Their mating habits sound a bit disturbing.... Did you have all of the same species in the tank or can you mix? What species would you suggest as far as personality?
Unidentified Puffer......
- Thread starter puffer_girl
- Start date
Haven't had an arrowhead in years. I go through phases in puffer keeping and rotate through several species. I just sold off a tank full of dwarf pufers. Now, I have a colony of 12 Assel's FW puffers to see if I can get any spawning activity in them. I also have 7 mbu puffers but, they're several years away from becoming sexually mature. The only odd single puffer I have, currently, is a Lake Turkana fahaka puffer. He looks just like a riverine fahaka except that he's over 2 years old and only 2" in size.
What size tanks are your mbu's in? They are beautiful but i understand that they get huge! Would love to have one but the biggest tank I have right now is a 55. Sold a 125 and regret it.
Will they out grow a tank or only grow as big as the tank allows like a lot of fish? (minus pacus and oscars or course!!!)
puffer_girl said:
These mating habits are pretty standard among Tetraodon species. I keep my puffer colonies in a single species setup. I have kept mbus with other fish but, I've experienced a few mbu ambushes. So, it's a risk whenever you mix. I have been able to keep Assel's puffers (from Peru) in the same tank with dwarf puffers. The different species ignored each other and had minor to-dos only with their own species.
For personality, I have to cast my vote for the mbu. That's my personal favorite.
puffer_girl said:
Wow, I haven't seen this subject in a while. There is NO SUCH THING as a fish only growing to the size of fitting it's tank. If that idea had any factual basis, there would be breeding pairs of dwarf oscars in nano-tanks, pimas could be housed for life in a 55gal, the latest wave of killie-sized chili-red arowanas would be available from overseas, and redtail cats could be sized to live with sailfin mollies.
What is actually occurring when a large species is forced to live in too small of an enclosure is nothing short of slow poisoning. Their growth is retarded due to poor water conditions and under-filtration for the metabolic needs of the species. A condition known as methamoglobin or brown-blood disease afflicts these fish and decreases their blood's ability to absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide. After a period of time, this condition will have adverse effects on the fish's immune system and cause damage/failure of its liver and kidney functions.
Wow. Didn't know that. Was always let to believe that they just adjusted to their habitat. Feel bad for even thinking that now.....
