Project Suvattii

[DMD123]

Worked on the garage rack and got a 30 gallon to replace the 20L. This is a 36" x 12" footprint.

I think I might move the Arrowhead into the 30 and free up the 65B for something else. While the Arrowhead is very close in size to my hairy puffer, I just feel like it is way less interactive and buries itself so much its just not needing the tank space. The hairy puffer seems to utilize its 65B more.

Spoiled puffers with their big tanks! lol

 

[DMD123]

Been working on the new set up for the arrowhead. Got the background put on last night. It is the same one as on the other puffers tank just blown up. Hopefully not too noticeable that they are the same since it will be in the same room. I could have set it all up last night since I have all the equipment but I wanted to wait for light of day and see how much light bleeds through the background. I may need to put a piece of cardboard or something behind it.

The tank on the rack

This is the general idea for the decor, a large piece of spiderwood would be the centerpiece.


At this point there is tons of guilt for downsizing the puffer from a 36x18 65B to a 36x12 30g. But I feel like it is a huge waste of tank for the arrowhead. It does get active when it knows its feeding time but quickly buries itself again to never be seen. While it is pretty much the same size as my hairy puffer it is nowhere as interactive or uses its full tank like the hairy does. The hairy puffer keeps its 65B.

With this 30 the eqipment idea was to filter with an Aquaclear 70, Catalina 150w titanium heater, Beamswork EA led light (Need to order timer for it). Im going to move the sand over from the 65B so the arrowhead can continue to do its thing.

Again super guilty feeling for doing this but the activity level of this puff just doesn't require the big tank. If for some reason it get freakishly huge or something, I could always move it back but at the moment the 65B would be better served as a growout for me.

 

[twentyleagues]

I almost gave in the other day. But I want a hairy.

 

[PYRU]

Man I wouldnt sweat it. I moved mine back to a 29g for the same reason. Plenty of room but it does foul the water up quick. Mine does not like bright light it's way more active under the cloudy setting on the 24/7 led.

That's going to be a nice setup after sand & rocks.

I was going to buy a hairy this yr but they're $100 before shipping now!

 

[DMD123]

Those are awesome looking arrowheads! Would have been tough to walk away from that.

Its tough when both fish have their merits. Ive had the hairy puffer for quite a few years and she (Confirmed female) is very outgoing with all people, swims all over the tank when someone is in the room, begs for food and is as personable as any cichlid Ive ever owned. But boy is she picky about food... hard to get her to accept anything new, sniffs at stuff and turns her nose up to it.

The arrowhead is 99.9% buried in the sand. My fault for using sand I guess, but pretty much showing natural behavior. It is interactive when feeding and an aggressive feeder, It literally eats anything. I guess it is the goat of the fish world. But all it does is pop up to feed and then bury itself again. Thus the move to a smaller tank. Im almost tempted to go with gravel it cant bury itself in and see what it does, but the digging behavior is pretty cool.

 

[twentyleagues]

Those are awesome looking arrowheads! Would have been tough to walk away from that.

Its tough when both fish have their merits. Ive had the hairy puffer for quite a few years and she (Confirmed female) is very outgoing with all people, swims all over the tank when someone is in the room, begs for food and is as personable as any cichlid Ive ever owned. But boy is she picky about food... hard to get her to accept anything new, sniffs at stuff and turns her nose up to it.

The arrowhead is 99.9% buried in the sand. My fault for using sand I guess, but pretty much showing natural behavior. It is interactive when feeding and an aggressive feeder, It literally eats anything. I guess it is the goat of the fish world. But all it does is pop up to feed and then bury itself again. Thus the move to a smaller tank. Im almost tempted to go with gravel it cant bury itself in and see what it does, but the digging behavior is pretty cool.

They had a few more types of puffers too but most looked really rough. Had two fahakas one labeled fahaka the other lineatus $10 difference....lol. Those looked good and if my mind wasn't made up on the 180 being Tanganyikian, then I probably would have had a fahaka come home with me. It was really hard to walk away from them. But I remembered this thread and how you were saying it didn't do anything. I want a big-ish silly wet pet. So I'll hold out for the hairy I think. I didnt leave empty handed though......10 pea puffers came home with me. That has also been on my list. I lost one on day two and possibly one more will die if it doesn't start eating. They pick slightly at blood worms but gobble black worms and small snails. They chase baby crayfish but don't eat them. The one won't go after anything. If 8 survive that should be a good number. 1 is a male for sure. So if I have 1 male and 7 females that'd be spectacular.

 

[DMD123]

Hey P PYRU , good to hear from you. Glad the arrowhead is doing well. Thanks for the info, You make me feel better about this puffer move.

 

[PYRU]

Hey P PYRU , good to hear from you. Glad the arrowhead is doing well. Thanks for the info, You make me feel better about this puffer move.

No prob. Unless yours is drastically bigger it will have plenty of room.

Something you might want to try is adding larger river rocks. It might feel more inclined to lay on top of the sand camouflaged. Personally I wouldnt use gravel with a puffer that likes to bury itself not to mention the crud that would get trapped from the wood chipper feeding style

 

[DMD123]

Some updates on my garage project and the moving of the puffer.

The project is almost done. I still need to move my office 65B into its slot. The lower left spot where the empty 20L sits is where it will go. This will be the home for the hairy puffer who is much more active compared to the arrowhead.

Here is the center rack where the arrowhead puffer is going

His future tank. Still getting the wood to sink and clear out tannins.

 

[DMD123]

Been a while since I updated. I have not moved the puffer to the 30 gallon yet. I need to figure out a way to protect the heater cord. Turns out the arrowhead is a cord nipper. This is in the 65.

In the 30 gallon I just put in a new heater. It is a titanium that is mounted horizontally, so much more cord is exposed. I need to make a cord guard or figure out something different to protect it.