About to invest in congo spotted puffer breeding!

[LTygress]

There is no trade forum here, so I have to ask - does anyone have a paramecium culture they can send me a part of? I'll pay shipping of course, plus a fee for the culture itself.

Now the story(?) I am making a new post because I will eventually have a breeding "journal" to share, so I figured I would keep it all in one place.

I have one congo spotted puffer at the moment. I got him from a wholesale facility (I'm a fully licensed fish seller) when they were sent the wrong fish, and the wholesaler marked it *way* down to get rid of it. Talk about a steal - I got him for just $65! They had two, but I was only able to nab one of them. He's in a 75G with four angelfish, three Syn. Brichardi, and a full grown L014 pleco right now.

Anyway, I know they were easy to breed in the 1960's when getting wild fish from the Congo river was simple. Now that area is engulfed in pure chaos and war and no one wants to risk venturing into there to collect them. Meanwhile, no one really focused on breeding them in captive before that time. That's why they are rare and expensive now.

But I LOVE taking on those challenges of populating the hobby with hard-to-find fish. I'm working on ornate bush fish at the moment (Microctenopoma Ansorgii) (nothing yet), Cherax Pulcher crayfish (a few broods), Cauliflower Sabertails (working on eliminating the potential deadly livebearer virus from my breeders), L387 plecos (one brood so far), zebra plecos (still growing hopeful breeders), and just received some adult Alestopetersius Brichardi... okay a lot of breeding projects going on. I have 36 tanks so far, and many more planned in a couple of years when I get an entire building put up just for my fish. Congo Spotted Puffers are my next planned breeding project now though. I just purchased some Subwassertang for them as well after reading the most recent thread. I do need the paramecium though. I think?

But how do microworms and vinegar eels compare in size to paramecium? I not only have those cultures already (as well as walter worms and banana worms - both of which are smaller than microworms), but I even sell them to others because I have so much. I've actually got several of my culture cups in the dishwasher right now cleaning them up before splitting and starting fresh cultures. If these would work in place of paramecium, I'll just go with that. although since I'm selling them, I may as well get some paramecium anyway and start offering those too, since supply of starter cultures out there seems to be very limited!

So, the one congo spotted puffer I got is full grown and I've had him maybe a month now. From what I can see, it's looking female. Not entirely sure yet, and I probably still need more time to add some weight on it. The wholesaler does not have anymore, but I have requested that they special order four more for me so I can look into breeding them - at their "normal" price though, but it may be worth it. They said they have to wait until they need many more fish from that supplier so it may take a few months. That's PERFECT because it gives me time to plan. Right now I have a 125G and 30G long coming in next week in which I plan to empty discus from a few different tanks to put in the 125G, leaving a few various-sized tanks empty. I was reading that it's best to breed these guys in a 30G as well? Or should they get an entire 55G to themselves? Is a smaller tank better - like a 20G? Or is that too tight?

And for substrate, I have many options. My most-used substrate is black diamond blasting sand from a store called Tractor Supply. I get the medium grade for most tanks. But I'm thinking I will need to see and catch these eggs, so maybe a fine grade (which compacts down to almost a solid base) is better? It wouldn't hide the eggs very well then, which would let me collect them easier. I don't like using bare glass bottoms - even when painted - because the reflection really seems to affect fish in a different way. (Did you know a bare bottom tank is usually when and why discus show no peppering? When you have substrate and no bottom reflection, they often develop that peppering - like a camouflage response.)

ANYWAY, so I want to get the paramecium rolling now before I even get the remaining puffers. I want to get the right sized tank, plus the right substrate and set-up. I've got amazon swords, mermaid weed, and lemon bacopa growing out of my ears, so planting it will be easy. I want the subwassertang for the fry, of course. I'll be moving the one guy in by himself for now - and maybe some cheap ember tetras to pick on if he wants and ungodly numbers of pink ramshorn snails. Once I get the rest I will remove all other fish and it will be a species tank just for the breeding puffers.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@mountaintoppufferkeeper is the man you want to ask. I believe they’re working on the same thing, and they’ve bred other puffer species. They also have published articles regarding puffers, breeding, raising fry, etc. 

