Landon Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 I just received my order from Dan's Fish- a Spotted Congo Puffer! I've had him in his quarantine tank for a few hours and he's happily munching on snails and frozen bloodworms. He seems very confident and curious for having just been shipped across 2 states. I had a Pleco from another online retailer die after a few days, so I'm still on high alert. Right now I'm trying to figure out how much bloodworm and how many snails to feed him.. (blue lights are on in this tank) He will eventually be added to a 48 gallon tank with: 6 Congo Tetra6 Orange Laser Cories1 Hillstream Loach 1 Siamese Algae Eater 2 Giant Otos Amano Shrimp (lunch?) More updates to come! 4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 Looking good! He looks amazing to have just shipped. I feed my puffers until they look nice and round (like yours does in the picture above). I don't like feeding them until their stomach is bulging so much it looks painful, either. You'll find what works for you pretty quickly - luckily, they're pretty forgiving fish! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 7, 2022 Author Share Posted October 7, 2022 On 10/6/2022 at 6:32 PM, Chris said: they're pretty forgiving fish @Chris Thank you for the tip! I'll keep an eye on that belly, and I love to hear that they're forgiving. He seems strong to me 💪 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 I expect @mountaintoppufferkeeper will have some good advice for you! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaintoppufferkeeper Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 (edited) For the mention @TheSwissAquarist . @Landon looking good. I do not have a spotted congo currently but I feed similarly sized adult puffers as much as they will eat once per day and 3 or 4 days a week. I normally shoot for around this shape with female pao palustris From the way back machine (2018) For a 4" adult puffer here that is about 10 ramshorns, 5 earthworms, or similar quantity of fish meat, shrimp, krill, or repashy. But i feed until they loose interest and are "full". The goal is to keep them in that sort of round belly Adult male palustris feeding Puffer fry and adolescents get as much as they want and grow that food belly on whatever I offer them worms snails etc Adolescent hairy puffer food belly Miurus adolescents vs shrimp meat baby palustris and whiteworms Edited October 7, 2022 by mountaintoppufferkeeper 3 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 It’s a great looking fish considering it’s at the end of a very long journey. Do you know if Dansfish medicates them prior to putting them up for sale? Your display tank looks great, the fish is going to love it, and the free shrimp too! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaintoppufferkeeper Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 @Patrick_G dans does quarentine and deworming, not positive one what meds, on the wild congos before selling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 7, 2022 Author Share Posted October 7, 2022 @mountaintoppufferkeeper Wow, I love seeing these images and gifs! I am quickly becoming a huge puffer fan. And It's great hearing actual amounts that other people are feeding. I'll also try feeding him until he gets bored. That may give me an idea of what my target should be (I guess that is what I tend to do with my other fish at first). @Patrick_G I had the same question and asked Dan if he had any tips for how I should care for him. Here's the response: Quote I'd treat it like any other fish. It's already been through Flubendazole and Levamisole and probably doesn't need to be treated again unless it starts showing signs of parasites. I wouldn't fast it. They've been eating primarily bloodworms, but will eat vibra bites most days and the occasional massivore pellet. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaintoppufferkeeper Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 Nice that's pretty dewormed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 On 10/7/2022 at 10:19 AM, Landon said: I am quickly becoming a huge puffer fan. Haha me too! 1 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 7, 2022 Author Share Posted October 7, 2022 @Patrick_G lol, you certainly are! It looks amazing 💯 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 I had to make a judgement call yesterday. As I started feeding my puffer more in the quarantine tank, the nitrogen cycle started crashing. The water was cloudy and test strips were detecting small amounts of ammonia and nitrites. I did a 50% water change, and it quickly became cloudy again. I was using a previously cycled sponge filter in the QT, and I'd had the tank running for about 10 days before adding the puffer. I had a few plants growing in there too, but maybe that's not enough for a big waste producing fish in a 10 gallon tank. Is it really possible to have a QT accommodate a puffer without substrate and a bunch of plants? Anyway, he looked healthy for that week in quarantine and I trust the retailer I bought him from (Dan's Fish), so I moved him to my display tank. I'm kinda nervous watching him interact with my Congo Tetras because they're so rowdy, but I haven't noticed any issues yet! