Need Fahaka info!

[studd muffin]

As some of you know i am going to pick up a 2 inch Fahaka tomrrow. I have a couple of questions.

1. What should i feed him/her so its colors would be brighter? Or does it take time for baby fahakas to get their colors?

2. Would they do fine in a planted tank?

3. Will they up root plants?

4. Do they hide all the time?


Thank You.

 

[poly-nomial]

As some of you know i am going to pick up a 2 inch Fahaka tomrrow. I have a couple of questions.

1. What should i feed him/her so its colors would be brighter?


2. Would they do fine in a planted tank?
Yes, they would, a large one
3. Will they up root plants?
No, they will not. That is mainly a characteristic of cichlids, puffers are not diggers.
4. Do they hide all the time?
No they are very personable and will get excited when you appear

Thank You.

Good luck!!

 

[studd muffin]

Thank you! Its gonna be my first and i am very excited!

 

[RobD23]

Thank you! Its gonna be my first and i am very excited!

feed them lots of shell fish, shrimp, scollops, muscles, and so on. crayfish as a treat once and a while. they are very active if you get them coming to the top during feeding time... however shortly after eating they are like humans, don't want to get off the couch. keep ur temperature around 78 degrees. let the puffer get to know you they become very responsive to their owner. don't get them hooked on one food. I tease mine through the glass with shrimp, but now if i try the same with a smelt he wont budge. They are the smartest type of fish I've ever keep, and I've been in the hobby for several years. owned salt and fresh.

 

[studd muffin]

feed them lots of shell fish, shrimp, scollops, muscles, and so on. crayfish as a treat once and a while. they are very active if you get them coming to the top during feeding time... however shortly after eating they are like humans, don't want to get off the couch. keep ur temperature around 78 degrees. let the puffer get to know you they become very responsive to their owner. don't get them hooked on one food. I tease mine through the glass with shrimp, but now if i try the same with a smelt he wont budge. They are the smartest type of fish I've ever keep, and I've been in the hobby for several years. owned salt and fresh.

thanks bro. do they grow a inch per month?

 

[Fat Homer]

^ For the first year, yes they grow at about an inch a month...

 

[studd muffin]

^ For the first year, yes they grow at about an inch a month...

im up for that i got a cycling 300g in my garage

 

[emartin]

Actually they COULD uproot plants but it isn't in their habit. Fahakas can bury themselves in sand and in that process, or if they are spooked and swim fast they can uproot plants.

As far as color and feeding, they can eat snails at that small size. I bought 4 "mystery" snails (why are they called that?) two weeks ago under the impression that they'd be eventual food for the fahaka, especially since they were all bigger than the puffers head! Well...the fahaka destroyed all of them and was a very happy and fat puffer for 3 days...

Mine is already showing the nice green and black color but I believe it depends on mood as well as diet and water quality. He seems to like the higher pH better (I had to acclimate when I brought him home to a high (8-8.4pH) to instant cycle his temporary 30g tank with filter media from one of my cichlid growout tanks) as well.

Currently I give him a broad range of foods... From live earthworms from my backyard (no pesticides in my yard), to wild live small mussells (I have to crack them open and expose the meat though, he isn't able to crack them open yet and he was just shooting them across the tank (he'd bite them hard but they'd slip away) and boy was that funny to watch him react to his food disappearing...), and krill.

I did feed him bloodworms and brine shrimp before but he naturally likes the meatier foods better.

I also got him to eat 3mm pellets before once but he hasn't since...

I also put some live feeder grass shrimp in there the next day after I got him. I haven't seen them for 3 days now so I am assuming he ate all 10 of them since then...

Just give your puffer great water quality, and a nice selection of nutritious foods.

~Ed

 

[studd muffin]

when you try to net them do they puff up? and thank's for the info emartin!

 

[emartin]

Oh and the only time I ever see my Fahaka hiding from me is after eating. I don't know if they are just vulnerable/less mobile after eating or what the deal is but he doesn't want to be seen after eating... Which is unusual for me since my cichlids (all cichlids?) NEVER stop begging for food unless they are ill...

Otherwise this puffer is either always looking for me or my dogs or when I walk by he comes out of his cave or stops whatever he was doing (he likes to swim around and explore the pvc caves in his tank) and tries really hard to swim through the glass swimming back and forth at the top and bottom of the tank trying to get to me...

Definitely not a hider...very active fish and in my opinion way more socialable and personable than cichlids.... I'm not sure if they are more intelligent (I personally don't think so, but are up there with them) but definitely more personable.

I'd compare them to Groupers... Except puffers are just more lethal...

Also DON'T hand feed an adult fahaka! If you do though (like I plan to), either use tweezers to hold the food or keep a very close eye on the puffer... Not that they will intentially bite you... you just don't want to take the chance... Supposedly an adult Fahaka is powerful enough to bite through steel fish hooks let alone a 18" puffer probably being capable of dismembering a finger let alone taking a chunk out...