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Hello everyone, I just purchased a 2-3" fahaka puffer from an online retailer and he arrived on Thursday (7/1). He arrived quickly and acclimated just fine, but he is not in the best shape. he arrived with a "S" shaped bent spine and looks very thin to me. He is currently in a 40b QT tank that is seasoned. I have watched the couple of Cory's talks that are available online about puffers and am aware about their internal parasite issues. I dosed the QT tank with Prazipro, since that is what I have available and also have Metroplex (arriving today) which I plan on dosing his food with. I read on the puffer forum that really bad internal parasites can cause a bent spline. 1. Do you think that is the cause the bent spine or could it be something else? 2. Not sure how to dose his food when I haven't been able to get him to eat anything I put in the tank? I have tried to feed snails, cherry shrimp, blood worms, and brine shrimp but he doesnt seem interested (there are snails and shimp in the tank that I do see him try to hunt down from time to time, so I do believe he is getting some food). I reached out to the retailer that I purchased him from and they said they were feeding live California black worms and frozen hikari shrimp. 3. The couple times I have seen him try to get a snail, it seems like he cant get them in his mouth. He will bite at them a couple times then just leave them alone. Compared to the photos I have seen online of small fahakas, he seems to have an underbite? could this be an issue with his teeth since the retailer wasn't feeding hard foods or does he just look that way due to being thin? I attached the best photos I could get, he is not a fan of my phone.

What better thing to be my first journal, than a journal about this little guy! so long story short, I ordered a 2-3" fahaka puffer and this little guy was what was delivered. He has a "S" shaped bent spine and looks thin. The shipping was fast and he acclimated well, but I don't believe he was in the best shape before I received him. Now that he is in my care I feel that it is my responsibility to try to get him as healthy as possible, wish me luck! 🤞 July 1st 2021: Bender was delivered and acclimated to his current quarantine tank. His QT is a seasoned 40b with a aquaclear 70 and some Hygrophila Angustifolia. I put some small cherry shrimp, bladder snails, and ramshorn snails in the tank with him to try to get some weight on him. July 2nd 2021: Dosed the tank with Prazipro to deworm since im pretty sure that he has some internal parasites. Bender still didn't seem to active, he hid mostly in the Hygro and didn't show much interest in eating or hutning. Tried to feed some bloodworms, but he would just spit them out after finally trying them. July 3rd 2021: Bender seems a lot more active after about 24hrs of Prazipro being in his tank. Shorty after tank lights came on he was up swimming around and trying to hunt some snails. He does appear to be having issues getting snails off of leaved and glass, not sure if his underbite has anything to do with this. Have been trying to get a look at his mouth when he opens it to see if he teeth are overgrown and need trimmed, but haven't been able to tell yet. Between posts here and on facebook groups common consensus seems to be the bent spine is a birth defect. At this point my wife has now fallen in love with this little guys because "he needs to be rescued and we have to make him better" If anyone has any advice or suggestions on things to try to get this little guy better, please let me know. Currently his tank is being treated with Prazipro and im trying to medicate his food with MetroPlex, but that isn't going so well since he is being picky. I have been trying to keep some small cherry shrimp and small snails in the tank for him to try to snack when he is hungry.

Here is our new Fahaka Puffer Pete, hes being housed in a 40 Breeder than off to a 75G until he reaches his adult stage where he will spend his days in my 150G. Anyhow my question is how do you all think he looks? Ive run him through one round of the trio and am about to start the second round of parasite meds for the eggs. I have yet to see him eat but this tank is full of shrimp and snails. Ive been feeding blood worms and krill flake/extreme pellet/Hikari pellet mixture. I cant tell if his belly is sunken or if hes doing ok. I havent had very good luck with wild caught puffers even with prestine parameters and high grade food. So this is my last shot.

Hi! I'm in the process of setting up a 150 gallon tank for a fahaka puffer. I would love to do a planted tank. I have struggled with plants in the past so I thought doing a plant substrate would be a good idea to help. I know fahakas need sand substrate but I was wondering if seachem flourite black sand would be okay? Any guidance is appreciated!

Hello! This journal will be about my journey raising a Fahaka puffer from a baby to a large healthy and happy adult. My intent is to share my successes and failures with the goal that other will be able to learn from my experience. My hope is that along the way this will be a place for me to gain knowledge from input and information shared with me as well. About me: I have had aquariums throughout most my life starting with black moor gold fish as a child, through various species of fish, ranging from other goldfish, various fresh water species, cichlids, and even red belly piranhas. Over the last year I have started back in the hobby after about a 10 year break. I began with a live planted 90 gallon community tank that is stocked with a variety of tropical fish, then added two 37 gallon tanks, one for fancy gold fish, the other for a breeding pair of Koi Angles, a 125 gallon with Peacock and Yellow Lab Cichlids, and four 10 gallon tanks for med treatments and various projects. I realized quickly how much I enjoy managing a small fish room even more than a single tank. There is always a project or something I can make better and I find this quite fulfilling. If you are new to Fahaka Puffers here is a bit of information about them: What is a Fahaka Puffer? The Fahaka Puffer (Tetraodon lineatus) is a fresh water puffer. Other common names are Striped Puffer, Nile Puffer, Band Puffer, Lineatus puffer, and Globe Fish. They are solitary creatures in the wild that only come together during the breeding season. Fahakas have a somewhat stocky body that is green, tan, or brown in color with a verticle stripes running from head to caudal/tail fin. As a hunter Fahakas have bright orange eyes that can turn forward facing, creating to keeper an almost emotive/expressive face like appearance. Because of their excellent vision, Fahakas are known to recognize their keepers often creating an experience of keeping an aquatic puppy. Where are Fahakas from? Found natively from East to West Africa. They can be found specifically in the upper Nile, Chad, Senegal, Gambia, Geba, Volta, and Turkan basins(Thank you wikipedia). They inhabit large rivers and open water, as well as weed beds and vegetated areas. What do Fahaka eat? A Fahakas is a carnivore. Categorically a mulluscivore eating primarily invertebrates ranging from snails, mussels, clams, to shrimp. How big do Fahaka Puffers get? In their fist year, growing up to an inch every month, Fahakas put on size fast. Therefore a proper sized tank is important to prevent stunting as well as providing a permanent healthy environment for an adult who can exceed 17 inches in length. Recommended tank size is generally 125 gallons or more. Depth of tank is important to allow for the fish to be able to turn around comfortably. So where do we begin? Micro Puff (a place holder name for my puffer) has arrived! My plan is to add posts starting with unboxing, initial care, tank set up, feeding, and permanent tank set up and interactions. Though I have read quite a bit to prepare me for this I am brand new to puffers and I am looking forward to growing in my knowledge and skill. I hope others will come along with me on this journey of raising my own personal water dog.

