Fahakas.....hmm.....

[ldyshrek]

Hi all. I am a new fahaka mom (hehe) and i want to know everything about them so i can care for them as i am an puffer lover and animal in general lover.Please let me know what i need for the tank how much salt, what different food n treats are good, also please tell me about breeding and how to as i have 2 not sure what sex but hope i can mate.I also would like to know what if anyfish can live with them and can i keep more than 2 fahakas in the same tank as i read they are the most aggressive puffer. thank you in advance for all the help.

puffer lover and keeper

 

[nmonks]

You'll probably want to ask this question in the Oddballs section (or have one of the moderators move it). The fahaka puffer, Tetraodon lineatus, is a freshwater fish rather than a brackish water one, though it does sometimes live in slightly brackish water. Neutral, moderately hard freshwater is probably the ideal, though anything a little more acidic or alkaline probably won't do any harm.

Like other big fish, such as oscars or catfish, it puts a big load on the filter, and like puffers generally, it isn't very forgiving of lapses in water quality management. Regular water changes are essential (I've read 50% changes per week being typical) as is overfiltration and lots of aeration. Feeding presents no problem: mussels, snails, unshelled shrimps, and so on will all be taken. This species is famously aggressive. Some specimens will attack your arm if you put it in the tank, let alone another fish. I have seen people keep them with other fish, but this seems to depend a lot on the individual fish. Most are pretty waspish. Even the "nice" ones probably won't accept another fish of their own species, even if they ignore a catfish or cichlid or whatever.

I'm not an expert on these fish, not having kept them, so can't really add much more than to say investing in a pufferfish book might be a good idea. There best is probably the Aqualog one by Klaus Ebert (printed in Germany but written in English, priced around 20 Euros). There's a smaller book by Chris Ralph priced around 4 UK Pounds that does the job, but is somewhat less highly regarded by pufferfish aficionados.

Cheers,

Neale

Hi all. I am a new fahaka mom (hehe) and i want to know everything about them so i can care for them as i am an puffer lover and animal in general lover.Please let me know what i need for the tank how much marine salt, what different food n treats are good, also please tell me about breeding and how to as i have 2 not sure what sex but hope i can mate.I also would like to know what if anyfish can live with them and can i keep more than 2 fahakas in the same tank as i read they are the most aggressive puffer. thank you in advance for all the help.

puffer lover and keeper

 

[pica_nuttalli]

just a brief FYI, fahakas can easily reach and exceed 18 inches in length. since they are also one of the species that likes to puff for fun, this means that they're also about 18 inches in diameter

generally on here we recommend a minimum adult tank size of 6 feet long, 2 feet high and 2 feet wide for a single fahaka. since these fish grow at a considerable rate, you have no more than a year to acquire two tanks this size.

the following is based on the reports of others:
i say two because all that i've ever heard indicates that fahakas cannot be kept in pairs when adult. you'll be lucky if only one of them dies in the fighting. other reports further indicate that fahakas should not even be kept within sight of each other as they may break through the glass in an attempt to attack each other. since putting paper/paint on a glass will create a reflective interior surface, this is not really a solution to the problem of fahakas seeing other fahakas.

best of luck.

 

[ldyshrek]

just a brief FYI, fahakas can easily reach and exceed 18 inches in length. since they are also one of the species that likes to puff for fun, this means that they're also about 18 inches in diameter

generally on here we recommend a minimum adult tank size of 6 feet long, 2 feet high and 2 feet wide for a single fahaka. since these fish grow at a considerable rate, you have no more than a year to acquire two tanks this size.

the following is based on the reports of others:
i say two because all that i've ever heard indicates that fahakas cannot be kept in pairs when adult. you'll be lucky if only one of them dies in the fighting. other reports further indicate that fahakas should not even be kept within sight of each other as they may break through the glass in an attempt to attack each other. since putting paper/paint on a glass will create a reflective interior surface, this is not really a solution to the problem of fahakas seeing other fahakas.

best of luck.

I wanted to ty you for your reply first off, I guess the one thing i did right was get my second tank yesturday and by what i have read in here they are plenty big enough so i am happy with that . i also am feeding them right as i give them lots of snails, blood worms, krill etc... and they love it . thank you again for the advice i will listen so i can raise beautiful fahakas...