P.S. After 50 posts on the forum the buy/sell/trade section unlocks. Others that have similar interests and live cultures might also see this and be able to help you out!

Best of luck!

[Guest]

@LTygress This is a very unheard-of type of breeding to me and I wish you good luck and you yield an army of little pufflets? (Or puffs? Or puffies? Sorry, I'm trying to come up with a name to call them lol) And to answer your question fish trading and swapping unlocks after 50 posts proving you have been engaged in the community, although it goes against rules to spam post or only reply to things with a "lol" or "ok" or "cool", you have to give meaningful responses per forum rules. Although I digress, welcome to the forum, and again I wish you best of luck!

 

People who give very helpful advice I recommend talking to or asking about anything fish related; @Chick-In-Of-TheSea @nabokovfan87 @JettsPapa

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

On 11/18/2023 at 6:44 AM, LTygress said:

There is no trade forum here, so I have to ask - does anyone have a paramecium culture they can send me a part of? I'll pay shipping of course, plus a fee for the culture itself.

Now the story(?) I am making a new post because I will eventually have a breeding "journal" to share, so I figured I would keep it all in one place.

I have one congo spotted puffer at the moment. I got him from a wholesale facility (I'm a fully licensed fish seller) when they were sent the wrong fish, and the wholesaler marked it *way* down to get rid of it. Talk about a steal - I got him for just $65! They had two, but I was only able to nab one of them. He's in a 75G with four angelfish, three Syn. Brichardi, and a full grown L014 pleco right now.

Anyway, I know they were easy to breed in the 1960's when getting wild fish from the Congo river was simple. Now that area is engulfed in pure chaos and war and no one wants to risk venturing into there to collect them. Meanwhile, no one really focused on breeding them in captive before that time. That's why they are rare and expensive now.

But I LOVE taking on those challenges of populating the hobby with hard-to-find fish. I'm working on ornate bush fish at the moment (Microctenopoma Ansorgii) (nothing yet), Cherax Pulcher crayfish (a few broods), Cauliflower Sabertails (working on eliminating the potential deadly livebearer virus from my breeders), L387 plecos (one brood so far), zebra plecos (still growing hopeful breeders), and just received some adult Alestopetersius Brichardi... okay a lot of breeding projects going on. I have 36 tanks so far, and many more planned in a couple of years when I get an entire building put up just for my fish. Congo Spotted Puffers are my next planned breeding project now though. I just purchased some Subwassertang for them as well after reading the most recent thread. I do need the paramecium though. I think?

But how do microworms and vinegar eels compare in size to paramecium? I not only have those cultures already (as well as walter worms and banana worms - both of which are smaller than microworms), but I even sell them to others because I have so much. I've actually got several of my culture cups in the dishwasher right now cleaning them up before splitting and starting fresh cultures. If these would work in place of paramecium, I'll just go with that. although since I'm selling them, I may as well get some paramecium anyway and start offering those too, since supply of starter cultures out there seems to be very limited!

So, the one congo spotted puffer I got is full grown and I've had him maybe a month now. From what I can see, it's looking female. Not entirely sure yet, and I probably still need more time to add some weight on it. The wholesaler does not have anymore, but I have requested that they special order four more for me so I can look into breeding them - at their "normal" price though, but it may be worth it. They said they have to wait until they need many more fish from that supplier so it may take a few months. That's PERFECT because it gives me time to plan. Right now I have a 125G and 30G long coming in next week in which I plan to empty discus from a few different tanks to put in the 125G, leaving a few various-sized tanks empty. I was reading that it's best to breed these guys in a 30G as well? Or should they get an entire 55G to themselves? Is a smaller tank better - like a 20G? Or is that too tight?

