I just cant find one anywhere

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ride1226

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 24, 2010
265
1
0
San Diego
Hi, first let me introduce myself being as this is my first post. I live in San Diego and have been keeping fish about 3 years now. First a community tank, which got moved to another room, then a full African Cichlid tank which I kept for a long time and then was adopted by a friend when I decided I needed a change. I started looking around on what to fill me big empty tank with and nothing really struck my interest.

Then, I found one. A Fahaka puffer, Tetraodon Lineatus. Beautiful fish. The more research the did the more I fell in love. I completely understand this fish gets a house all to himself. I know tankmates is a no no, and I also know that when he gets a bit bigger he will need a house upgrade. He would be starting out in a big enough tank though, Im not cramming him in a 30, I know better haha. The more research I do, the more pictures and videos I see of these happy healthy puffers, the more I know I gotta have one.

Herein lies the problem. I simply cant find one anywhere. My local fish shop put me on a list 2 weeks ago to no avail, and every other fish store I have traveled to within a 100 mile radius either "Cant get one," "Refuses to get one," "Or can only get them in bags of 50 which means NO!" Serious bummer to me, as I have a big empty tank setup waiting for its new arrival.

So, I resorted to google, found this site, and found a few online retailers. Out of the few I found no one has any, and the one that does have one is already 8 inches (thefishbowl). I really would like a baby one so that I can watch and record its growth and keep it with me throughout its lifespan. Not something that's already big and set in its ways.

Any help finding one would be greatly appreciated, or even some info as to how come I just cant seem to come across one right now. I understand the fish stores predicament, if you end up with 50 of them and sell 2 or 3 you have a lot of tanks needing to be set up for individual fish because I know they will kill everything and each other.

Thanks for the help everyone, and I hope my first post is decent enough to be worthy of some replies! :popcorn:
 
Not sure about in the US, but i know in Hong Kong Fahaka's as with a lot of puffers over here are seasonal... so maybe its just that right now some of the places aren't stocking any of them???

But with so many members here being into puffs i'm sure it won't be long before some one will be able to point you in the right direction as to where you maybe able to find one...

Just one question though what size tank are you planning on housing him/her to start with when you do get one just out of curiosity???
 
Its a 6'by2'by18". From what I understand the biggest thing is them having 2ft of turning room for when they get a little size to them. I had gathered that puffers don't swim much up and down, its more side to side front to back meaning the more swim room the better. Its only 18" tall which means it doesn't meet the height minimum from which I have seen as 2ft but I'm hoping this tank does the job for awhile.

Thanks for your reply!
 
that sucks to hear, since if it was 24" tall it would have been a perfect tank for your future puffer... anyway, best of luck locating one since puffers are probably some of the most interesting fish i've ever owned (although my opinion is definitely a biased one)
 
I know. Its quite a bummer. I am actually actively seeking a deal on a better tank right now in hopes of securing and setting up a life long home rather than having to move him as he grows. Just a matter of finding someone to buy my tank and or trade tanks with which isnt easy.
 
Yeah, that would be the best bet to have it setup in one go rather than have to move it later down the line and re-setup everything... i know when i had to move my puffers when i moved from one flat to another definitely wasn't fun...
 
Im sure its probably not much fun at all for the fish. My problem is going out and spending big bucks for a new tank and stand is pretty much out of the question for me, being as I just bought a new car and am also in the process of trying to buy a house within the next year means every penny I save counts. If only there was someone near by trying to get rid of a nice tank I would jump on the deal. Maybe I can score something before these guys come back into season and just clean out my smaller tank right now.
 
Good luck finding a Fahaka, they really are awesome. I stumbled across mine at a Petland ( Canada's big chain ) and paid only $40. He was literally only the size of nickel... Now he's a good 4".
 
How long did it take him to get that big. I read a lot of mixed opinions on growth and even tank size. Some people say the fish will get stunted in too small of a tank, which honestly if he doesnt get that big wont really bother me, I just wanna make sure hes happy and healthy. Personally Id be happy if he got about 8 inches and just stopped growing hahaha. Too bad there isnt many fresh water puffer choices, and just my luck I fell for the fahaka.
 
Mine is only in a 55, moving to a 75 this weekend and eventually into a 180 ( being built ). I've had him for about 8 months, and he's easily 3 times the size of when I bought him. Eats mainly night crawlers and snails. Plus whatever dithers he can catch. I have a few friends that have some that are around 10". I haven't seen one any bigger, but I know they're supposed to grow up to 18"-24" or something.
 
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