Puffer Thread #14! - Page 14

bennyliv · 21-01-2012, 02:48 AM

Chearbin, what's the Congo diet? Still housing it in the 2 ft tank?

John, nice to know you are planning to house the mbu in a 6 ft tank. I have my doubt of a 1,000 gallon tank. Not many in Singapore will be able to provide that kind of environment! Just enjoy mbu keeping for this couple of years

cherabin · 21-01-2012, 03:41 AM

Diet is still carnivore pellet as staple, with a very occasional treat of small frogs. No live feeder fishes at all with concern over IP.

Still housed in a 2' tank with an Eheim 2213 stuffed with loads of Biohomme+. The kiasu syndrome...

John · 21-01-2012, 05:14 AM

hello benny

1000 gallons for mbus was recommended by experienced and dedicated puffer keepers who arrived at the number not by guesswork but from personal experiences, sometimes painful. For instance, if someone has kept an mbu, 70cm fully grown for 12 years with a 800gallon, and has found that he can barely keep up with the water quality despite 50% changes almost every day, then there is a reason to arrive at 1000gallons.

I personally think there is ground for that. I cannot afford that space, and have to do my best with the 420 gallons of water i can provide for the next few years.

There is a difference between just keeping a fish alive and for it to thrive and be happy. knowing how easily bored puffers are, its not hard to imagine life in too small a tank.

that said, I have fallen short of this "standard" myself. all we can do is do what we can with the knowledge we have. If we think about it, no home tank is large enough , not even 1000 gallons. youtube has plenty of documentaries of our fishes in their natural habitats. I tend to agree, unless i can prove it otherwise by keeping the mbu for its entire lifespan.

moonwalker · 23-01-2012, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherabin

Diet is still carnivore pellet as staple, with a very occasional treat of small frogs. No live feeder fishes at all with concern over IP.

Hi Cherabin,

Which brand & size of carnivore pellet you give them ? i can't get it to take carnivore pellet , they take MP only .

John · 26-01-2012, 08:01 AM

its also important to give them food in shell to grind their teeth.

I've got an 8"Fahaka that i need to perform dentistry on due to its overgrown beak . I got him at this size, and he was not given the right food during its "growing up years" and this resulted in overgrown teeth.

heres a video of the procedure (this is not mine, but an mbu)

/watch?v=drUCDs4UG_M

sorry i do not have privilege to post URLS yet (new member) so you need to copy and past the above link

John · 26-01-2012, 08:02 AM

go to www_youtube_com and paste /watch?v=drUCDs4UG_M behind the main url

sixthbrand · 26-01-2012, 11:34 AM

Sorry new to puffers but how big can MBUs get?

cherabin · 26-01-2012, 01:34 PM

Mbu get to ~25".

John · 30-01-2012, 05:20 PM

Enormous waste producers . They are sensitive to water quality because they do not have scales . ESP nitrates. So even if your filtration has been run in, you may only have solved the ammonia and nitrite issue. unless u have specific means to deal with nitrates like veggie filters, sand beds etc you will need to perform frequent water changes . In fact for a tank system that is rich in aerobic bacteria , it does consequently produce a large amount of nitrates (which require anaerobic bacteria and plants to break down)

06-02-2012, 12:03 AM

Hi, has anyone seen any SAP recently? or is it not the season for them?

21-01-2012, 02:48 AM	#131
bennyliv Dragon Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1,251	Chearbin, what's the Congo diet? Still housing it in the 2 ft tank? John, nice to know you are planning to house the mbu in a 6 ft tank. I have my doubt of a 1,000 gallon tank. Not many in Singapore will be able to provide that kind of environment! Just enjoy mbu keeping for this couple of years

21-01-2012, 03:41 AM	#132
cherabin Arofanatic Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 332	Diet is still carnivore pellet as staple, with a very occasional treat of small frogs. No live feeder fishes at all with concern over IP. Still housed in a 2' tank with an Eheim 2213 stuffed with loads of Biohomme+. The kiasu syndrome...

21-01-2012, 05:14 AM	#133
John Arofanatic Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 167	hello benny 1000 gallons for mbus was recommended by experienced and dedicated puffer keepers who arrived at the number not by guesswork but from personal experiences, sometimes painful. For instance, if someone has kept an mbu, 70cm fully grown for 12 years with a 800gallon, and has found that he can barely keep up with the water quality despite 50% changes almost every day, then there is a reason to arrive at 1000gallons. I personally think there is ground for that. I cannot afford that space, and have to do my best with the 420 gallons of water i can provide for the next few years. There is a difference between just keeping a fish alive and for it to thrive and be happy. knowing how easily bored puffers are, its not hard to imagine life in too small a tank. that said, I have fallen short of this "standard" myself. all we can do is do what we can with the knowledge we have. If we think about it, no home tank is large enough , not even 1000 gallons. youtube has plenty of documentaries of our fishes in their natural habitats. I tend to agree, unless i can prove it otherwise by keeping the mbu for its entire lifespan.

26-01-2012, 08:01 AM	#135
John Arofanatic Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 167	its also important to give them food in shell to grind their teeth. I've got an 8"Fahaka that i need to perform dentistry on due to its overgrown beak . I got him at this size, and he was not given the right food during its "growing up years" and this resulted in overgrown teeth. heres a video of the procedure (this is not mine, but an mbu) /watch?v=drUCDs4UG_M sorry i do not have privilege to post URLS yet (new member) so you need to copy and past the above link

26-01-2012, 08:02 AM	#136
John Arofanatic Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 167	go to www_youtube_com and paste /watch?v=drUCDs4UG_M behind the main url

26-01-2012, 11:34 AM	#137
sixthbrand Dragon Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 2,632	Sorry new to puffers but how big can MBUs get?

26-01-2012, 01:34 PM	#138
cherabin Arofanatic Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 332	Mbu get to ~25".

30-01-2012, 05:20 PM	#139
John Arofanatic Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 167	Enormous waste producers . They are sensitive to water quality because they do not have scales . ESP nitrates. So even if your filtration has been run in, you may only have solved the ammonia and nitrite issue. unless u have specific means to deal with nitrates like veggie filters, sand beds etc you will need to perform frequent water changes . In fact for a tank system that is rich in aerobic bacteria , it does consequently produce a large amount of nitrates (which require anaerobic bacteria and plants to break down)

06-02-2012, 12:03 AM	#140
DraVen Guest Posts: n/a	Hi, has anyone seen any SAP recently? or is it not the season for them?

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