And for substrate, I have many options. My most-used substrate is black diamond blasting sand from a store called Tractor Supply. I get the medium grade for most tanks. But I'm thinking I will need to see and catch these eggs, so maybe a fine grade (which compacts down to almost a solid base) is better? It wouldn't hide the eggs very well then, which would let me collect them easier. I don't like using bare glass bottoms - even when painted - because the reflection really seems to affect fish in a different way. (Did you know a bare bottom tank is usually when and why discus show no peppering? When you have substrate and no bottom reflection, they often develop that peppering - like a camouflage response.)

ANYWAY, so I want to get the paramecium rolling now before I even get the remaining puffers. I want to get the right sized tank, plus the right substrate and set-up. I've got amazon swords, mermaid weed, and lemon bacopa growing out of my ears, so planting it will be easy. I want the subwassertang for the fry, of course. I'll be moving the one guy in by himself for now - and maybe some cheap ember tetras to pick on if he wants and ungodly numbers of pink ramshorn snails. Once I get the rest I will remove all other fish and it will be a species tank just for the breeding puffers.

Thanks for the mention @AllFishNoBrakes. @LTygressawesome stuff. Congrats on all the successes. I too like the challenges.  I think i got all the questions from your post.  Apologies if i missed any. 

does anyone have a paramecium culture they can send me a part of? 

i would say a paramecium culture isnt really a need need until you are seeing spawning and starting to grab eggs. I would look at biological supply houses / lab suppliers for the paramecium starter cultures. Thats where  paramecium for science projects in schools, college, field studies of water quality etc. are sourcing them.

It is probably worth going that way to have a clean  starter with no risk of anything else in it. Those suppliers ship that all the time quick and fairly easy.  when i grabbed them for the spotted congo fry that was my source.

I would also look at copepods from your filtration as a seperate food culture. they may eat the paramecium so that is a seperate culture here. I believe copepods helped alot on my last batch of congos. 

But how do microworms and vinegar eels compare in size to paramecium?

The small side of paramecium are listed in the 50 micrometer/micron long range. paramecium basicsally look like cloudy water to my eye. I would guess a paramecium is as long as a microworm is in diameter so a bit smaller. 

I havent had a spotted congo fry eat a vinegar eel. I also think that, after recording their feeding process and thinking on it for a few months , they probably mostly feed in the water column and it probably has to be paramecium and other infusoria until they grow big enough for baby brine shrimp. 

ThIs GIF is how they feed up here in those first weeks. The fry who is facing the bbs as it starts basically drives themselves at a 45⁰ angle up into the paramecium. this is a bunch of days old. That bbs puts their spotted congo size into perspecive. The camera can not see the paramecium that was above them.in the water column. if i had to guess i would say they would probably not eat worms until after they were big enough for bbs 

I am fairly limted in my spotted congo experience but i keep a few puffer species in colonys and document spawning and raising fry in all of them when it cloccurs. I have bred and raised pao palustris many times, and tetraodon schouldenti a couple of times so far.

the challenge seems to be the fry food side and the growth rate in spotted congos. A,t least up here it has been much slower than any of my Pao fry have been. have been. 

These are 4 months old 3/4" long or so. They have been crushing food for the duration. Currently eating whiteworms and every snail in their tank as seen in the substrate. Part of the spotred congo price may be the long growout time in addition to food needs, but im sure it could be sped up with some batches. 

 

Is a smaller tank better - like a 20G? Or is that too tight?

I would argue bigger footprint is better for these and all puffer colonys. The gif below was a 20 gallon  i used to qt wild spotted congos....and its almost certainly a male and female. Id go 30 gallon or bigger personally. 

I breed my spotted congos in either my 43 breeder custom acrylic "puffer breeding tank" or in a  40 breeder colony set up. The two in this clip and 2 more have had no aggression issues in either footprint. This in my view was a direct result of the tank being too small. She was looking to injure there. They would both do this behavior for the duration of the qt. 

Same 2 and 2 more 43 breeder little more sociable id say

But I'm thinking I will need to see and catch these eggs, so maybe a fine grade (which compacts down to almost a solid base) is better? 

I think whatever you prefer my best success was setting up an egg trap basicslly and removing the subwassertang etc they spawn in to hatch out. 

