South American Puffer

[AdAndrews]

Just wondering what the behaviour of sap's is like, and just how you find keeping them.

thanks

 

[AdAndrews]

oh, and how many can i have in a 60cm around 15gallons? 3?

 

[nmonks]

Colomesus asellus is an extremely active pufferfish that needs a tank with lots of swimming space and plenty of water current. Wild fish live in rivers and lakes, and seemingly undergo seasonal migrations. In captivity they couldn't care less about caves and such, but they do appreciate floating plants and shady corners where they can sleep.

These puffers are distinctly gregarious and if you keep multiple specimens you will see that they are often swimming together in a loose swarm. My specimens invariably sleep in the same corner. There is no aggression between specimens.

Colomesus asellus is probably the hardiest puffer in the trade, and an ideal species for beginners. It does have notoriously fast-growing teeth, but to be honest, I've never found that too much of a problem. I've got a page on my web site describing how to trim their teeth should you need to, but a combination of sandy substrate and lots of crunchy foods has minimised this issue so far as my specimens are concerned. Colomesus asellus is also a skittish species, but this is most acute when single specimens are kept; keep a group of them and you'll find them much calmer and quite clearly happier.

On the plus side, Colomesus asellus adapts to a range of water conditions from blackwater conditions through to low-end brackish. It will eat most foods, but seems to enjoy bloodworms, daphnia, woodlice and small snails most of all.

It is a fin nipper, but not aggressive, so if you choose fast-moving tankmates and keep your South American puffers in an aquarium with plenty of room, there shouldn't be any problems. My specimens currently live with red-tail puffers, cherry-fin loaches, Ameca splendens, dwarf Synodontis and a Panaque, all in 180-litre aquarium equipped with an Eheim 2217 and Fluval 104 for a water turnover of 1450 litres per hour. Let me tell you: these puffers would probably enjoy even more space and even more water turnover!

Cheers, Neale

PS. No, you can't keep this species in 60 litres.

 

[AdAndrews]

Colomesus asellus is an extremely active pufferfish that needs a tank with lots of swimming space and plenty of water current. Wild fish live in rivers and lakes, and seemingly undergo seasonal migrations. In captivity they couldn't care less about caves and such, but they do appreciate floating plants and shady corners where they can sleep.

These puffers are distinctly gregarious and if you keep multiple specimens you will see that they are often swimming together in a loose swarm. My specimens invariably sleep in the same corner. There is no aggression between specimens.

Colomesus asellus is probably the hardiest puffer in the trade, and an ideal species for beginners. It does have notoriously fast-growing teeth, but to be honest, I've never found that too much of a problem. I've got a page on my web site describing how to trim their teeth should you need to, but a combination of sandy substrate and lots of crunchy foods has minimised this issue so far as my specimens are concerned. Colomesus asellus is also a skittish species, but this is most acute when single specimens are kept; keep a group of them and you'll find them much calmer and quite clearly happier.

On the plus side, Colomesus asellus adapts to a range of water conditions from blackwater conditions through to low-end brackish. It will eat most foods, but seems to enjoy bloodworms, daphnia, woodlice and small snails most of all.

It is a fin nipper, but not aggressive, so if you choose fast-moving tankmates and keep your South American puffers in an aquarium with plenty of room, there shouldn't be any problems. My specimens currently live with red-tail puffers, cherry-fin loaches, Ameca splendens, dwarf Synodontis and a Panaque, all in 180-litre aquarium equipped with an Eheim 2217 and Fluval 104 for a water turnover of 1450 litres per hour. Let me tell you: these puffers would probably enjoy even more space and even more water turnover!

Cheers, Neale

PS. No, you can't keep this species in 60 litres.

ok, thanks, what size tank do they need then, becuase i presumed due to their small size they would be suitable

 

[nmonks]

Read my message above. All the clues are there.

Cheers, Neale

 

[bagu]

they need a tank with swimming space, my mate has one and its active 27/4

he has a powerhead at one end to increase the flow

 

[AdAndrews]

they need a tank with swimming space, my mate has one and its active 27/4

he has a powerhead at one end to increase the flow

ok, thanks guys.. spose if i want puffers its only red eye or dwarfs then.

 

[lilacamy931]

South Americans are amazing puffs but don't think they are suitable for you in this situation. I have not had red irrubescos (forgive spelling) but currently have 4 dwarf puffers and they are amazing, very personable.

If you decide on dwarf puffers the general rule is 5g for the first one and 3g for eaxh addition. Have 2 - 3 females per male to lessen agression and unless big tank then try not to get two males inone tank. I have due to juveniles being hard to determine but all seem fine at the moment, do watch them carefully.

You can tell the males from the females because they generally have a dark stripe down their bellies, blue iridescent wrinkles around their eyes and less spotting. The females have whiter rounder bellies.

Just a little information for you

 

[AdAndrews]

South Americans are amazing puffs but don't think they are suitable for you in this situation. I have not had red irrubescos (forgive spelling) but currently have 4 dwarf puffers and they are amazing, very personable.

