Puffer=good or bad? Elephant nose= good or bad?

[freshwatergal]

I asked this question in a post of mine in unhealthy fish, but I will ask it here as well. Does anyone have any experience with a freshwater puffer fish? At least Im pretty sure that's what it was. I went to a nearby fish store tonight and saw them. I personally think they would make a nice addition to my tank, but the girl there said they are super-aggressive. What do you think?

Also, any information on an elephant nose? They are kinda cool looking as well.

Thanks a lot!! :P

[madasafish]

Super super aggressive in most cases. Most famous for this amongst the [acronym:5ec046d469="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:5ec046d469] puffers are the Green Spotted Puffers (high pH or brackish water), and the Dwarf Puffers (also known as Malabar or Dwarf Indian Puffers). Some species are less aggressive, such as the South American Puffer (aka Peruvian, Brazilian Puffer) and the Figure 8 puffer, but count on establishing a species-only tank for puffers, or a puffers-and-large-cichlids tank. If you're seriously considering puffers, which are fantastic fish, make sure to read up on male-female ratios (males are quite territorial) and on compatibility with other species. Check out this site for some info: http://www.pufferfish.co.uk Some other members may suggest good sites, too.

Elephant Noses are fantastic and unique fish. They're part of the family momyridae, the momyrids, fish which perceive food through a small electrical organ usually located in the caudal peduncle (base of tail). Black Ghost Knife fish, and I believe Baby Whales, are two other examples of Momyrids.

Though the E-Nose is beautiful, it's also finnicky. It's quite sensitive to tank conditions, and must be fed live foods (brine shrimp, live blood worms). In a tank with fast, enterprising fish it will starve to death. Again, I'd recommend a species-only tank. Also, these fishes' electrical fields may misallign if you have more than 1 in a small tank, so it's often recommended that you keep only 1! This is why most ppl don't own Elephant-noses.

I've left out important info (e.g. Tetradotoxin, an extremely potent toxin that exists in puffer flesh) because I can't possibly say everything. Read up online, and I'm sure some others here will supplement what I've started.

[freshwatergal]

Thanks for the info on the puffers. Maybe if I get a bigger place someday where I am able to set up a second tank I will think about having a species specific tank for these cool lookin fish.

I'm seriously thinking about getting an elephant nose to add to my tank. I think it would be a nice addition. Are there certain tank mates? I understand the conditions.

Thanks again for all your help madasafish.

[madasafish]

Y'all ready for this???

1) Get driftwood or bevelled/pockmarked rocks. ENs love to forage, and if you've dropped many brineshrimp into the tank, they will try to hide in crevices. When they do, the elephant nose will come in and suck the brine shrimp/bloodworms out.
This is essential, as you can tell by the fish's morphology (body shape) that it is designed to forage in the places other fish don't/can't reach.

2) Let's see. I know that some ppl have combined elephant noses with other species successfully. My recommendation would be to combine this fish with algae eaters and bottom dwellers.

a. Algae Eaters: 1-3 dwarf plecos (e.g. bushy nose (see my gallery), king tiger, queen arabesque (see my gallery), hairy tiger, candy stripe, mega clown peckoltia) for algae cleaning. These fish will not bother the sensitive EN, and will keep water quality better. Number will depend on tank size.

b. 4-6 small loaches for bottom scavenging. Recommendations include: Kuhli Loaches, Yoyo Loaches, Angelicus Loaches, Tiger Loaches. Not clown loaches, since they'll get too big These species are all quite peaceful and will not bother the EN.

3. I'm worried about too many free-swimming fish, as they'll eat the EN's live food in the water column. These fish will be faster and more adept than the EN. And the EN will need a fair amount of live brineshrimp etc. to survive. If you know [acronym:f6ac204d9b="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:f6ac204d9b] fish, think of these guys as the Seahorses and pipefish of the [acronym:f6ac204d9b="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:f6ac204d9b] world. They eat slowly and methodically, and can't be put in a position in which they're outcompeted. Like pipefish and seahorses, they really need to be pampered!

OK, now the interrogation!
So what size tank are you thinking of? I'd recommend a 30 Gallon or larger. They'll grow to about 6 inches, so they'll need at least that amount of space to move around. How many are you planning on buying? Have you thought about getting a brineshrimp hatchery (simple to use, cheap to operate--don't worry) so that you don't have to rely on the expensive packages of brineshrimp LFSs sell? Here's one example: http://www.bigalsonline.com/ Go to "USA" first. Then, at the main page, do a search for "Brine Shrimp." Select "HATCH N' FEEDER BRINE SHRIMP CORRAL." There are some other external hatcheries, also. Check out the options. This is you're cheapest bet for the hatchery--Bigals is very inexpensive. I buy all of my equipment there. Take advantage of this great site!

