I got a Puffer!!!

[Suzie Q (Lori)]

I have MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) in my tanks (yes on purpose) but they have just gotten out of control...I "fish out" over 100 a day!!! My boss had a "Meet and Greet" at the office (January 14, 2010) where my 55g planted tank is and it looked awful with all the snails crawling up the side so I went to walmart and picked up more fish (we had 11 fish in the tank ). I got the smallest one and in reading walmarts "care sheet" it said 1tbsp salt to 5g (which is normal for my water anyway) so I grabbed him/her up and brought him/her home LOL...

Acclimated for 3hrs then released everyone. First thing she (got a pleco that is a "he" so gotta mix it up..lol) did was to go after all the snails on top of the tank soil. She was fat as a toad when I got back 2hrs later. I turned the lights off for the night after the "party". The next morning she was "thin" again but at the end of the day..fat as a toad again!!! I thought she was going to kill herself by gorging!!!

Now there are not so many snails on the surface so she only "grazes" now. I have seen her get flake food (which is what Walmart says they eat) and she will spit it out and move on. I feel so sorry for the ones I left there but I cant have a puffer in every tank ...they would end up starving after cleaning out the snails. I think I will move her around to the different tanks for snail control. I clean my tanks every Tuesday and all the readings are pretty close to the same but I'll still acclimate her.

Anyone know if she will eat my Peacock Endlers? I could not find much info on puffer's because Im not sure what kind she is. Im sure she is not a true freshwater puffer but a brackish water. We have a Mom & Pop's pet store here in Midlothian, Texas now so I should be able to trade her in when/if she gets to big for my tanks (some are only 10g).

My hubby even thought she was pretty awesome so that is saying a lot . Don't know why I waited so long to get a puffer

Lori

[Carl]

I kept quite a few puffers, mostly Figure 8 and Spotted, with the Figure 8 being the easier to keep (& the better looking too IMO).

I have seen puffers go after small fish such as an Endlers (I have not kept a puffer with Endlers, but I have attempted with Guppies and similar with poor results).
As well puffers will often nip fins of slow moving fish with longer fins such as Angels or Bettas.

My experience is they do not eat most flake foods well, but they do eat most FD or frozen fish Foods well (consider Spirulina Enhanced versions of these too).
The spotted Puffer seems to have a higher metabolism and gets thinner quicker between meals.

An important point with Puffers that I have found is not just the tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons, is the addition and maintenance of minerals and higher KH. Not to seem too spammy, but his is one fish where I noted differences where either Wonder Shells were used or a liquid calcium/mineral supplement was dripped into the tank (not just dosed )

Spotted Puffer


Figure 8 Puffer


Carl

[Suzie Q (Lori)]

Carl...she is a spotted Puffer.

Ok...small fish issue poses a problem then...my 2 10g have both Endler's and Red Cherry Shrimp. I don't want those eaten so I will have to come up with a solution. Im thinking that I can just move the Endler's and RCS to a different tank until the snails are under control again....and just repeat the process when ever needed. I know it sounds like a lot of work but to me it would be well worth the time it would take to do this. Actually I could just get rid of all the snails in the RCS tank and have a species only tank here at work like I used to...and at home have my Ender's only colony again. The fish are easier to catch then the shrimp are .

Any thanks for the Info...I do keep a Wonder Shell in the 55g . I need to order more though...I think that one was my last one .

[Carl]

Good Luck Lori with your Puffer!

Don't tell your Spotted Puffer that I said I like Figure 8 Better

Carl

[babygeige]

Puffers are cute! I always look at them when I go to the lfs. Someday I will give them a shot.

[kagome]

My husband had a bad experience with puffers eating the fins off of his cichlids. You wouldn't think they'd be able to catch anything as slow as they are! I really like the puffers though. I'd like to have a bunch of the spotted ones in a species tank. I think they are so cute.

[danny]

not to be off topic,but i thought puffers cannot survive on freshwaters?i thought they are only limited to salt and brackish?...but upon reading your experiences here,all of the tankmates you've mentioned such as bettas and cichlids are freshwater!..the place where my gf lives is abundant with spotted puffers!i really wanted to take home atleast 1 but again what's carved in my mind is that they do freshwater.
puffers here are considered pests for fishermen.when the tide is low i always go to the rocky and mangrove fields which is just a few steps from my gf's house and it is teeming with puffers and scats!from adults to juveniles.the water there are brackish,it is actually an estuary..

[Carl]

The before mentioned Puffers (as well as many Scats) can be adapted to freshwater (if taken from true brackish, the fish should be slowly acclimated over a couple of days).

Some salt is best, as well as minerals including calcium and magnesium. I personally have found that the Figure 8 puffer is a little less sensitive to low salt and minerals (this is simply an observation though, not a scientific test).

Carl

[Suzie Q (Lori)]

I ended up with 2 puffers ..got one for my 10g that was over run with snails...it refused to eat the snails but did a number on my live plants!!! I put it in the 55g with the other one...and all the soil from the 10g that had LOTS of snails...the first one is fat and sassy again...the 2nd on (husband named him PuffDaddy) is learning to eat snails .

Danny....I put 1 tbsp of salt per 5g (US) of water...just fyi

[danny]

Danny....I put 1 tbsp of salt per 5g (US) of water...just fyi [/quote]

do you mean aquarium salt?

[Suzie Q (Lori)]

Yes Aquarium Salt