Mine have only spawned in plants he will flip belly to belly in the plants and drive them both down and in. They will them spawn. Its more contain and remove for me. 

Did you know a bare bottom tank is usually when and why discus show no peppering? 

Its wild that happens. I personally think my puffer species are all  bothered by the bare bottom its probably more the shine thand anything if i had to guess based on my observations. I also have found they show better color and pattern on lighter substrate. I do the tractor supply blasting media for the dark substrate and normally pool filter sand for the puffers. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@mountaintoppufferkeeper I love your little vids so much. Your puffers are so cute.

[tolstoy21]

On 11/18/2023 at 8:44 AM, LTygress said:

There is no trade forum here, so I have to ask - does anyone have a paramecium culture they can send me a part of? I'll pay shipping of course, plus a fee for the culture itself.

There is a trade forum here, but it isn't unlocked for members until 50 posts.  (Someone else correct me if I am wrong).

I have paramecium cultures. However, they are very inexpensive to acquire from Carolina Scientific - https://www.carolina.com/protozoa/paramecium-aurelia-living/131546.pr

I'd be glad to send you some, but honestly they are so easy to get from Carolina Scientific.

On 11/19/2023 at 12:02 AM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said:

The small side of paramecium are listed in the 50 micrometer/micron long range. paramecium basicsally look like cloudy water to my eye. I would guess a paramecium is as long as a microworm is in diameter so a bit smaller. 

Paramecium remind me of looking at dust floating through the light cast from a window. But yeah, as they become dense, the water does look cloudy. But, if you let them go to far, the water itself can cloud. 

Edited November 19, 2023 by tolstoy21

[LTygress]

On 11/19/2023 at 9:07 AM, tolstoy21 said:

There is a trade forum here, but it isn't unlocked for members until 50 posts.  (Someone else correct me if I am wrong).

I have paramecium cultures. However, they are very inexpensive to acquire from Carolina Scientific - https://www.carolina.com/protozoa/paramecium-aurelia-living/131546.pr

I'd be glad to send you some, but I honestly they are so easy to get from Carolina Scientific.

Paramecium remind me of looking at dust floating through the light cast from a window. But yeah, as they become dense, the water does look cloudy. But, if you let them go to far, the water itself can cloud. 

This link helped me A LOT! Not only did it give me a source for them, but it gave me individual species names, so I could look them up and see the differences!

You linked me specifically to Aurelia, but I see there is also Bursaria, Caudatum, Multimicronucleatum, and Tetraurelia from there. I looked them up elsewhere and here they are again, listed in order of size from smallest to largest:

P. Bursaria
P. Tetraurelia
P. Aurelia
P. Caudatum
P. Multimicronucleatum

So now I'm going to order all five of those, and raise them so I can feed them in that order, or offer them up to other tiny young fish, if needed.

And I do have plenty of established tanks where I could probably get them, but almost every tank or water-borne culture I have (except vinegar eels) has copepods in it. Even the daphnia got them by mistake when I poured green water into their jars from outside, without pouring it through a filter first. So that's not a good source for paramecium. But these "pure" ones will probably work!

(Half oy my property is actually a lake as well, so I'm sure there are plenty of goodies in there, but too many possible creatures to eat the paramecium as well.)

[LTygress]

On 11/19/2023 at 12:02 AM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said:

Thanks for the mention @AllFishNoBrakes. @LTygressawesome stuff. Congrats on all the successes. I too like the challenges.  I think i got all the questions from your post.  Apologies if i missed any. 

does anyone have a paramecium culture they can send me a part of? 

i would say a paramecium culture isnt really a need need until you are seeing spawning and starting to grab eggs.

I would also look at copepods from your filtration as a seperate food culture. they may eat the paramecium so that is a seperate culture here. I believe copepods helped alot on my last batch of congos. 

But how do microworms and vinegar eels compare in size to paramecium?

