Puffer In Freshwater Aquarium?

[heavenly_d3vi1]

I bought a puffer today, from what I can tell from google pictures its a ceylon puffer. While looking on google I also realised taht its a brackish fish, and then needs a marine tank once its an adult? Is this right? If so will it be ok in my freshwater tank, or would the rest of my stock be safe with a bit of salt?

I;m quite annoyed at my lfs as the woman I spoke to was aware that I was buying it for a freshwater tank and mentioned none of this when I asked her if it was suitable with the fish I already have! And its the most expensive fish I've bought so far!

 

[nmonks]

Ceylon puffers (Tetraodon fluviatilis) are indeed brackish water fish. The precise salinity doesn't matter, but it does need to be reasonably high. A specific gravity of 1.005 to 1.015 is recommended.

These fish are not community fish and cannot be kept with freshwater fish for more than a few months. Under freshwater conditions they tend to be sickly and disease-prone. They are confirmed fin-eaters, doing so in the wild as part of their natural diet. So whether or not your other fish tolerate salt is neither here nor there: this species has to be kept alone, either singly or in groups. It can be mixed with certain other puffers requiring similar conditions, such as Tetraodon nigroviridis.

Cheers, Neale

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

So I've pretty much got a couple of months at most to either start a brackish tank or re-home him then! Fish shops really annoy me!

Can I just post a couple of pics I've taken to double check he is a ceylon?

 

[nmonks]

Is indeed a lovely specimen of what's called the topaz or Ceylon puffer in the trade, Tetraodon fluviatilis. Not especially difficult to keep, but certainly does need at least somewhat brackish water to do well.

Cheers, Neale

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Ah yes.. I went back to the shop I got him from today to check his species, and they said he's a topaz, and assured me that they are FW puffers! But... I'm certainly a lot more willing to take the word of people on here over the people who work in the shop!! So, I've got a 60L tank spare, will this do him for a while on his own? If so... how do I make it brackish, obviuosly salt... but what kind and how much?

 

[nmonks]

It is a brackish water species. Trust me: I wrote the book on them.

A 60-litre tank would be okay for a youngster an inch or so in length, but otherwise not really viable. I'd be looking at something upwards of 120 litres for an adult. As for the salinity, I'd recommend around 9 grammes per litre (marine salt mix) to start off with. That should give you a specific gravity about 1.005. In due course you might want to raise the salinity, but it isn't critical.

Cheers, Neale

 

[DarkEntity]

Thats one of the best looking Ceylon Puffers ive seen straight from a shop in a long time

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Neale, The 60 litre tank is just somewhere for him to live whilst I find someone with a more suitable tank to take him! The idea was that, with him, and all my other fish in mind that he, and they would be better off with him in a slightler smaller, but brackish tank rather than the FW with the vulnerable fish while I find him a home. Whats your opinion, still too smal even for a very short while?

 

[nmonks]

Brackish water puffers will do better in a bigger, freshwater tank than a small, brackish water one -- at least for a few months. These are very adaptable fish, and provided the water is hard and alkaline in terms of water chemistry, they should not come to any harm in the short term. Water quality is critical with all puffers though, and in a small tank (even a brackish water one) prolonged exposure to nitrite or ammonia will quickly lead to problems.

On the flip side, although not all puffers are "nippers", most are, so do watch its behaviour towards its tankmates. Keep it well fed!

I guess I'm side-stepping your question. But my impression is your specimen is quite big, around 3-4 inches, and as such, a bit too big for a 60-litre tank.

Cheers, Neale

Neale, The 60 litre tank is just somewhere for him to live whilst I find someone with a more suitable tank to take him! The idea was that, with him, and all my other fish in mind that he, and they would be better off with him in a slightler smaller, but brackish tank rather than the FW with the vulnerable fish while I find him a home. Whats your opinion, still too smal even for a very short while?

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Ok, 60 litre is a deffo no no then! I suppose really a 100 litre is also a bit small for him? I'm gunna have start finding him a home sooner rather than later I think.. It's not a problem with him niping the other fish at the moment, he seems really calm and isn;t bnothered by the others swimming round him... but, when it comes to feeding time... I put his muscle in first... then put bloodworm at the other end of the tank for the other fish, but more often than not before the other fish have realised its there, he's finished his muscle and very quickly gulped all the blood worm too so I'm a bit worried that patrick the puffer is over eating and the other fish will go hungry! My LFS said to feed him one muscle a day and a shelled food once every couple of weeks... is this enough for him?