South American Puffer ( C. Asellus)

[didz04]

Hi
I have seen these and I love puffers and so thought might as well have a go with these. I have read that they are fresh water and will grow up to 4" in an aquarium. I have read that generally these are peaceful fish and can live in a community but can nip like other puffers if hungry. Can you check on this for me and tell me if the info I have read is right.
I am hoping to put them in a 40 gallon tank. I have cichlids at the moment but clearing all of the cichlids out to start a new plan with these puffer fish. Once all the cichlids have gone I will be left with
- 2 bronze and 2 Julie cory's.
- Dora Catfish
- Red Clawed Crab
- Long Nose (horse faced loach)
- Green Spotted Puffer - But don't worry as he is temporary, kind of long story but to make it quick I am taking care of it for a friend as their brackish tank has leaked. Hopefully in a week he should have one setted up again and fully cycled.

I'm sure thats all the fish I have left after they have gone, well there are the baby Kenyi cichlid but I might as well just give that with the parents (if the buyer can give them a seperate tank and not a small breeder tank in their main tank).
Will the fish left be fine with the puffers? I have read that they need to be in a minimum of 20 gal and they seem best in 3s, is that right?

What Tank mates will be good with these, I saw some of these Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid Apistogramma agassizi will these do good with them, they are really colourful and nice looking fish. Is this picture in the link below one of these Dwarf cihlids?
http/www.wallpaperfishtalk.com/wallpapers/freshwater/000113.jpg

What other tank mates would you recommend, will killifish do fine with them and can you suggest any other bottom dweller fish except for any plecs as I have white silico sand and doesn't go well with their waste. Had to give in the last plec I had, really active fish so was uspset but had to be done because all of his mess was showing up.

I was thinking of Bumble bee gobies as they are little attractive fish I have kept them and love to keep them again, would they be suitable or will they get eaten, because I have seen them go well with GSP in Brackish.

This seems like everything I need to ask for now, so any advice and help would really give me a kick start, Thanks.

 

[digdog]

I have 3 saps with 2 red eyed red tailed puffers and 2 red striped puffers in 125 litre tank. recently put in 5 small bristlrnose plecs and everything is fine. Cant really answer your other questions. But do read up about trimming their teeth,not difficult but not a nice job.

 

[Wills]

Hi have to admit I did skim over this, but just saw your ad on AQ (recognized the pics) so good on you for rehoming the oscar and other cichlids if you want puffers its definitely the way to go

A 50 gallon tank is a good size tank IMO for SAPs, one of the main problems people encounter with SAPs is boredom. They are very inquisitive fish so you need to decorate the tank with lots of places for them to play in, if they swim up and down the glass this is called pacing and it means they are bored. As with all puffers they need to have a lot of snails and crustaceans in their tank to wear down their beaks - before you get SAPS make sure you see the video on youtube to do with the clipping of the beak etc. As said it looks quite easy to do but I can imagine it is really stressful.

With your current stock list it could be a bit hit and miss, most people report SAPs as being a bit of a community fish, so I think your cories and dora will be okay but I would still advise to up your cories to 6 of each type. I am unsure of the loach, quite long fish that hides and just thinking if the puffers find them it might get a bit of grief. With puffers you just have to think of how bad it can be when it comes to attacks, its not just going to be a nip or a missing scale its going to be a flesh wound.

I think the crab is an issue as well, as said before its not a good idea to keep them with fish because it may eat or nip them but in this tank it is quite likely that the puffers will just eat them especially when the puffers start to get some size on them. I know people have moaned at you to get rid of the crab before but if you want puffers its not just a case of he is a risk to the fish its a case of he is a risk to the fish and the fish are a risk to him, when its spelled out like that you can see just how they are not compatible.

Also wait till your friend can take back their GSP before getting the SAPs I am a bit unsure of how it will mix with the SAPs.

Wills

 

[nmonks]

SAPs aren't good companions for Corydoras. They will nip these little catfish, damaging their dorsal fins in particular. Once that happens, it's often just a matter of time until finrot or fungus develops. At the very least, nipped catfish become nervous (for obvious reasons!) and only swim about at night.

SAPs can be kept with dwarf cichlids, provided there are enough rocks and plants for the cichlids to stay out of sight. A couple of plastic Amazon swords doesn't count here! You need lots and lots of rocks, or else really thick plant cover.

Killifish would be poor choices; they are too static, and just too likely to get nipped. The exceptions might be among the more belligerent, active "pupfish" types, such as Florida flagfish. But these would need similar conditions to the cichlids to do well, since these pupfish are territorial and will hide away some of the time.

BBGs don't need brackish water to do well, but they do need a very specific diet of live and wet-frozen foods. Most BBGs starve to death. So the biggest issue is whether the BBGs would get enough to eat. This is difficult to ensure in large tanks with busy tankmates, so I'd recommend against it. But if you think you can get sufficient food down to the BBGs without messing up water quality, the two species could be kept together.

