Colomesus asillus

[weezerbot]

In other words, the Amazon Puffer...anybody have any good tips/stories on these guys? I've been wanting a puffer for quite a while and these seem to be the most peaceful of them all. 9/10 websites say they will do well in a community tank with fish that can hold their own, however the 10th site says they must be kept by themselves. I also read they must have a daily intake of snails to keep their teeth trim....however only on one website, as all the others suggested bloodworms, brine shrimp, etc.

My tank seems to meet all the criteria for them however: 20 gal, planted tank with only 3 other fish: Tiger Barb, Dwarf Gourami, and pleco. Nobody has fancy fins to nip at and there are lots of places to explore!

I'd really like to pick this little guy up this weekend, so any advice/warnings/stories would be appreciated!

 

[Pufferpunk]

Tiger barbs are schooling species (5-6). All puffers are potential fin nippers. Mine are in with larger cichlids & a pleco. They will need their teeth trimmed around every 4-6 months, unless fed a daily supply of snails.

See: http://www.thepufferforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=62

 

[weezerbot]

Yes I realize tiger barbs are schooling, however the other three have slowly died off over the years and frankly I'm not interested in getting anymore....they are pretty but a bit too obnoxious for me!

 

[gheitman]

I have kept a Colomesus asellus (aka South American puffer, Amazon puffer) in a 30 gallon tank with a pair of angelfish, a few tetras, some cories and a bristlenose pleco. The first day the puffer was in the tank it would nip occasionally at the angelfish and they would nip right back. After that they all got along just fine and I never saw any signs of the puffer nipping at the other fish. Puffers are fun to watch and very inquisitive. They will swim around the tank constantly looking at what is going on. I have ramshorn snails in the tank with the puffer and they act as a food supply for the puffer and clean up algae/debris. As pufferpunk said, you will have to trim the teeth of the puffer every few months to keep it healthy. Look for her excellent article describing this procedure in August 2005 issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine.

If you have a good LFS, you might want to see if they will take back the tiger barb for credit which could be applied towards the purchase of the puffer. My LFS will buy back fish for 40% off of the retail price.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I love the scool of tiger barbs in my 125. Their noses are turning bright red now & they are growing huge (for a barb)!

 

[weezerbot]

Ya I have enjoyed the barbs, however I got them a little over 2 years ago when I started keeping fish again and I've just kind of grown bored with them. I've always liked the green barbs as well and had always planned on getting a few of those. I've just grown to enjoy other kinds of fish now that I've been at this for a bit and have discovered so many other varieties....not that I'm hoping this little guy dies soon or anything, but when he finally does kick I don't think he will be replaced. But who knows, I could miss them!

Another question about the puffer....who will trim their teeth for me? Can I get this done at the LFS? As for the snails, I would love to get some however I'm worried about them eating my plant.

 

[Pufferpunk]

It is easy enough to trim their teeth yourself: http://www.thepufferforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=8

 

[weezerbot]

Well I wanted to let everyone know my little puffer came home with me last night, along with a new pearl gourami! Everyone seems to be getting along fine, of course the barb had to take a nip at the puffer as soon as he was put in the tank (obnoxious!) but hopefully the little guy will be able to stand up for himself. My female gourami is happy to finally have a man back in the tank and is of course nagging him endlessly as any good woman would.

My LFS however did not have any snails to take home for my puffer (only the ice cream cone shaped ones I have been told to avoid), so I grabbed some ghost shrimp instead. Anybody have any suggestions for other feeding options, since its not looking like snails will be readily available? I just threw all the shrimp in at once so hopefully they last!

Thanks!

 

[Pufferpunk]

Small crickets, blackworms (actually are a lil crunchy), plankton, krill. Ghost shrimp must be gut-loaded with thalthy foods, or are not nutricious. Toss in an algae wafer for them to eat, so your puffer will get it's veggies.

 

[weezerbot]

Thanks for the tips....the little guy seems to be doing well, although he spends most of his day surfing in my bubbler and not doing much else...I did catch him eating some bloodworms tonight so now I know he is eating. I can't find some of the shrimps, so I'm assuming he is eating those too. I throw in an algae wafer everyday for the pleco as it is, so hopefully someone is getting it!

My female gourami has a puffy eye and a chunk out of her tail now...not sure if it was the puffer or the pearl gourami I just got that she has been nagging. Any suggestions for treatment?

 

[Pufferpunk]

SAPs are extermly active fish & rarly sit still. Melafix should help with healing but I might suggest it is the puffer that bit it. Gouramis have very small mouths.

 

[weezerbot]

You know I was leaning towards the puffer until I saw the pearl gourami chasing after her today....I never saw him nip at her, but he didn't want her anywhere near him either....and he is a might bit bigger than she is.

 

[weezerbot]

Small crickets, blackworms (actually are a lil crunchy), plankton, krill. Ghost shrimp must be gut-loaded with thalthy foods, or are not nutricious. Toss in an algae wafer for them to eat, so your puffer will get it's veggies.

Well its been a few weeks now, and about the only thing I can get the little guy to eat are bloodworms.....he won't go near brine shrimp, krill, plankton or the algae wafers....I dont want to keep feeding him the bloodworms, but I feel bad whenever I throw the other stuff in and he ignores it...I dont want him to starve! Any other suggestions?

 

[talloulou]

Have you tried earthworms or mussels? Snails?

 

[weezerbot]

I have not tried any of those...the small non-ice cream cone shaped snails are hard to come by around here....where should I be able to pick up mussels that are small enough for him...I dont remember seeing any at my LFS!

 

[talloulou]

Try the fish section at the grocery store. Also for the snails most fish stores have pond snails in their plant tanks. If you can find some snails in the plant tanks get a bunch of them. Some stores will give these away for free as most consider them a nuisance. Or put up a sign at your local pet store if they let you. Our petsmart has a bulliten board where people advertise pets they no longer want or pets that are lost. Put up signs mentioning you need snails for your puffer. I fish snails out of my tank all the time and trash them. If I knew someone wanted them I'd toss em in a bucket and save em up. You could even set up a small tank for the snails to keep a constant population going....so you always have some on hand for the puffer.