Puffers

[patthecat12]

hi i know ive asked this before but someone might of recently joined with experence.
I have a pair male and femal red eyed, red tailed puffers. and im getting sick of scrubbing there tank from the vast amount of algea that grows from nowere every week. there out of direct sun and ive added no plant food to the tank like i do with my goldfishes.
My question is, is there anything i can put in there to eat the algea, there well know for being little preditors, but the tank has loads of hiding holes and lots of cracks in rocks to hide and recently they have calmed down(there not fighting each other)
Patrick

 

[smegforbrains]

If the tank is big enough, take a look at Plecs

 

[patthecat12]

The tank is only 28 litres and i heard that plecs grow huge

 

[loz_the_guru]

Bristlenose will stay small for a while, but that tank sounds way too small for a pair of puffers. What filter do you have?

 

[patthecat12]

The filter is an undergravel one, i was told by the fish shop that 2 would easily fit in a 28 litre they even wanted to sell me 6!

 

[loz_the_guru]

How long have you had them? Ive never kept puffers but i know they tend to produce huge amounts of cr*p due to their high protein diets, and require excellent filtration. I'd be surprised if a simple under-gravel filter would cut it.

Are you doing water changes? Testing regularly?


Anyway, back on track, you could get some Otocinclus catfish - only about an inch although ideally they should be kept in sixes. Having said this, i had a trio once and they were perfectly happy. Only problem is they can be pretty fussy about water conditions, and im still a bit worried about the size of your tank.....

 

[Pleccy]

You need to be careful with slow moving fish like catfish, puffers are known fin nippers.

 

[patthecat12]

Hi yea i do water tests and nearly everytime (once a week) i have to change the water a scrub the tank to get rid of the dam algea. im going to have a word with the shop in question as they sold me the setup with the fish and i think im going to invest in a filter that isnt underground. To be honest im quite new to fish keeping, i keep goldfish so i know about water quality and such things but these are my first tropical fish. and persionally i think it was a mistake getting them, should of got some school fish.

 

[loz_the_guru]

Id've thought puffers would need an external filter but the tank seems very small for it. You may as well leave the undergravel filter in, cant do any harm so long as you gravel vac it regularly. Check out the 'buy sell swap' section, usually someone selling a filter or two (ive got a fluval for sale myself).


You might be better off putting a post up in the oddballs/puffer section of the forums. The replies will be slower but they'll be from people who really know their stuff when it comes to puffers.

 

[Davo86]

Id've thought puffers would need an external filter but the tank seems very small for it. You may as well leave the undergravel filter in, cant do any harm so long as you gravel vac it regularly. Check out the 'buy sell swap' section, usually someone selling a filter or two (ive got a fluval for sale myself).


You might be better off putting a post up in the oddballs/puffer section of the forums. The replies will be slower but they'll be from people who really know their stuff when it comes to puffers.

I doubt a fully grown 2 inch puffer would need an external, although i would agree that the tank is on the small size and for this reason I wouldn't suggest adding anything else to the tank

compatibility wise this is what i have found

Can be kept in a community tank, but caution should be exercised when choosing tankmates, as Carinotetraodon irrubesco is territorial, and also tends to nip the fins of slow-moving or long-finned tankmates. In nature it's found living alongside various species of rasbora and halfbeaks, and these also make good companions in the aquarium, along with other small, fast-moving species.

It is very territorial with its own kind, although a pair can be maintained successfully in a tank with enough hiding places.

quote taken from RT, RE Puffer


Edit what maintenaince are you doing atm and what are the exact water stats? a well kept, mature setup shouldn't be having these types of algae blooms

 

[kevinthecow]

Algae magnet + algae scrubber?

Thats what I do.

If not, try plecs.

 

[patthecat12]

Hi thanks everyone, i found an old filter (called a stingray or something) and changed the water as i tested the ph was a bit acidic, I changed the water before i got your message Davo83 but i know for certain that the water i have put in is perfect from previous tests. i vac it once a week to get most of the crud from the bottom, But from what Loz has said i am going to see what the new filter in the tank does.
P.s. i have been struggling with this tank for at least 6 months as i got them at the start of summer and have always used an under gravel filter, and i used to keep one of my goldfish in this tank and it always used to be full with algae and crud and as soon as moved it into its permanent 23 gallon tank its been perfect for months so hopefully a decent filter will do the trick

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Id've thought puffers would need an external filter but the tank seems very small for it. You may as well leave the undergravel filter in, cant do any harm so long as you gravel vac it regularly. Check out the 'buy sell swap' section, usually someone selling a filter or two (ive got a fluval for sale myself).


You might be better off putting a post up in the oddballs/puffer section of the forums. The replies will be slower but they'll be from people who really know their stuff when it comes to puffers.

I doubt a fully grown 2 inch puffer would need an external, although i would agree that the tank is on the small size and for this reason I wouldn't suggest adding anything else to the tank

compatibility wise this is what i have found

Can be kept in a community tank, but caution should be exercised when choosing tankmates, as Carinotetraodon irrubesco is territorial, and also tends to nip the fins of slow-moving or long-finned tankmates. In nature it's found living alongside various species of rasbora and halfbeaks, and these also make good companions in the aquarium, along with other small, fast-moving species.

It is very territorial with its own kind, although a pair can be maintained successfully in a tank with enough hiding places.

quote taken from RT, RE Puffer


Edit what maintenaince are you doing atm and what are the exact water stats? a well kept, mature setup shouldn't be having these types of algae blooms

But red eyes and red tails are very regularly mixed up in shops and there are more then one different species.
And to the OP please dont listen to your LFS they are there trying to make money, they care not for you or your fish.

 

[Davo86]

But red eyes and red tails are very regularly mixed up in shops and there are more then one different species.

Umm

Carinotetraodon irrubesco - Red-tailed Redeye Puffers have red tails,
Carinotetraodon lorteti - Redeye Puffers Don't

Not too hard to figure out which he has,