New Fugu Puffer

[BRANDX]

I just found out from PUFFER CENTRAL that my new puffer is a brackish water fish. How much salt does that mean for me?
I was told upon purchase that about 10 feeder minnows a week is about what their diet should consist of. I now see at PUFFER CENTRAL shells are a must for their teeth. But, are the feeders OK for the main staple? What's the best cost method for feeding them in a healthy manner?

I dropped all 11 feeders in the new 10g tank with him and he decimated 5 of them in 20 minutes, I had to net the others into a floating breader tank so he didn't kill them all! Is this normal?

So many questions...so little time.

Thanks for any help.

 

[CFC]

First you need to tell us which Takifugu species you have, there are several which need varying salinity's for their long term health.

Feeders are not really necessary for Takifugu species which eat a wide variety of crustaceans and molluscs, i would suggest offering a variety of frozen foods such as mussels, clams, cockles and shrimp/prawns either in their shells or without, snails are an important part of their diet too so try to set up a separate snail breeding tank if possible.
From my experience Takifugu species are "grazing" eaters that eat small amounts all through the day, they do not do well when fed just one large meal once a day so try to offer small amounts of different foods 3 to 4 times a day.

 

[nmonks]

Feeder fish, in particularly minnows, are a bad diet for a pufferfish. Firstly, minnows contain a chemical that breaks down an essential vitamin, thiamin, so over time your fish will be weakened. Secondly, puffers need shelly foods to wear down their beaks. Snails, clams, and shrimps are all good.

(There are puffers that specifically eat fish, but not many, and yours isn't one of them.)

If you have the fugu that is green with orange markings, then you have a very challenging beast. No-one has managed to keep this alive in home aquarium for long.

Part of the problem, I suspect, is that it has a specific habitat, subtropical estuaries. High (i.e., tropical) temperatures will be bad for it, and in summer, you may need to use a chiller. It naturally experiences water temperatures of 15-18 C, so you want to mimic that in captivity. High oxygen levels are probably important, too, and if the water gets too hot, oxygen goes down, and the fish will suffocate. Finally, it lives in estuaries, not the sea and not rivers. So a middling salinity (1.010?) is probably about right, perhaps varying slightly with each water change.

There are some other fugu species, some of which have turned out to be good aquarium fish. There is a greyish species for example, that seems to be quite hardy.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Fella]

Fugu puffer is quite a vague name for a puffer, as there are many takifugu species. Do you have a photo so we can get an exact ID?

 

[nmonks]

Good point Fella. Here's the current list of Takifugu.

I've seen both T. occelatus and T. rubripes for sale in the UK, the latter as "the fugu puffer". It is grey save with a couple of dark patches. I'm told quite robust when kept in high-end brackish or seawater.

Cheers,

Neale

Fugu puffer is quite a vague name for a puffer, as there are many takifugu species. Do you have a photo so we can get an exact ID?

 

[BRANDX]

Thanks, Guys,

He's green with orange markings, pretty sleek instead of boxy, but I'll see if I can get a picture posted.

bye for now.

 

[nmonks]

That's Takifugu ocellatus.

First, get the minnows out. In general, minnows are bad for predatory fish, but with a species of puffer as incredibly delicate as T. occelatus I'd take no chances at all. Replace the minnows with shrimp, snails, and clams of suitable size (you may need to half-open these). Make sure the heater is turned down low: above 18C is bad for these fish. Add an airstone, or at least arrange the filter for lots of splashing. These fish are highly sensitive to low oxygen. Maintain the SG around 1.010; keep the pH at about 8.0, no lower.

The other risk with the minnows is infection. Cheap feeder fish bought from shops are parasite time-bombs. Most fish seem to have at least some immunity, but Takifugu occelatus just doesn't, so you have zero latitude here. It may be too late by now, but nonetheless, get the minnows out ASAP.

To be honest, no-one really knows what it takes to keep these fish properly. At best, they last 2-3 months in home aquaria. All we can do is try to mimic their natural habitats (subtropical estuaries) and offer their normal diet. As CFC said above, these, like most other puffers, are grazers. Getting "shots" of protein, as is the case with a single feeder fish, seems to be bad for them. Instead, add a small amount of food 3 times a day. The closer we get to what they need in the wild, the better we will be at keeping this species.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Fella]

The only detail I think nmonks left out in the info above is the size these fish attain. They'll appreciate a tank bigger than 10g, that's for sure.