The small side of paramecium are listed in the 50 micrometer/micron long range. paramecium basicsally look like cloudy water to my eye. I would guess a paramecium is as long as a microworm is in diameter so a bit smaller. 

I havent had a spotted congo fry eat a vinegar eel. I also think that, after recording their feeding process and thinking on it for a few months , they probably mostly feed in the water column and it probably has to be paramecium and other infusoria until they grow big enough for baby brine shrimp. 

ThIs GIF is how they feed up here in those first weeks. The fry who is facing the bbs as it starts basically drives themselves at a 45⁰ angle up into the paramecium. this is a bunch of days old. That bbs puts their spotted congo size into perspecive. The camera can not see the paramecium that was above them.in the water column. if i had to guess i would say they would probably not eat worms until after they were big enough for bbs 

 

I am fairly limted in my spotted congo experience but i keep a few puffer species in colonys and document spawning and raising fry in all of them when it cloccurs. I have bred and raised pao palustris many times, and tetraodon schouldenti a couple of times so far.

Is a smaller tank better - like a 20G? Or is that too tight?

I would argue bigger footprint is better for these and all puffer colonys. The gif below was a 20 gallon  i used to qt wild spotted congos....and its almost certainly a male and female. Id go 30 gallon or bigger personally. 

 

But I'm thinking I will need to see and catch these eggs, so maybe a fine grade (which compacts down to almost a solid base) is better? 

I think whatever you prefer my best success was setting up an egg trap basicslly and removing the subwassertang etc they spawn in to hatch out. 

Mine have only spawned in plants he will flip belly to belly in the plants and drive them both down and in. They will them spawn. Its more contain and remove for me. 

 

Did you know a bare bottom tank is usually when and why discus show no peppering? 

Its wild that happens. I personally think my puffer species are all  bothered by the bare bottom its probably more the shine thand anything if i had to guess based on my observations. I also have found they show better color and pattern on lighter substrate. I do the tractor supply blasting media for the dark substrate and normally pool filter sand for the puffers. 

The original thread I found was actually from @Jack.of.all.aquariums back in 2020. He also referenced @Preston John in his posts as possibly being an earlier source? When I came here to post an updated thread (so I didn't resurrect theirs from the dead) I did see yours, but chose to make my own for the questions so it wouldn't get lost in your post.

I do use pool filter sand as well, just haven't done so for a while. I prefer the darker colors because the discus and plecos seem to prefer it to be darker. Since the discus get that peppering with the dark substrate, I figured it may be making them more comfortable, like they are hiding better. But since you said the puffers seem to like the light sand better, I'll pick up a pack of it soonish.

I do have a 30G replacement coming in this week too. 36" by 12" by 16" rough measurements. I had an old used one without the top trim (but not supposed to be a rimless tank) that did eventually start to leak after about 3 years. It's on the bottom of a 2-level stand, but the bottom part isn't tall enough to hold a full 40G and still leave me room to reach into the tank as needed. So I had to special order the 30G long from my wholesaler to replace the leaking one. It was either the entire replacement for about $60, or buy a replacement trim for $35 and pay $55 for the other company to ship it. Since I'm getting this 30G along with a replacement 125G and three different types of stones for decoration, the shipping will be much cheaper overall for each item. Currently I have L397 plecos in the 30G that is leaking. But since you suggested a 30G for the puffers, I'll split the L397's between two 20Gs and use the 30G for the puffers. Or I may still go with a 55G since I'll have a couple of those empty once the 125G arrives.

And I just replied to someone in my last comment that I am too familiar with copepods. And they do like to take over a culture of anything water-borne! I'm using turkey basters today to try and get another pure daphnia culture going without those little buggers! It's my own fault though - the one time I didn't filter the green water in before adding it to the daphnia, and I got copepods all in it. I knew better too!

As for the P. Palutris, I don't work with those because they aren't "nice" like Amazon puffers or Spotted Congo puffers. I definitely can not put them in with angelfish or discus. I do have the spotted congo in a tank with bulgarian green seal point angelfish, and they do have a few nips on their fins, but I know it's also from feeding time. Those bloodworm cubes get ripped to shreds by both species of fish, and the puffer will NOT accept someone stealing his share! Otherwise, he just "glass surfs" a lot, or browses the substrate for snails.