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 How big is he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 @Patrick_G He's a little over 2 inches long 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 On 10/12/2022 at 10:06 AM, Landon said: @Patrick_G He's a little over 2 inches long Wow, I’m surprised that he overwhelmed your quarantine! He definitely has a well functioning digestive system. And I think his person probably likes to watch him eat 😉😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 On 10/12/2022 at 7:01 PM, Landon said: I had to make a judgement call yesterday. As I started feeding my puffer more in the quarantine tank, the nitrogen cycle started crashing. The water was cloudy and test strips were detecting small amounts of ammonia and nitrites. I did a 50% water change, and it quickly became cloudy again. I was using a previously cycled sponge filter in the QT, and I'd had the tank running for about 10 days before adding the puffer. I had a few plants growing in there too, but maybe that's not enough for a big waste producing fish in a 10 gallon tank. Is it really possible to have a QT accommodate a puffer without substrate and a bunch of plants? Anyway, he looked healthy for that week in quarantine and I trust the retailer I bought him from (Dan's Fish), so I moved him to my display tank. I'm kinda nervous watching him interact with my Congo Tetras because they're so rowdy, but I haven't noticed any issues yet! Better safe then sorry when it comes to fish! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 FWIW, IME you'll notice external issues on puffers very quickly. Maybe it's because they're "scaleless" (not really scaleless, but y'know) or maybe it's just my experience, but I've known puffers to pick up external parasites and diseases much more rapidly than other fish. I don't think you'll have any serious disease pop up suddenly at this point. I'd still treat for internal parasites, if you haven't already. He looks crazy healthy, but you never know with puffers! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Looks great. Thanks for taking us along on your journey @Landon! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 13, 2022 Author Share Posted October 13, 2022 (edited) On 10/12/2022 at 1:23 PM, Chris said: FWIW, IME you'll notice external issues on puffers very quickly. @Chris That's really good to know! Thanks for the tip. Edited October 13, 2022 by Landon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 I've only gotten very healthy fish from Dan's Fish. I bet your puffer will be fine without QT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 Thought I'd post an update on my puffer, Lord Paimon. Everything is going pretty well, there are no signs of disease in the community tank. I have had an issue with blue-green algae over the past few weeks though. I'm suspecting higher than usual nitrate levels (40-50 ppm). I've tried gravel-vacuuming the sand a few times a week, and 20-30% water changes along with that, but nitrates quickly climb back up to the 40-50 range. The blue-green algae comes back everyday. I've tried cutting back on feedings- 1/2 cube frozen bloodworms in the morning and 1/2 cube at night in addition to some community flake food and a sinking pellet for the cories. I am experimenting with less lighting.. Maybe less intensity so it doesn't hit the sand as much? Maybe I need to scoop out some unfinished snail corpses? This is a high tech setup, so I was fertilizing Easy Green twice a week. Maybe I should only fertilize once a week? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 1. Sounds good, but make sure that they’re getting enough. 2. Expect some plant dieback. 3.Yep 4.Since you’ve already dialed back lighting, I think fertilizing twice a week should be ok, unless the algae gets out of hand. Any pics of the full tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 25, 2022 Author Share Posted October 25, 2022 @TheSwissAquarist Thank you for the input! I'll let you know how it goes. I also thought to point the outlet toward the center of the tank to potentially increase flow over the sand.. not sure how much that will help since I don't have a way to point it down. Here's a pic of the tank today after a very thorough sand vacuuming: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Your tank looks great! Of course the puffer is the star but those Tetras are beautiful! Try some Maracyn to treat the stubborn blue-green algae. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landon Posted October 25, 2022 Author Share Posted October 25, 2022 @Patrick_G Thank you! The Tetra are beautiful and I think they know it too 😉 I will definitely try Maracyn next if my other attempts don't work out... On 10/25/2022 at 1:07 PM, Patrick_G said: Try some Maracyn to treat the stubborn blue-green algae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now