Hey everyone. I have a decent sized fahaka probably around 8-10" now. He's passed clam shell pieces several times even though sometimes some hangs out for a while. Im getting nervous this time it looks like there may be a whole half of a clamshell stuck in not protruding out of his rear yet but I can see the silhouette in the back of his stomach at his rear end. Its been like this for a week, he's acting fairly normal, do I keep waiting this out or try to do something? Thanks!

Hello everyone, This will be my first post on the forums. I have become a rabid fan of Aquarium Co-Op over the last year and wanted to start using the forum as a resource to be a better hobbyist. I recently purchased a baby Fahaka puffer (inch or less long) and have him in a 10 gallon tank with water from his permanent home a cycled 125. My question is I purchased the med trio from the Co-Op that was delivered today and wanted to run him through the medications to hopefully give him the best shot at a healthy life with me. I've been reading quite a bit on Fahakas and read in a couple of places a suggestion to reduce the standard dose of medications because puffers don't have scales. Is there any truth in this? A little additional info on the puffer. Currently Micro Puff (place holder name till I decide on one) has been eating really well. So far blood worms have been a success, brine shrimp not so much. I have a colony of ramshorn snails reproducing quite nicely for him to move to once the babies start reaching an edible size. No signs of a sunken belly, and he is quite active throughout the day. Attached a picture of him pooping. Not sure if I am alarmed or impressed. I appreciate any feed back given. Thanks everyone!

Can the Easy Green Fertilizer be used safely with a Fahaka Puffer? I am planning a 120 single Puffer set up planted with lots of rhizome root plants.

First of all I apologize for another help/advice post, but I cannot for the life of me treat this or even find anything that seems to fit. So Im throwing myself at the mercy of the collective brain for help... Maybe the puffer king, the nermbasador himself, can bestow his wisdom upon me. Would anyone be able to help identify the internal parasites in this baby Fahaka puffer so I can best treat him, and possibly have a recommendation for treatment? You can almost make out little worm squiglies but I can’t tell. He’s in a quarantine tank with cycled filter and gets a water change twice a week, once 20% just to vacuum the bottom and another 30-50% after the meds. So far one round of the med trio and then another round of Maracyn and ParaCleanse with little improvement. No visible worms expelled. Oh around 7, water fairly hard, ammonia/nitrites/nitrates 0 because of the frequent water changes (I avoid WCs during meds), temp around 77. I can only get him to eat live brine shrimp, where he plumps up a little but is deflated again the next morning and cannot put weight on. Feeding a few brine shrimp 3 times a day now just to get him to eat a few shrimp a day. He follows and looks at other food but then shys away. I’ve tried everything I can get my hands on, garlic dipped or not. Also tried soaking his food in vitachem just to see if I can maybe get some vitamins in him but he won’t eat anything but brine. Frozen: Mysis shrimp krill blood worms and brine shrimp; Live: Daphnia and brine shrimp; xtreme nano. Live brine and maybe 1 daphnia on occasion is all he takes. Stool is little reddish brown balls in a string like loose beads. Can’t seem to find info or examples of this anywhere. Doesn’t seem too lethargic considering his emaciated condition. I’ve got Levamisole HCL being delivered tomorrow (11/4) and will be treating with that followed by a little epsom salt in the water, water change, and another round follow up. Trying to see if someone can point me in the right direction to try to cater the treatment. Hate to just keep throwing meds at him. Please help 😞.. Video of underside of the belly. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. I’ve been reading tons of articles online about Fahaka puffers and as always I’m seeing lots of conflicting info on recommended tank size. I’m in the UK so don’t have the same standard size tanks as you have in the US but I’m looking at having a custom tank built for him. I have space for a 4x2x2 and I’m thinking I’ll have a sump. Can anyone who has experience of keeping these fish tell me if that will be a large enough tank long term? Thanks

Hello, I need some advice, I bought a used 125 gallon tank that needs a really good cleaning. I would like to have a fahaka puffer, but I’m not sure of something’s like. The filtration, what would be good for this puffer? Food, I’ve read what to feed puffers, but not how much in one setting and how often? Thank you, Patti 🙂