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Fahaka puffer substrate question!!


Aquadad
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So I had a Fahaka for about a few months when my friend couldn’t home him any longer due to potential size and restriction on tank space, anyway I’ve set up my 125 up and used aragonite sand and crushed aragonite mixed in with very little filter sand. The tank he’s in now is mainly filter sand with some crushed aragonite mixed in. My question and concern would be, is aragonite sand bad for the fahakas because of the rise in ph, from what I read I was completely confident in this decision until I saw a fish forum say don’t use aragonite (not specifying exactly why)  lol so now I’m all worried I’ve been cycling his tank for a little while now it would suck to have to start over but would be much better than him hurting. I have soft water and with them liking a little more kh than I can offer found myself always buffering the water anyway, Any tips on substrate or anything else would be greatly appreciated. 

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Edited by Aquadad
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On 11/12/2021 at 12:34 PM, Aquadad said:

So I had a Fahaka for about a few months when my friend couldn’t home him any longer due to potential size and restriction on tank space, anyway I’ve set up my 125 up and used aragonite sand and crushed aragonite mixed in with very little filter sand. The tank he’s in now is mainly filter sand with some crushed aragonite mixed in. My question and concern would be, is aragonite sand bad for the fahakas because of the rise in ph, from what I read I was completely confident in this decision until I saw a fish forum say don’t use aragonite (not specifying exactly why)  lol so now I’m all worried I’ve been cycling his tank for a little while now it would suck to have to start over but would be much better than him hurting. I have soft water and with them liking a little more kh than I can offer found myself always buffering the water anyway, Any tips on substrate or anything else would be greatly appreciated. 

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Thanks @Odd Duck for the vote of confidence 😊. I caught the puffer signal in the email alert from the forum. @Aquadad I more of an informed trial and error learner here and have kept a fahaka before. While I am more versed in the Pao species I have learned quite a bit from the fahaka.

Bluf : I would use more pool filter sand 1-1.5" deep with less aragonite (but wouldn't be too worried either way), live plants, and feed a variety of live foods with frozen and vitachem to supplement. 

I use aragonite to buffer but use pool filter sand for substrate. I run the aragonite/crushed coral in all my box filters. No issues so far with 3 puffer species I keep in colonies and the rest of the fishroom. I personally prefer the inert sand and no change to water parameters between the tank and the source so i don't have big swings in parameters when water changing.

When younger the Fahaka I had enjoyed burrowing into the sand sometimes for fun sometimes to test out spots to ambush prey or practice hiding from predators (in my opinion). I gave that puffer to a friend. My experience is limited to the first 6" of fahaka life as a result.

I used pool filter sand 1-1.5" deep with some areas a little deeper for burrowing. My fahaka ate primarily snails ramshorns and mystery which i grew in another tank. Food was grown using repashy, extreme spirulina flake, and organic veggies fresh and blanched or minimal salt canned and rinsed. Cherry shrimp were a great hunt when a smaller puffer. I never did get the clams on a half shell to stick but did consider ordering some live  crayfish for a boil primarily to obtain live crayfish for the fahaka that i could med trio and QT prior to feeding.  

Live food definitely engages the puffer brain for my puffers. When problem-solving during a hunt it clearly provides some enrichment for them. I view it as important to nutrition and quality of life of the puffer if they get very sedentary if they do not hunt appropriate sized live foods at least occasionally.  When feeding frozen i do whole krill, clams on the half shell, worms, or anything else you prefer with vitachem to help with nutritional value.

I run live plants in all puffer tanks to further stabilize the water parameters and assist with filtering. The fahaka got a little flighty for me and plants on ends helped to define the tank ends and prevent hitting the walls when occasionally freaked out by its shadow, or bubble touching it, etc.  

 

 

Edited by mountaintoppufferkeeper
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I cannot stress enough how important it is for puffers to have enrichment. When you hear of horror stories it's generally a bored puffer, like a puppy dog. 

Aragonite sand has calcium carbonate and magnesium in it so it will raise your gh and kh. While these can raise your ph it's not consistent between tap sources what your stabilized ph value will be. 

Welcome aboard I'm confident you will make a great puffer dad.

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