Enough for now. Keep on asking questions. It's good to flush out important issues and problems so you have a good experience with these fantastic fish.

[madasafish]

Also, don't get overwhelmed with this info. I should write shorter posts. Sorry. Read and reread. Synthesize, then act. You're really lucky if you get this/these fish. You will be the envy of this community and of all your friends!

[freshwatergal]

Thank you very much for the info. I will give a more detailed answer later after I process the info [acronym:15c74bd54e="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:15c74bd54e]

[freshwatergal]

Well, as you may have read in some of my other posts, I had a 20 [acronym:2d4f137bed="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:2d4f137bed]. long just sitting around, so I decided to go ahead and set that up. Im hoping that I will get a 46 [acronym:2d4f137bed="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:2d4f137bed] bow front from santa, so I will be able to move the EN to that once I get it. Do you think a 20 [acronym:2d4f137bed="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:2d4f137bed] will suffice for now? I will start small I promise...

I found a hatchery at a [acronym:2d4f137bed="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:2d4f137bed] for $9.99, it's the exact same one you told me about at bigal's. But I have to cycle the tank first, so I think I will start with some dano's since I've heard that they are pretty good "starter" fish. I will then move the Dano's to my other community tank.

I keep changing my mind from day to day, so who knows what I will want to put in the tank tomorrow...those puffers are still lookin good...[acronym:2d4f137bed="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:2d4f137bed]

[madasafish]

Danios are great for cycling (BioSpira is another option).

Good luck! Let me know when you decide. My vote's for the EN. Very few ppl are willing to buy them, as they can be sensitive. Give it a well cycled tank and a brine shrimp hatchery, decorate the tank well, and you've got yourself a show-stoppingly cool fish!

[freshwatergal]

Well, no one locally has any bio-spira, so I went and bought some stress zyme (I've used it before and liked the results) and some dano's so I started to cycle the EN home. I went to a [acronym:6f44992791="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:6f44992791] today to see if they had any bio-spira, which of course they didn't and the dude was very rude to me. I told him that I was looking to get a EN and he told me flat out I didn't want one of those, they are so hard to keep alive. They don't even carry them anymore because they are so finiky. But that doesn't matter to me...I still want one. The only think I think I will ever buy from that dude is the brine shrimp hatchery.

So how long do you think it will take for my tank to cycle? I got a new book in the mail today, and it said that EN like a pH of 6.8. I'm not going to hurry this one as I don't want to get an EN only to turn around and have it die. I think this will be a very interesting fish for me to have, they are very cool looking. My mother has three cory's that she said she will give me for in the tank, and I saw some other cory's at another [acronym:6f44992791="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:6f44992791] that had some cool markings on them. I will keep you posted.

And thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it.

[madasafish]

No problem.

Tanks that size usually take about 2-3 weeks to cycle. Leave the danios in there until you get the EN. I'd recommend taking them out then to even out the bioload. If you introduce a new fish, the bioload will increase, and you'll get another "minicycle" in which more bacteria need to be created to deal with increasing nitrogenous waste... If you simply replace one larger fish for a few smaller ones, you should avoid this.

Don't hurry it, and certainly don't listen to the nay-sayers. [acronym:1491a71575="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:1491a71575] employees can be really really rude if they think they know the world about fish. The guy is right--ENs *are* hard to keep, but if you're really careful and read plenty, I think you'll do fine. Just so you know, if you do *not* succeed, you will be forgiven! You'll be amongst the ranks of the many thousands of owners with good intentions....... I've lost some fish recently, and feel horrible about it. But I know that I've kept the tanks clean for them and that I almost certainly could not have avoided their deaths.

Oh, and BioSpira is tough to come by. Don't expect to find it in your [acronym:1491a71575="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:1491a71575]. If you're interestes, try PMing "Bernie." He stocks it at his store in Tennessee. Can't remember his URL, maybe someone else can...

Cories, [acronym:1491a71575="By the way"]btw[/acronym:1491a71575], sound like fine tankmates for the EN. Good choice. And lucky you for having a mother who cares about fish!!

Jonathan