Chris

I personally didn't have much luck with plants. The Anubias and Java Ferns didn't die, but they certainly didn't look happy. Marimo did fine, and certain Crypts did okay. I ended up finding a little baby Crypt Wendtii that had grown in behind the scape whenever I moved the tank, so it seems they're one of the few plants I've found to actually grow in brackish - although, I think that may have been my own noobiness to the whole salty-plants thing, too!

Welcome to the salty side 😎 Every store I've ever bought a brackish fish from has kept them in freshwater (or full salt, for some of the species that prefer saltier brackish, like adult Monos and GSPs), so it's likely the fish you'll be buying is living in freshwater. Check with the store, though! What kind of puffer are we talking about? Different species will have different requirements - Figure 8's, for example, are usually best kept at lower SG's (roughly 1.004), and can be acclimated to that SG on day one from freshwater via a 1-2 hour drip acclimation. Green Spotted Puffers, on the other hand, are usually born in freshwater and move to saltier water as they get older. I keep mine in nearly full salt (1.018-ish), but I think Zenzo keeps his at a lower SG. Current knowledge suggests anything in the mid-brackish to full marine conditions are fine for large GSPs, and I've found that to be accurate. For cycling a tank for something like a Figure 8 (who you'll probably want to acclimate into brackish water on day one, IMO), you'll probably just cycle the tank at the desired SG - 1.004. With my current Figure 8, I actually introduced him into a freshwater tank filled with salt-tolerant livebearers, and increased the SG by .002 the first week, and .001 for two weeks after that to get 1.004. I've read that any faster than that can disrupt the freshwater Nitrogen Cycle. This treated a minor ich infection, and didn't disrupt my freshwater cycle. For a GSP, it all depends on the size of the fish at the time of purchase. If he's under 2", I'd cycle a freshwater tank and keep him in that until he's 3" or so, and then begin bringing the SG up by about .001 every week or two until you get to at least 1.008. If he's going to be larger than that, I'd probably cycle at 1.004 or so, drip acclimate him to that, and increase it by roughly .001 a week to your desired SG. With my current GSP, is bought him around 3" and acclimated him to 1.008 overnight. He did just fine! Luckily, brackish fish are almost all incredibly hardy, so this isn't as much of an exact science as it is whatever works best for you. The above is just how I've done it in the past. I'm sure Zenzo will have plenty of good advice to offer, and hopefully others can chime in too!

I can't believe I read through the entire thread and didn't see anyone else from Kentucky! Richmond, KY here - about an hour away from Churchill Downs, 30 minutes from UK, two hours from Fort Knox, and two hours away from the Cumberland Gap. Sadly, I'm about 36 hours away from the Co-Op... I'll make that drive one day!

I set up a 10 gallon tank to throw plant trimmings into - no equipment other than a kit light I ripped out of a hood. I figure I'm probably a month or two out from a couple new tanks, so saving the trimmings might make more sense so I'm not buying more plants down the road. Definitely gonna have to get some Crypt Pink Flamingo and Florida Sunset, though! I've been eyeing those for a while.

Eh, I'm sure they'd give me quite the tongue-lashing (fin-lashing? Laser eyes? 🤔) if I gave them dried foods often! They just get the dried mealworms every now and then - the only puffer I have that'll take flake and pellets is actually the Figure 8. He'll inhale little bits whenever I feed the other fish dried stuff.

That is a very colorful DP! Love the algae/moss on the driftwood, as well. I love to see all the little epiphytes and such that tend to pop up in these tanks. I fed the Green Spotted Puffer and the Figure 8 some dried mealworms today. I do this every week or two for variation in their diet, and also because the worms have a crazy hard shell that I'd like to think helps keep their beaks ground down. If you turn the volume up, you can hear the crunch in this one! Notice how much more shy the Figure 8 is than the Green Spotted. I swear, I've seen molly fry chase the F8 off from food before. Such a gentle little blob.

I don't think so, especially if the tank is heavily planted. Your water parameters would tell us more - but I'm sure it'd likely be fine.