Cheers, Neale

 

[didz04]

Thanks so much for the replies
I guess there is a lot to think about but I am still confident in owning one and if it means trimming their teeth and adding a lot more decoration, I am still going to go for it. No wonder the gsp is swimming up and down the glass most of the time as I don't have enough cover in the tank, and only 1 high plant.
If I have to I could rehome the corys, longnose and the red clawed crab.
The longnose I dont see him much and when he does he swims around crazily around the tank, but my brother said he has seen him out on top of the sand scrounging and sifting sand for food.
I understand about the crab, however the corys could I give it a go as I have seen on youtube and read people's comment with a few people saying they have kept them successfully with cory's and other catfish. Of course I will decorate the tank full of more rocks and plants, thinking of purchasing a big shipwreck in 2 parts, always liked them. The gsp hasn't had any conflict with them at all including when he is swimming around and by them and the corys are only 2cm big.

I have had bumblebee goby's before 3 of them and I got all of them to eat in a 90lt tank, 16" high. I know in a more decorated tank I won't see them all as much but I will feed less food but more constantly each day, and it will help the white sand to stay clean.

So the fish plan at the moment would be:
South American Puffers - how many can I keep in a 40 gallon, could I fit 2 or possibly 3 as I have read they are best and live happily in 3's.
Bumble bee Goby - Will 3 - 6 goby's be fine as they are territorial with each other.
Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid - Could I stock 1 male and 3 females?
Corys - I could keep the ones with the fish stock above and if they are fine with them then I will buy a bigger shoal, but if not successful I will give them away, will that be ok?
Dora Catfish

How many more fish can I stock? What other fish are compatible with the stocking list?

Thanks

 

[nmonks]

South American Puffers - how many can I keep in a 40 gallon, could I fit 2 or possibly 3 as I have read they are best and live happily in 3's.

Yes, three in 40 gallons is fine.

Bumble bee Goby - Will 3 - 6 goby's be fine as they are territorial with each other.

Yes, this should be fine. Each will need its own cave, seashell or whatever. Space these out enough, and each goby will be happy.

Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid - Could I stock 1 male and 3 females?

Worth a shot. But do have a plan B just in case it doesn't work. If you see the cichlids are missing bits of their fins, especially from their tail and dorsal fins, they're being nipped.

Corys - I could keep the ones with the fish stock above and if they are fine with them then I will buy a bigger shoal, but if not successful I will give them away, will that be ok?

As I said, these catfish *will* get nipped. Others have reported this many times, not just me.

Dora Catfish

Not sure what this is. Do you mean some kind of Doradidae, like Platydoras costatus? These *gregarious* catfish are best kept in groups of at least three specimens, unless you want them to hide all the time. One specimen is a total waste of money and space because you will NEVER see it. In any case, because they hide almost all the time, Doradidae are generally not bothered by day-active pufferfish.

How many more fish can I stock? What other fish are compatible with the stocking list?

Don't operate this way. Instead, get the tank set up as listed here, across the next 6-8 weeks. If, after six months, everyone is happy and water quality remains good, then write back and perhaps we can suggest some additions.

It's been said before, but trying to cram as many fish as you can into an aquarium is a bad approach. If all you want to do is buy lots and lots of fish, then no tank will ever be big enough because you'll always see something new in the shops. Instead concentrate on creating a balanced community: some open water fish, some day-active bottom dwellers, and some night-active bottom dwellers. Once all the niches are filled, sit back, enjoy the tank, and concentrate on things like plants and decor. Better yet, save the pennies so you can buy another aquarium to try something completely different, perhaps fish breeding or something that demands unusual water chemistry.

Cheers, Neale

 

[didz04]

Hi Thanks for the really useful information.

Hmm about the corys in that case I don't mind getting them a new home rather than them getting shredded to pieces. I think the gsp is so aware of the cichlids even though they don't attack him, so he isn't bothering about the corys.

Ok so 3 SA Puffers it is.

I will start off with 3 bumblebee goby then once I have added more decorations then I will add another 3 goby's. Using shells is a good idea Can these be bred in an aquarium?

When you say plan B do you mean having an extra tank for the Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid, because what will it likely to be the puffers attacking them or the dwarfs attacking the puffers?
If it does come to splitting the fish I will probably have to send them back to the lfs as I cannot setup another tank.

The Dora catfish looks like a plec with black & white stripes, really nice looking fish, here is a link of the fish - http/www.thinkfish.co.uk/fishimages/0311_striped_talking_catfish.jpg
He has been hiding and used to come out to eat when I put the bloodworm in but now he doesn't come out much and when I turn the lights off, then on he is swimming around, so I put the bloodworm in and turn the lights of. The pet store has more so I could buy 2 more if needed.

I know it is best to buy a small stock first then bring the stock up later, but just to geenrally know what other fish mates can be kept with this stock. I will only be concentrating on this stock for a while and thinking about how to buy and decorate my tank suitable for the fish.

Thanks for the advice and help.

EDIT: Also looking at the other topic could I get any other type of goby like the peacock goby, this is for later when all the fish have settled for a few weeks. Before the new fish arrive I was hoping to setup the tank so it is a more heavily planted tank so the puffers can explore around with rocks and a huge shipwreck for fish to hide out aswell.

 

[didz04]

any suggestions?