I have seen a lot of photos of baby puffers in tanks with snails. I am assuming it's okay to raise the two together? The snails obviously won't bother something in the middle of the water column, but I know the puffers will eat them as they grow big enough. And I've got SO MANY pink ramshorns in so many tanks! I could easily add some into a puffer rearing tank to have food ready to go when they grow big enough to eat them.

It's interesting to hear about the plants though - that he prefers to breed there. Or maybe the female will only release eggs there, but he drags her there to convince her to release them for him? Very good info! I've got tons of java moss too, but I really like the look of subwassertang anyway.

As for buying the paramecium now, I have and raise all kinds of live food cultures for resale as part of my business. The one I'm working very hard on establishing right now is live bloodworms (using a butterfly enclosure to contain the midge flies). So by getting them now I'll have them when I get and breed the puffers, but I'll also be able to reproduce and sell cultures in the meantime. There is also time to experiment with them to make sure I don't screw up and crash the culture, and I can establish a system for raising and harvesting them.

Thanks for the help everyone has provided so far. Keep sending information if you think of more!

[tolstoy21]

On 11/19/2023 at 9:46 AM, LTygress said:

You linked me specifically to Aurelia, but I see there is also Bursaria, Caudatum, Multimicronucleatum, and Tetraurelia from there. I looked them up elsewhere and here they are again, listed in order of size from smallest to largest:

P. Bursaria
P. Tetraurelia
P. Aurelia
P. Caudatum
P. Multimicronucleatum

I use the Caudatum. But that is a completely random choice on my end. So far, the fish I have that need things that small in their first days have done fine on them. 

It's good to know their ranked order of size. Thanks for sharing.

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

@LTygress nice setup there. I got my cultures at the same spot.  As a side note I have no idea how my very high altitude changes behaviors, growth rates, and culture success but those have been my experiences up here (9,200'). 

Both pairs of my wild caught spotted congos spawn in that method.  As far as i know this species spawns similarly in other setups. @Preston John ( the SME I reference for spotted congos) at spottedcongopuffer.com, his youtube channel, and here on the forum has excellent information on them.

Snails are more convienent clean up that eventually become food here. I have noticed my spotted congo fry began picking and taking out snails around 2 months old. I have been surprised at how many snails i can go through in a week.

 In the right circumstances when a puffer decides a tankmate is food option those puffer beaks all work the same in my experience..... even amazons.

Ive found the reverse to be true as well. I run colonys of many pao puffers with livebearers to keep the tanks clear of excess food. Given the right amount of space, food, and cover most puffer species are in that "nice" ballpark for me

 

[LTygress]

On 11/19/2023 at 7:03 PM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said:

Snails are more convienent clean up that eventually become food here. I have noticed my spotted congo fry began picking and taking out snails around 2 months old. I have been surprised at how many snails i can go through in a week.

But the snails do not harm the eggs or freshly-hatched puffer fry? Or do you wait to add the snails until they have hatched? And if so, how long after they have hatched?

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

My current process is to place the eggs in a german breeding ring which ill normally float a 40 breeder.  The snails are in the tank its floating in.  I just let them climb up the sides Over the foam ring top and into the middle with the food and fry once the fry are hatched out and are swimming for a few days it seems to be fine 

[LTygress]

NEXT QUESTION!

I know neo shrimp are also a good food for puffers, and I'm wondering how well it might work out if I put baby puffers in a shrimp tank. Has anyone done this? I am guessing the shrimp actually leave the baby puffers alone, since they are MUCH more prey than predator? I raised some with some rainbow belly pipefish and was told the pipefish might eat the shrimp eggs right off of their abdomen (and they did). If baby puffers do this, or even just eat the baby shrimp, that would help me keep up with feeding them as they grow bigger.