If you decide on dwarf puffers the general rule is 5g for the first one and 3g for eaxh addition. Have 2 - 3 females per male to lessen agression and unless big tank then try not to get two males inone tank. I have due to juveniles being hard to determine but all seem fine at the moment, do watch them carefully.

You can tell the males from the females because they generally have a dark stripe down their bellies, blue iridescent wrinkles around their eyes and less spotting. The females have whiter rounder bellies.

Just a little information for you

thanks
what about if i go brackish, can i have 1 fig8?

 

[bagu]

i dont see why not mate

 

[nmonks]

You can't possibly keep Tetraodon biocellatus in 60 litres of water; they need at least 90 litres.

When I kept Carinotetraodon irrubesco in a 60 litre tank, I found them to be shy and nervous. They hid all the time. When I moved them to my 180 litre tank, they suddenly become altogether more outgoing, and spend all their time at the front, often close to the surface begging for food.

The whole point to puffers is that they're smart and easy to tame. What's the point of keeping just a single fish in a tank that won't be happy? Better to get the right puffer for the right tank, so you actually get to have some fun watching it and training it to feed from your fingers (actually, forceps are better).

Cheers, Neale

 

[AdAndrews]

You can't possibly keep Tetraodon biocellatus in 60 litres of water; they need at least 90 litres.

When I kept Carinotetraodon irrubesco in a 60 litre tank, I found them to be shy and nervous. They hid all the time. When I moved them to my 180 litre tank, they suddenly become altogether more outgoing, and spend all their time at the front, often close to the surface begging for food.

The whole point to puffers is that they're smart and easy to tame. What's the point of keeping just a single fish in a tank that won't be happy? Better to get the right puffer for the right tank, so you actually get to have some fun watching it and training it to feed from your fingers (actually, forceps are better).

Cheers, Neale

thats why im asking all these questions i have seen alot of profiles with conflicting information, i just wanted to see which was correct. thanks neale

 

[nmonks]

If you have a 60 litre tank to work with, your best bet is one of the two dwarf puffers, either Carinotetraodon travancoricus or Carinotetraodon imitator, whichever you prefer. Decorate the tank with lava rock/bogwood caves, Java moss clumps, and some floating plants such as Indian fern. These will break up the line of sight, making it easier to keep these puffers without fights over territory (despite what some say, they are territorial, not gregarious, pufferfish). Stock at a density of about one puffer per 15 litres.

Don't add any other fish: Otocinclus are too sensitive to water quality to work well in very small tanks, and their attrition rate in such systems is very high. If you want to add anything else, confine yourself to nerite snails and cherry shrimps, both of which usually work well.

Cheers, Neale

 

[AdAndrews]

If you have a 60 litre tank to work with, your best bet is one of the two dwarf puffers, either Carinotetraodon travancoricus or Carinotetraodon imitator, whichever you prefer. Decorate the tank with lava rock/bogwood caves, Java moss clumps, and some floating plants such as Indian fern. These will break up the line of sight, making it easier to keep these puffers without fights over territory (despite what some say, they are territorial, not gregarious, pufferfish). Stock at a density of about one puffer per 15 litres.

Don't add any other fish: Otocinclus are too sensitive to water quality to work well in very small tanks, and their attrition rate in such systems is very high. If you want to add anything else, confine yourself to nerite snails and cherry shrimps, both of which usually work well.

Cheers, Neale

ok, cheers mate, i have already kept 1 dwarf puffer in a 35litre, but he jumped out, dunno why i was just hoping for something a bit bigger, maybe if i want a pufferfish, i will have to wait until christmas and get that 33gal for the gsp(or maybe 2 fig8's) i mainly just want something good to watch, is there any preds that i can have in a 60 litre?

 

[nmonks]

I think you're actually muddling some stuff up. Predators are notoriously boring fish. By their very nature they have to conserve energy: prey are not common, and catching them is difficult. Most predators spend a lot of time hungry.

The fish that are most active tend to be herbivorous species. These fish have lots to eat, but they need to feed constantly because plant material contains little energy. So they're always moving about. They often live in groups as well, because being sociable is a good thing if you're a herbivore (more sets of eyes looking for predators) whereas most predators are solitary (not enough food to go around). Sociable fish have hierarchical behaviours, so there's usually a lot of jostling about for status within the pack.

If you have a 60-litre tank, which isn't much space at all, your best bets for "fun" are going to be things like Tanganyikan shell dwellers. These are plankton-feeding cichlids that barely get more than a couple of centimetres in length. You can set up a colony of them in such a tank without any problems. The males will be squabbling all the time, or else flirting with females. It isn't all that difficult to breed them either, so you get reproductive behaviours as well. You do need to maintain excellent water quality and have an understanding of carbonate hardness issues when keeping Tanganyikans, but if you're a reasonably experienced fishkeeper, that shouldn't be too difficult.

Cheers, Neale