Never fear I is here
...I may be slow but I get here eventually
Hi
Adz...I think you will like your new puffer
Colomesus asellus...also known as Brazilian Freshwater Puffer,
South American Puffer, South American Freshwater Puffer, Peruvian Puffer, Venezuelian Puffer...a FW puffer that appearently can tolerate light BW conditions (I just learned that myself a short time ago
)
Beautiful little Puffers, will grow to 15cm in the wild, but the average size in the aquaria is about 10 cm (3 inch). Probably the most mild tempered of all the puffers and one of the few does well in a community tank (depending on individual personalities). Like most types of puffers they are forgiving of water parameters, but not water quality, they are messy eaters so I find Oto's a good tankmate for them as they clean up the food missed by the puffers nicely and keep the water clean longer. I have read that they have a pH Range of 5.5 - 7.2, Temp. 71 - 82F (22 - 28C), Hardness 5.5 -15dH.
Is there any advice anyone wants to give me on keeping them, currently feeding him on bloodworms.
Most won't touch flake or pellet food, My pair are fed frozen Bloodworms, Brine shrimp, and Mysis shrimp (I think the snag the occasional guppy fry as well but can't prove it yet) . If you can find live they like it even better. Snails are a must, they need to constantly chew on the shells to wear away their teeth (bony plates that grow throughout their lives). Colomesus asellus teeth seem to grow at a faster rate than most puffers, and every so often it will be necessary to trim their teeth
, whenever they start too get food stuck in their teeth constantly, or they can't eat because their teeth are too long (maybe every 6 months or so) so they need a constant supply of snails or even shrimp (although their shalls aren't as hard). For a good method on how to trim their teeth check out the following
Puffer Article
Anyone know how to tell the difference between a Male and Female?
And is it possible to breed them if i get some more?
I think only the puffers know for sure, but I have read accounts of them breeding, but I think it was more luck than anything. I consider my 2 (Bubba & Brighteyes) as a male/female pair, only because Bubba is more adventurous and is growing faster (maybe he just eats more
)
Well I've babbled long enough...I'm off...(
you been off for years they all think to themselves)
HTH
Let us know how you make out
