Little Advise On My Baby Mbu Puffer

[BETTY BOO]

hi there

i brought a baby 2.5 inch mbu puffer 5 days ago

hes in a 4ft 54 gallon tank on his own and i will be upgrading next year to a 6.5ft by 4ft by 3ft tank.
anyway how long does it take for them to settle in??
hes acting fine.swims about nice and active.
the problem is his food.
he only really likes snails and bloodworm.hes eaten a tiny bit of prawn and a tiny bit of muscle but doesnt dive at it like i thought he would and he only has a few bites of it??
could this be because he wasnt fed it at the lfs where i got him??
ive started soaking his food in garlic juice.
hes quite a slow eater and takes his time.is this normal?? he doesnt like to eat a load at once.

im feeding him twice a day as he was a little skinny when i got him but not.he looks much better now.his poops normal and no other bad signs.its just the food.

could this all be down to him settleing in his new home and that im offering him food hes never seen??
i popped a cockle in there yesterday and he looked at it like "what th hell is that" and he didnt touch it.

my parameters are

temp 25c-26c
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
ph 8 yes a little high but better he get used to a higher but stable ph than me keep adjusting it.


heres a video of when i first got him http/youtu.be/E8X_yg2IdVc


and here he is now 5 days later.does he look better to you http/youtu.be/--AIHGvdx_8

 

[DarkEntity]

Your tank is all wrong for a Puffer tbh. Far to sparse and empty, too bright. Get rid of the rocks and stones, get some huge bits of wood and loads of plants around the back and sides so that he has a place to go relax and feel secure.

 

[BETTY BOO]

he doesnt seem to mind it.thats all that matters.people have different setups for them not just the setup you stated.mine seems to like his.im going to add more rock and plants.he doesnt hide at all and like to be out and about all the time.

thanks for the advise but im having no problems with him due to the setup i have

 

[DarkEntity]

he doesnt seem to mind it.thats all that matters.people have different setups for them not just the setup you stated.mine seems to like his.im going to add more rock and plants.he doesnt hide at all and like to be out and about all the time.

thanks for the advise but im having no problems with him due to the setup i have

Puffers are extremely intelligent creatures and get bored very quickly, If you just want him to live in there fine do what you want. However if you want him to flourish and become a truely exceptional specimen like Mbu can be and if it were me id start looking at improving his habitat

 

[minnnt]

You have asked how long it takes for them to settle in... Maybe the reason he hasn't yet is due to his surroundings like DarkEntity stated. Coral rock isn't a natural part of it's habitat so it won't particularly feel settled. The tank does need some work imo. Bogwood would help massively but you need to ensure that he has enough open space for him to freely swim.

I would suggest that either side is built up with bogwood in a way that he can still get around the back if he wishes, but not too intrusive on the open space in the middle and towards the front. I would then drape some Terra Exo plants over the wood to add some colour to the setup and add potential interest for the Mbu. Smooth rocks such as river cobbles could be placed around the base of the wood also with some smaller plants poking through.

Your ph is fine also. Some do actually occur in Lake Tanganyika which is around 8-9. Your substrate is also fine.

Final tank size is a nice one too, 7ft+ would be better though.

As for feeding, it may take time to ween him onto the food you want to feed him. Keep trying and don't give up. Snails and other hardshelled food should be fed regularly to help keep it's mouth (beak) in shape. I wouldn't fancy trimming the teeth on a Mbu, doing it on a SAP is hard enough!!! I would try earth worms too.

HTH.

David.

 

[BETTY BOO]

i appreciate your input i really do.as its only been a short while it may be a little harsh to blame my setup for his food uninterest.thats the only worry i had and his food interest can be involved in settling.everything else about him is great.since my first post hes becoming more comfortable with his tank everyday.he seems to like his habitat.he loves swimming in & out of the rocks.hes always active and greets me at the glass.he hardly ever glass surfs but when he does hes hungry.hes always exploring the rocks too.im going to add a load more rock and plants.this is not finished yet.hes colour is always vibrant.hes eating has got so much better.hes now loving prawns if i cut it into small chunks for him.hes eating twice as much as before.a friend of mine who works at my lfs came and had a look at him yesterday evening and she said my setup is fine but could do with more which is what i plan on doing within the next few months.she also has a 23 inch mbu who looks fantastic and she has a simulair setup to me and he thrives in it.the ocean rock helps my ph too.when i put him into his 8ft tank next year im thinking of having the ocean rock at one end and some bogwood etc at the other end.ill defo have the room for it.hes a completely different fish from when he arrived.hes put on more weight.his colours have come right out and his eating is 90% better than what it was.when i first got him 5 days ago he would eat only 3 snails and maybe 4 bloodworms.now hes eating 7 snails a day,and 5 small chuncks of prawn, or 1/3 of a cube of bloodworm.with all the improvements hes making so i must be doing something right.

thanks david for your set up ideas il keep them in mind next year.

well at least hes not in some weird multicoloured setup thats looks like its come out of willy wonkas chocolate factory haha

 

[BETTY BOO]

well ive changed the setup and here it is

what do you think??

http/youtu.be/suZ-6ev5R2g