New Cross river Puffer

[simonas]

My 72x30x24" tank became free as the grow outs in there went in the 9ft after I moved the big aro and bass on to create a calmer tank allowing all the fish to eat not just the aro and bass

Been wracking my mind what to put in the 6ft ... group of young channa auranti to get a pair eventually was top of my list but I couldnt find any juveniles and breeders I had kept in contact with had had no luck this year, I considered a red belly piranha tank something I have always fancied, wild discus tank and a few L25 plecs as I always wanted to set up a single species pseuda tank as well but I visited Pier aquatics and saw they had cross rivers in. I had one for a few months in 2023 that a fishkeeper dumped on me to sell as he had shut his tank down and I liked it .

Got this little 6" fella on Sunday and i am in love with ity already. As soon as I come in the room he swims over, he has such a cool face and personality and my hope is to keep this for as long as it lives. I would love to see what these look like over 10"

Theres not a huge amount of information on the internet about them and I have been reading up about the cross river the last couple of days

 

[GaryE]

They're cool crunchers for large tanks. I got to unpack a lot of Cross River fish, and saw a lot of puffers over the years, but puffers never appealed to me. The really big ones still looked good.

It's a really rich habitat and the fish diversity is really surprising. I've kept a lot of small Cross River fish, and they tend to be hardy.

 

[simonas]

They're cool crunchers for large tanks. I got to unpack a lot of Cross River fish, and saw a lot of puffers over the years, but puffers never appealed to me. The really big ones still looked good.

It's a really rich habitat and the fish diversity is really surprising. I've kept a lot of small Cross River fish, and they tend to be hardy.

Cheers Gary
Did you see any in Africa? Thats what led me to your thread this morning which was thoroughly enjoable. The Cross River sounds like a lovely environment and I was surprised how lush it sounds from what google showed me .After my reading the other night I will get a few more plants and up the flow and surface movement a bit as I just assumed they came from still waters

 

[FattyFish]

My 72x30x24" tank became free as the grow outs in there went in the 9ft after I moved the big aro and bass on to create a calmer tank allowing all the fish to eat not just the aro and bass

Been wracking my mind what to put in the 6ft ... group of young channa auranti to get a pair eventually was top of my list but I couldnt find any juveniles and breeders I had kept in contact with had had no luck this year, I considered a red belly piranha tank something I have always fancied, wild discus tank and a few L25 plecs as I always wanted to set up a single species pseuda tank as well but I visited Pier aquatics and saw they had cross rivers in. I had one for a few months in 2023 that a fishkeeper dumped on me to sell as he had shut his tank down and I liked it .

Got this little 6" fella on Sunday and i am in love with ity already. As soon as I come in the room he swims over, he has such a cool face and personality and my hope is to keep this for as long as it lives. I would love to see what these look like over 10"

Theres not a huge amount of information on the internet about them and I have been reading up about the cross river the last couple of daysView attachment 383690
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Absolutely stunning! I love pufferfish.
50 years ago, when I started in the hobby, I had a figure-eight puffer; he was also stunning. I've also had a couple of porkie puffers when I had my marine tanks. Unfortunately, because they are so beautiful and actually act like a loving puppy, many people buy them without fully understanding their size and needs. Love your photos too

 

[simonas]

Absolutely stunning! I love pufferfish.
50 years ago, when I started in the hobby, I had a figure-eight puffer; he was also stunning. I've also had a couple of porkie puffers when I had my marine tanks. Unfortunately, because they are so beautiful and actually act like a loving puppy, many people buy them without fully understanding their size and needs. Love your photos too

cheers buddy, yes they have a definite charm to them. I just hope as a specimen fish in a tank its cool to keep as I have never had a solo fish aquarium before

 

[FattyFish]

cheers buddy, yes they have a definite charm to them. I just hope as a specimen fish in a tank its cool to keep as I have never had a solo fish aquarium before

Would you not add a large pleco? Archer fish would look amazing but would require some monitoring LOL.
When I had my puffers, I often fed them frozen mussels as they were easy to get and easy to keep and feeding them whilst they were frozen helped keep their teeth in check.

 

[simonas]

Would you not add a large pleco? Archer fish would look amazing but would require some monitoring LOL.
When I had my puffers, I often fed them frozen mussels as they were easy to get and easy to keep and feeding them whilst they were frozen helped keep their teeth in check.

I'm getting some young ancistrus off my mate whos got about 100 of them see how they get on
I might buy some ditther fish and see how they get on but the risk is that they'll just annhialate anything that goes in with it
I've got some frozen freshwater crabs to feed for that reason and I am getting a load of ramshorn snails. only issue with mussels is they are saltwater and I don't to harm the fish feeding saltwater food

 

[GaryE]

I'm not brave enough to go to Nigeria, and right now, the Cameroon side of the Cross is still a conflict zone. People along the Nigeria Benin border were very worried about Nigerian bandit raids - Nigeria has gone very libertarian. I'd love to see the puffer habitats, but yikes. They are no go areas for fishing unless you come from there, and even then you need to keep your head up. The Cross is also a region in danger ecologically, from oil.

Before ethnic conflicts became really bad, a lot of fish were coming out of that river and into the hobby, but that largely dried up for years. It seems there may be a new generation of Nigerian exporters working the area (hence your puffers). Hopefully, they can make it work.

It's a fair river, and it moves. I can't see puffers moving well in fast water. At the same time, we can't always create the conditions of even a slow moving section of a river in an aquarium. We get too much turbulence because of the glass walls.

 

[FattyFish]

I'm getting some young ancistrus off my mate whos got about 100 of them see how they get on
I might buy some ditther fish and see how they get on but the risk is that they'll just annhialate anything that goes in with it
I've got some frozen freshwater crabs to feed for that reason and I am getting a load of ramshorn snails. only issue with mussels is they are saltwater and I don't to harm the fish feeding saltwater food

It will be interesting to see them demolish the freshwater crabs. The bags of frozen mussels won't harm your fish. The mussels I'm talking about are the frozen, already shelled ones sold in supermarkets. I know they are originally saltwater, but as they are de-shelled, cleaned and frozen, there is nothing salty about them. Your puffer will love them, and they are a handy food to have in the freezer lol

 

[simonas]

I'm not brave enough to go to Nigeria, and right now, the Cameroon side of the Cross is still a conflict zone. People along the Nigeria Benin border were very worried about Nigerian bandit raids - Nigeria has gone very libertarian. I'd love to see the puffer habitats, but yikes. They are no go areas for fishing unless you come from there, and even then you need to keep your head up. The Cross is also a region in danger ecologically, from oil.

Before ethnic conflicts became really bad, a lot of fish were coming out of that river and into the hobby, but that largely dried up for years. It seems there may be a new generation of Nigerian exporters working the area (hence your puffers). Hopefully, they can make it work.

It's a fair river, and it moves. I can't see puffers moving well in fast water. At the same time, we can't always create the conditions of even a slow moving section of a river in an aquarium. We get too much turbulence because of the glass walls.

Yes I believe its the danger in collection thats been the issue. In the UK we seem to have had a couple of batches over the last couple of years or so of these with the main shops getting a few each year. It does sound quite scary from how you describe it there.
My mate worked in Gabon, Congo and Nigeria for a few years and loved it and the people but does have a few hariy tales of dodgy situations with the police and people trying to take cash off him. Hes huge as well so not exactly a perfect target