First puffer

[Blazin]

Hey everyone, just wanted to share my first puffer ever. I wanted to get a fahaka for my 125, but went with polypterus instead. I was so excited when I found this for sale. I believe it's a hairy puffer. From looking at other hairy puffers online I noticed that unlike mine they are actually "hairy" (not really sure how else to describe the little things coming out of their body). Is this something that grows with age?


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[DMD123]

There is some belief that you can sex the puffer by the amount of hair, with males being hairier. Dont know how true that is but yours does look to be a bald hairy puffer.

Not a great picture but here is mine in comparison. He is fairly 'hairy' looking

 

[Fat Homer]

That is one very bald "hairy puffer", almost thought it was a funny colored congo puffer for a second...

 

[Blazin]

There is some belief that you can sex the puffer by the amount of hair, with males being hairier. Dont know how true that is but yours does look to be a bald hairy puffer.

Not a great picture but here is mine in comparison. He is fairly 'hairy' looking

Cool looking puffer! I found online that there is no real proof but speculations of this, still interesting. Has anyone tried putting a power head in their tank? Apparently they are found in rocky areas and in rapid streams.

 

[DMD123]

No powerhead but I have an AC110 filtering my 40B, so a pretty decent current.

I see you got a pic mid puff, does he puff often for you?
Mine does it pretty regular.

 

[Fat Homer]

^ I'm actually curious to hear your experiences with hairy puffers puffing a lot... especially since my friend just picked one up a week ago, and so far no puffing on his end...

But yeah, about the "hairiness" of this puffer relating to their sex... still haven't seen any solid proof of this yet, but that has been the rumor floating around for a while now...

In fact, i wonder if any scientists have actually tested this theory out yet? since sadly no way to tell the sex of most puffers just by looks alone...

 

[DMD123]

My puffer puffs often. I think it might see its reflection and reacts. Almost appears 'angry' when it puffs.

 

[Blazin]

I see mine puff often aswell, considering my tank is in a place where I don't view as much as my other tanks (soon to change). Interesting comment about puffing from their reflective, I wonder what happens when you put a mirror on the side if their tank.

From what I've seen these guys love to ambush their prey. The only live food I feed mine were 2 barbs that where bothering my silver dollars in an other tank. The puffer waited for the fish to move above him, then attacked the barb viciously. Currently I'm feeding mine shrimp (head off and shell on), tilapia, and I'll occasionally stuff the food with Hikari floating sticks . I let him eat as much as he wants per feeding and feed him on average every 3 days. It's crazy how you can hear the puffer chew it's food. I want to add a few more foods to its diet, I have been looking into self cloning crayfish. If I can find a local seller I might try this in a 10 gallon. What do you guys feed your hairy puffers?

Most of the time my puffer is not that very active (curious to see what a power head will do), expecially after a feeding. If he's hungry and I come to the room he will come to the front of the tank (perfect time to take pictures). I bought a clay pot for him to chill in and he wouldn't use it at first. After I put a small plant covering most of the entrance he started using it much more.

I love my puffer, if you're looking for a single mini monster and have a spare 29g tank then this is an excellent choice.

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[DMD123]

I feed mine whole raw shrimp with the head on. Mine loves the guts and parts in the head

I also use live nightcrawlers and frozen krill on occasion. I would love to do self cloning crays but they are not allowed in my state.