Ah, I didn't consider the tank size. That is a very good point! I can't wait to set up a tank for these guys. Do you have any advice to offer that may not have made it onto care sheets for them, or that may set them apart from other species of puffer? Or have you found them to be very similar to Indian DP's in care?

Yes, although C. Borneensis and C. Lorteti are similar enough to be included in the discussion too, if you ever ran across them! Interesting - I've seen several people keeping them with small, fast fish (small tetras, peaceful barbs, small danios) and cories. Would you still not try it?

@Beardedbillygoat1975I should add, that as a dwarf species, Red-Eyed Puffers have no issues with beak growth, just like Indian DP's (or so I've heard). Lots of the less common species will have to be ordered online, unfortunately, and most are wild-caught and seasonal.

SA's are about the worst for having overgrown teeth, but in general, it's not too big of a deal. A proper diet is really all you need - plenty of shelled foods. I scrape the majority of the meat off of clams on the half shell when I feed so that the puffer has to really scrape the shell, then I feed the meat after it's done scraping. It keeps their beaks pretty well trimmed. My Figure 8 seems to be an anomaly when it comes to beak growth, but I'm thinking that's just because of his individual feeding habits. Maybe look into Red-Eye Red-Tail Puffers - they stay much smaller (they're a dwarf species), but live fairly peacefully in pairs (1:1 M:F ratio) and do great with tank mates, from what I've heard. Cool little guys. Sorry for your loss 😞 But, do it!

It's worth it! Amazons are probably the puffers I enjoyed the least out of all that I've owned, but still... they're puffers!

They're like baseball cards! Gotta fill up the tanks like we used to fill up our binders, lol.

I don't intentionally fast my fish, but I do miss a day of feedings every now and then. Or, if I realize I've overfed a certain tank, I may skip a day or two to try and avoid bloat/water quality issues.

So, it seems that this forum has become a little bit of a bastion for puffer keepers - especially of the freshwater variety, which is awesome! There's not been such a resource on care since ThePufferForum became dilapidated. I've gravitated towards puffers over the years, and have kept quite a few of the common species, although there are many (many, many, many) more I'd like to keep. They're like chips, you can't just have one! My Green Spotted Puffer: My Figure 8 Puffer: My Dwarf Puffer: My Valentini Puffer: I've had other species, including the Blue Spotted Toby, a Dogface (short-term, holding it for a friend), a Porcupine (short-term, for the same friend), Amazon Puffers, a Hairy Puffer, and an Avocado Puffer. Next on my list are the Redeye Redtail Puffers and Schoutedeni Puffer! Share your pics and videos of your puffers here!

It's all about prices, I think. Interestingly enough, I'd say there's not actually a ton of people who'd be willing to pay more for nice silk plants, since most people who care that much would probably be more interested in growing live ones anyway. It may not make sense business-wise, at least for big-box stores. I'd love to see someone take up that gauntlet, though! I think there's a niche to fill.

Alright, so it's 1 AM and I can't sleep, so why not upload some pics and talk about the tank? I guess I forgot to mention that the puffer had a minor eye infection shortly after coming into this tank. It started with just a bit of a haze over one eye on Sunday, and quickly turned into both eyes being rather cloudy by Monday. So, I dosed Erythromycin once, and it was cleared up by Wednesday. All good now! You can see a bit of the cloudiness in this pic: You can also see that his beak is getting a little long - this particular puffer seems to have a faster growing beak than any other I've had. Makes me wonder if some are more genetically prone to beak issues. I'm going to feed some more snails, and I'm also scraping most of the meat off of clams now (so he has to scrape the little bits off) and feeding the meat after he cleans the shell. Hopefully that's enough, and I don't have to play dentist on the little guy. The BBGs are doing really well in this tank - maybe better than they were in the 36. I am SO glad I've never had issues getting these guys to eat. They take everything except dry! I'd like to find some nicer silk plants, but so far I haven't found any that really wow'd me. Apparently some of the Imagitarium (Petco) branded stuff is pretty nice, but the nearest petco is 45 minutes away. I may make a trip out there sometime to look.