[Jack.of.all.aquariums]

On 11/19/2023 at 9:17 AM, LTygress said:

The original thread I found was actually from @Jack.of.all.aquariums back in 2020. He also referenced @Preston John in his posts as possibly being an earlier source? When I came here to post an updated thread (so I didn't resurrect theirs from the dead) I did see yours, but chose to make my own for the questions so it wouldn't get lost in your post.
 

I'm around but have been somewhat idle in the hobby. Happy to answer any questions and clarify my method though. I'll try to check the forum a bit more frequently.

I always hatched my babies in a jar with methylene blue. Fungus was regularly an issue but I didn't have the nice newer hatching rings. Once the babies were born I didn't have any issue with snails. I don't think shrimp would be of concern but I would still wait on adding them. I thought about moving the babies to a shrimp tank but they are so tiny I didn't want to lose track of them.

Collecting eggs was always a struggle for me. The easiest way I found was to gravel vac, then suck up the mulm from the bottom of the bucket and then squeeze that into a baby brine sieve. It would catch the eggs. I never managed to collect the numbers Preston did though. 

[LTygress]

The first wholesaler that had the puffers still hasn't gotten any. But a wholesale "contact" of mine got some in (I don't think he's an official wholesaler - his stock isn't big enough for him to really be one, but he does discount fish for "retailers" to buy). I've ordered four, and he said he'll have them shipped out on Monday! They're coming via air cargo, so they'll be here that same day. 

I've got plenty of empty tanks now too. So I just need to decide which one to put them in. For now, I'll put them in a 55G tank for quarantine and weight-gain, and watch their interactions. There is a lot of water wisteria in the tank, which I have no problem with them destroying. Or they can hide in it. Their choice. Once I can distinguish males and females, I'll probably move pairs to one of my 25G tanks with tinted front glass (old retail rack - tinted to keep fish from being spooked by people). It is set up now with no substrate, but I intend to get some fine-grade black sand. That way if the eggs are released across the bottom of the tank, they'll be easy to spot on the black sand.

I did get some subwassertang and put it in a neo shrimp tank. There was very little of it sent, so I really need to grow it out to have enough for the puffers to spawn. I got infusoria as well, and that culture seems to be doing good in a quart-size mason jar with organza cloth on top (held down by the jar's ring lid). And I'm not sure if it will help, but I have *plenty* of green water on hand as well to help "dim" the water, feed the infusoria, maybe give the puffers some to eat (if the parents tear up plants, maybe the fry like algae too?), or whatever else I can use it for. It's one of those things that won't really hurt to add, at least.

And the vinegar eels, banana worms, walter worms, micro worms, grindal worms, daphnia, and now baby shrimp, are all going *very* strong and ready for little puftlets to grow bigger and eat bigger foods. So I feel like everything is ready... which probably means nothing is ready! LOL!

I'll post photos of the newcomers when they have settled in!

[LTygress]

LOOK WHO'S HERE!!!

I ended up putting them in a 75G for now. It used to be an angelfish pairing tank, so that's what the slate is from. I just never bothered to remove it. Plunked a ton of pink ramshorn snails in after adding them and they all got fat really quick! Yes, the tank has some algae growth. Yes the tank has a ton of water spots on the outside (it's on the bottom of a stand with other tanks above it, so it catches all of the splashing). Yes the tank has some detritus and plant debris in it. But it's a VERY healthy tank, so I don't bother cleaning all of this stuff up! Well, except the water spots on the outside, but I didn't want to disturb the newly-added puffers with a giant cloth in their face on their very first day.

[LTygress]

They got their first water change today and I took all of the slate out except one piece used as a baffle for the powerhead. There are also three more arriving right now - I am at the airport cargo counter as I type this. So I have a total of 8 now - great group for getting some breeders.

 

Out of the others at home it looks like I have at least two females and a male. The sponge filters and lights have arrived for the rack that contains breeding tanks. These sponge filters also fit the powerhead in their current tank, so I may use that to "seed" them. I want to see the puffers actively courting before moving them to those breeding tanks, so I can see which ones are best paired together.