Help with stocking 55 gallon tank

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xkon

Exodon
MFK Member
Aug 26, 2014
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So my original intentions with a 55 gallon tank was to get RBP but it seems that will not work out. So now I am looking into a puffer tank. I guess with this size my options are dwarf puffers, figure 8, sap, or gsp. It is my understanding that the dwarf puffers are the only FW ones of the group and the rest would be brackish?

So out of these 4 species, what would be the max stocking capacity of each in this size tank? also would gravel be okay instead of sand for any of them?
 
SAPs are freshwater as well as the dwarfs. Any of the target species would work, as well as congo, abei, harry puffer, humpback, red eye red tail, and many more; all freshwater. There are at least 15+ freshwater species that would work.
 
Well I briefly checked them out and think I would like either sap(s) or humpback puffer(s). are there any big distinctive features, besides appearance between the two? I think from what I've read, with the sap, I could house up to 4 in a 55 gallon but with the humpback it would have to be solitary? How are the two personality wise, more active or lethargic?
 
With saps you may have to deal with dental issues. Even when fed a diet of snails these guys seem to have teeth growth that requires you to catch and deal with. The humpback is a lurker and not super active but does become owner responsive. They also tend to not have any dental issues. When I was searching for my puffer this was a big deal and that kind of made me look at 4 puffers in particular, The arrowhead, Congo, humpback and hairy. I choose the hairy because it seemed the most unique and interesting. Glad I did, it is super outgoing and pretty much sits out in the open for me even though it has hiding spots. It always begs for food when it sees me.

The Humpback is one of bit bigger of these puffers and can get up to 8", so that would be a pretty noticeable sized fish for a 55 gallon. Also they may or may not eat snails but you can pretty much keep them healthy with a mix of seafood found at the grocery store.
 
The humpback is one of the more easy going of the puffers but its hit and miss. Some success has been reported keeping them with arrowhead puffer or another of their own kind. A friend of mine bought two humpbacks and tried it but the one attacks the other so he is selling one off and just doing a solo fish. He does have a few cory cats in with his and they have nipped the tails a little but otherwise have not eaten them. I was thinking of trying a swarm of white clouds with my hairy if I moved it into a bigger tank, but as slow and clumsy as they look they are good hunters. But then I decided to do something with my larger tank and just let my hairy live in his 40B.
 
Would the arrowhead puffer be okay with a gravel substrate or does it need the sand to burrow? I'd prefer to keep gravel if possible
 
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