They can turn into little chunks, that's for sure! I guess that's a good size comparison - my DP is roughly the same size as my ottos, and all have been in the tank for almost two years.

I think the pic makes him look a little bigger than he is! In reality he's just over 1.25" or so. I've had him for almost two years, and he was wild caught, so I assume he's nearly maxed out!

Your tanks look awesome! Love them! I've been lucky - my current DP doesn't bother my ottos or shrimp. I've had some in the past that were true terrors, though! I did a lot today - water changes on all of my tanks, rescaped a tank, and stole some plants and shrimp from my mom. I got her a 29 gallon kit from Petsmart for Christmas 2019, and she's got a pretty decent tank now. Balloon mollies, guppies, and Limia Nigrofasciata, and cherry shrimp that were all bred in my tanks, and then a small school of Odessa Barbs all live pretty peacefully in there. She's got a buttload of Anubias and Java Fern, as well as some Crypts and Ludwigia. She doses Easy Green and Root Tabs whenever she feels like it, rarely changes water, and feeds daily... and her water tests great every time I think to test it. Goes to show what an established, stabilized, complete ecosystem can do, even for someone who isn't super nermy like the rest of us. I got rid of my RCS a few months ago, so I stole some back from my mom now that she's bred the dozen I gave her into a hundred. 6 went into a little bin with a sponge filter and a bunch of mulm from an established tank to breed, and 3 went into my dwarf puffer tank to breed and make shrimplets for food. He's never bothered adults, but I'd like him to have some things to hunt in there! I managed to get two feedings in today on all of my tanks, so I've got tons of nice, rounded bellies. I need to start hatching out baby brine again, but I've gravitated more towards larger fish that have no interest in it... I may just start freezing whatever I can't feed into cubes. Bumblebee Gobies eating some frozen brine: Nanaue got some bloodworms tonight, so he's been hunting around the substrate for ones he missed. He's not nearly as skittish as he was! My Green Spotted Puffer has finally lost his stress coloration from the tank move, and seems to be doing well in his new home. And the ottos love green beans. Excuse the mess - I just rescaped this tank today, and I haven't had a chance to get all the rotted wood off the substrate yet! And I let the paint run when I painted the back of the tank 🤦‍♂️

Thanks! He knows he is, unfortunately. He's only been with me a week and he's already spoiled rotten 🙄

Yeah, I've actually heard of them! The only thing that keeps me from ordering online from anywhere is storage. I live in a tiny apartment, with a teeny tiny fridge, so setting something like that up would be a no-go for now!

So, I'm learning that Nanaue hates shellfish. I've tried to feed him little bits of raw table shrimp, mysis, brine, and I just now tried some clam, and he immediately rejects it every time! He'll take a bite, and then launch it across the tank with his mouth, lol. He'll take bloodworms okay, and seemed to be a little more fond of the dried insects this morning than he was yesterday - there was no hesitation before it was engulfed into oblivion. Funnily enough, so far he's only really gotten excited for pellets. I guess when the fish is manmade and captive-bred that makes a little more sense, but still - I find it interesting. I added a moss ball, a Crypt Lucens, and a piece of Java Fern Windelov to see if he'd leave new plants alone now that he's settled in. So far, so good!

That's terrifying. But I'd 100% buy a bunch, breed them, and keep them on my desk for giggles if they bred true! I agree that a deformity is more likely than the shell just unrolling. Ramshorn shells are so thin I can't imagine it being manipulated without falling apart.

I haven't had luck getting my pea puffers to take repashy - my pea puffers have always been far pickier than any other species I've kept, freshwater, brackish, or marine. I guess they probably have a more specialized diet in the wild, due to their size - but that's just a guess. I've feed my Green Spotted Puffers, Figure 8's, Amazons, Tobies, Dogfaces, and Porcs Repashy before, just for a change in diet. They all took it, although they didn't really hunt it like they do other foods. They'd take a bite or two, swallow, and move on.