Congo Puffers

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ghostknife

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My local aquatic shop is selling congo puffers and i was wondering if anyone has any info on them (as they are very very cool)?

What size tank would they need? Could i keep any thing with it? What decor should i use (i was thinking of using sand as a substrate, rocks and valis, java fern and java moss as plants? Could i keep more than one? For food would they eat bloodworm, cockles and frozen fish? Is £25 a good price?

Thanks

gk :fish:
 
to answer your questions:

US 20-29 gallon tank will be just fine. these puffers are very sedentary, especially as they get older

no, the congo puffer will do best in a species only tank. anything you put with it may be eaten

the decor you were thinking of sounds fine. keep in mind that the congo puffer can change colors to match its surroundings. if you have dark sand and dark rocks/wood the congo puffer will be dark. I had one with tan sand and terracotta pots that always stayed orangish/red. :)

no, one per tank

yes, they would eat all those foods you mentioned along with live crayfish, fiddler crabs, mini crabs, ghost shrimp as well as raw shrimp. it may need to be "trained" to eat dead foods but this shouldn't be too difficult. :)

not sure about the price...usually if they happen to pop up at a petstore around here they go for US$50.

:)
 
We had one for a while until a ChacaChaca catfish killed it with a pH crash.

Everything that Jason said is spot on.

We paid £20 for ours, so £25 is about right.

Congo puffers refuse to eat when stressed, so if possible do not buy one unless you have seen it eat at the store.
 
one other thing I thought about and want to mention...when I had that red congo puffer I had actually gotten 2. one of them never did do very well. it would take a bite or 2 at the food I gave it and only once did it ever eat a full meal. it got to the point that it would just bite at the food but never actually bite into it. this one died after a month or 2 and was incredibly skinny.

the second one (the red one) started eating pretty much right off the bat. I was feeding it raw shrimp, crayfish and mini crabs. I fed it from every other day to every 2 (3 at most) days. I was told that every other day while they were small would be good, but some of the meals they ate were pretty big and this guy was only about 2" so I did sometimes wait a little longer. Anyway, this one eventually started doing the same thing as the other one. It got to the point it was only biting at the food and not actually biting into it. This one eventually stopped eating all together and also died. Moral of the story, I think the teeth on congos might grow just a bit faster than a lot of other puffer species, especially as juveniles. If I were to try one again I would probably feed it small portions every day of something with some type of shell just to be safe. :)

for the record, shortly before receiving the 2 congos I received 2 arrowhead puffers. I did lose one of the arrowheads due to a leak in its tank. :( the other one though I've never had a problem with. I've now had him/her for over a year. :D
 
Thankyou so much for the info.

Congo puffers refuse to eat when stressed, so if possible do not buy one unless you have seen it eat at the store.

Two of my local shops are selling one is selling them for £25 and the other for £43 but i have only ever seen the £43 ones feed but i cannot afford them. The other ones (£25) have been in the shop for about 4 months and are still there so i guess they are feeding.

What is US20-29 gallons in UK gallons or what size tank is that?
 
Thanks Paul.

Could I get away with a UK12 Gallon aquarium? I am only keeping one puffer and could use two filters.

How big do congo puffers get (10-15cm)?
 
Hey, can i ask what fish store they are? Im looking at getin congo puffers and i live in bedfordshire.
 
They have them for about £25 at Ashford Aquatics in Middlesex and for £43 at Hertfordshire fisheries in St. Albans hertfordshire.

I have recently purchased a 60x30x30cm (UK12 gallon) aquarium what kind of pufferfish could i keep. I was thinking of (only one of these species):
-Figure of Eight puffer
-Topaz puffer
-South American puffer
-Congo puffer
-Dwarf puffer
-Red Eye Puffer (carinotetraodon lorteti)
- Red Eye Puffer

Which of the following specimens would be suitable (i don't like dwarf puffer they are too small)?

My local store says that i could keep two topaz puffers in my tank is this true? or would it be just one? Does anyone have any info on this species eg. FW or BW?
 

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