aussie puffer owners, i need ur help

[daveho]

hey guys,
anyone who knows abit about the types of freshwater or brackish puffers avilable please let me know. i was looking into figure8s and dwarf puffers but they arnt available here. what can we get???

 

[Shaker]

Green spotted puffers for brackish however most all owner usually convert them over from brackish to salt.

 

[KevinM]

Dwarf Puffers are freshwater only, really need to be in a puffer only tank. Figure8 and Green Spotted are Brackish and need to be in a puffer tank.

 

[daveho]

.....i know that. im just trying to find any of eather type, i have a spare 55g that will be a dedicated puffer tank IF i can find any puffers that dont grow to 12" or more i really want something that stays between 1-4 inch.
here in australia there was a time prior to "the list" where these guys could have been imported however apparently no one has any for sale.
i have tried all pet stores in my area (and called many that arnt), all online australian importer/exporters of fish, all aquarium fish wholesalers in australia. if no one comes through im gonna have to give up. whats worse is that australia must have some small puffers out there i just dont know names and since they arnt common in the trade here they would fetch a HIGH price. i read somewhere someone sellin a dwarf puffer for $80 in melbourn a while back

 

[ryanrh9]

Just got my first figure 8 today sooo cool. I love these fish

 

[daveho]

soo helpful...

 

[Terrance]

What types of puffers do you have in your area? Show pics for proper IDing.

 

[daveho]

thats the problem, there arnt any. im in contact with everyone trying to find something. so far i have found full saltwater puffers or some common toadfish that id have to go to the sea and scoop em out the only brackish one i have come across is the milk spot puffer but it gets to big. there is no infomation about puffers here in australia

 

[Borderlesscott]

Colomesus asellus - Amazon Puffer, max size of 5-6 inches - and full freshwater water, can be kept in community tank.

 

[manbeast]

in an earlier post you refer to "the list" I can only assume this is an import ban list, maybe with a little more information we'd be better able to help you,

 

[daveho]

amazon puffer is banned. the import list is a list of alowable imports i have read through it an i cannot see any puffers. the thing is that they are not on the noxios species list so it would be legal to own an sell them but not import them

 

[daveho]

Live import list - Wildlife trade and conservation in Australia

heres the import list, like i said i couldnt see any but i may have missed em

 

[Terrance]

thats the problem, there arnt any. im in contact with everyone trying to find something. so far i have found full saltwater puffers or some common toadfish that id have to go to the sea and scoop em out the only brackish one i have come across is the milk spot puffer but it gets to big. there is no infomation about puffers here in australia

I really want the toadfish puffer. They are never in trade in the states.

 

[daveho]

they are acctuly pritty interesting fish however most say they max out at 6 inch or so which isnt true there are ones i have seen pushing 10". the other issue is they are soo adaptable and over populated so they are considered noxious and there for must be killed on site in most states so they would be illegal to keep.

im just gonna hazard a guess that there arnt any australin owners of puffers acctuly here so i may just have to do alot of leg work and put the info up for others in the future.... hopefully i can find some

 

[Terrance]

If you ever decide to catch one of those toad puffers, then try to document their care requirements and other interesting facts. The puffer community would really appreciate it since we have very little info on these species in captivity. I had no idea they can reach over 4 inches.

 

[daveho]

i will do. since im 3 hours inland its not the easyest thing to do but since i have never kept a brackish or saltwater tank i thought it would be best to try withsome fish that are well known so i can get the hang of brackish

 

[daveho]

well i have made headway, i have found a lfs who can get what where only called "brown spotted puffer" i have been told they only reach 10cm. i will try to get a scientific name

 

[Terrance]

I would try to get pics. Lfs often get the trade and scientifif name wrong.

 

[daveho]

i will do since they are currently being collected the guy isnt reachable (no cell reception where the wild things are) but ill try and get some photos prior to them being shipped to my LFS,eather way ill prolly take em, from what i have seen i have only been able to track down 1 other person in my state that has kept a puffer (his died) so all going well maby i can introduce these cool pets.

i do have some questions, the tank im using is a 55g with a fluval 404 on her (cycled) with out knowing about these guys what should i set the water peramiters to? i figured id start off in low brackish and try to keep it there say .005-.012 and a temp of say 77 and just veeeery slowly drip acclimate them?
also do u think 4 would be too many??? in a 55 assuming they do reach 10cm (4") ?
on a side note i have started culturing pond snails for em
edit: i plan to add a fair bit of drift wood and java fern so the tank will be heavily planted but not inittialy as the plants have to grow

 

[Terrance]

I read the toad puffer are light brackish fish. You will be better off keeping them in salinity ~1.005. The weekly water changes will be cheaper as well. Basically low-end brackish and marine water is easy and affordible. Everything else in between is pricey when it comes to water quality.

I am not certain how aggressive these fish can be. I would just stick 1 of them in a 100L tank since i like all my puffers in isolation. Not sure about a 55g. You will have to experiment.