 

[BRANDX]

Thanks,

Minnows are out. I'm in Texas and the lfs says there is a ban or quarantine or something on snails... I bought frozen krill, triple filtered and protein rich, blah, blah, blah....Like fish cereal. He looks well and happy for now, but I'll have to get the bubble pump in there, hopefully, this weekend. Work has been crrazzy! Can't get to the lfs before closing.

oh, there is no heater, and what is 18C in Farenheit?

Tchuss!

 

[nmonks]

18C is about 64F.

If you can't get snails, at least try to use a variety of frozen and fresh foods. I'd suggest some of the following:

- frozen prawns
- frozen mussels
- earthworms (from garden)
- insects: anything from crickets to mealworms
- green peas (some puffers like them, and they've very good for them)
- small pieces of white fish (raw)

Feeding a single food type is unwise. Frozen krill may be lacking in some essential nutrient, so while the puffer looks well fed, it will actually be in terminal decline through a vitamin deficiency. Personally, I would try and raise some snails yourself. Apple snails are usually easy to obtain and remarkably fecund whilst settled in. The thing with snails is that they help wear down the beak, something that is usually important with puffers.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[BRANDX]

How do I feed the crickets to the puffer? Just drop them on the surface?
Trying peas tomorrow.
Puffer was looking a little lethargic, floating crooked...etc. I got the water tested and found that it only had the same amount of salt as the rest of my tanks! ...been adding a tablespoon every other day to try to get up to (from what I have read at everybody's suggested threads) 1.02.

He has perked up considerably, now.

 

[nmonks]

I'm glad the puffer is doing well.

I personally wouldn't use crickets. There's some anecdotal evidence that feeding fish insects they wouldn't normally eat is not good for them. An experienced mudskipper keeper tells me that crickets cause problems with constipation, whereas mosquito larvae and flies, which are both very common in brackish and coastal marine habitats, do no harm at all. This may be something specific to mudskippers, but with Fugu ocellatus, I would take no risks at all: this is a fish with a very short lifespan in captivity, which suggests that many "normal" things we do aren't acceptable.

Besides, this species really wants molluscs and crustaceans of any kind. Snails, mussels, shrimps, krill, etc. would all be ideal.

Two other things. Firstly, be sure and keep the water cool in summer. This is a subtropical species., and warm water will both raise its metabolism and decrease the oxygen concentration in the water. This two effects will cross at a certain point, and the fish can suffocate. Aim for a water temperature of about 18C, and certainly not more than 20C.

Second, this fish needs an SG of about 1.010, and you can't really estimate that by measuring teaspoons of salt. You are using marine salt, right? Not aquarium tonic salt? If you don't already have one, buy a hydrometer to measure SG. A cheap hydrometer costs a few dollars and is accurate enough for your purposes.

SG 1.020 is probably too high for this fish. It doesn't appear to be a species that lives in the sea continuously, but rather in estuaries, where it moves up and down the salinity scale its entire life. In fairness, a constant SG probably isn't important, but changing the SG in an aquarium upsets the filter bacteria, and a rise in nitrites and ammonium is certainly bad for this species.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[BRANDX]

Wow,

Thanks! I was using regular aquarium salt, so I'll have to switch that out. And add a hydrometer to my toolbox.

Sorry, I've been a bit slow on returning msgs lately. But, I do appreciate th e advice!

Ciao,

Brand

 

[SamUK]

is it only me who thinks the research should be done before the fish is bought?

specially as it sounds like they have a hard enough time staying alive.

 

[BRANDX]

Yes SamUK, you are the only person who thinks that research should be done before a fish is bought
Just kidding...I was at a very impressive specialty fish store, recommended by some friends with a couple of reef tanks, I thought I could trust the advise by the guy there. But, now I know better thanks to all of you. I am going to try to keep this guy happy and alive the best that I can with the resources at my disposal.
I now have marine salt instead of tonic salt.
A hydrometer to test it.
I am told that I can get some brine shrimp? here locally, would that suffice for this guy?

PS having trouble keeping the water at 16-18 C. Even though our house is usually aired down pretty low...how big of an expence is a chiller and how important would you rate it on a scale of 1 - 10?

would adding an air pump help keep the oxygen up in lieu of a colder temp?

Brand