, since they do not do well in an un-cycled tanks... also, be prepared to have to get rid of any potential parasites it may have, since most puffers do tend to come with some sort of parasite, and at least in my experience i've had to de-worm every single puffer i've ever owned due to it having some form of ips when i first bring them home...

Hopefully that answers most your questions...

What method do you use to de-worm your puffers?

 

[Fat Homer]

Unfortunately the method i used won't help you much at all, since over here in HK we have different meds to what you get in the US/UK/CAD etc... but check out this article on The Puffer Forum about IPS and how to treat it... very good read with lots of helpful info...