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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

Freshwater Puffers

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30 Nov 2011 12:29 - 30 Nov 2011 12:30 #1 by fishhead88 (Aaron)
Hey havent been on this in donkeys and was trying to sort my tanks out. ive a small one 54 ltres im gettin tired looking at. does anyone have any tips or exprince with freshwater puffer fish?? might change it up and put these little head cases in it
Last edit: 30 Nov 2011 12:30 by fishhead88 (Aaron).

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30 Nov 2011 17:10 #2 by ger310 (Ger .)
I had one for 3 days if yeh wanna call that experienced lol...but i was getting rid of it for someone but had to wait for 3 days to find a good home,and in that short time i got a real fondness for him but i dont think the feelings were mutual as he spent most of that 3 days in a holding cell at the end of me tank due to taking a chunk out of one of me Gourami's fins within 30 minutes of his introduction!!
Now in them few days i did some reading on them as i found his movement and colours fascinating(it was a Figure 8) and just like you,i'll be setting up a tank sometime in the new year just for them.....As the tank is a 54L you will probably have to go for the Dwarf Puffer as i think i read its 15L per fish even though they only grow to about an inch,but they need this space as they can be very aggressive!!
I think they will eat almost any kind of frozen and live food and a few small snails for them to crunch on would be ideal....All the best and get some pics up if you do go for these head bangers!!
Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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30 Nov 2011 17:47 #3 by fishhead88 (Aaron)
Cheers ger what size tank did you have? do you think i could keep a figure 8 in a 54 litre? ive been reading that a lot of them labeled freswater are really brackish water.

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30 Nov 2011 18:06 #4 by ger310 (Ger .)
i found this online:.....In captivity, figure 8 puffers require a 15 US gallon tank with temperatures between 24°C and 28°C. They are sensitive to nitrites and nitrates and must be introduced into a fully cycled aquarium. Over-filtration is recommended. Water pH will reflect the brackish environment to which these fish are best suited; the addition of marine salt will buffer the pH to a range between 7.8 and 8.3. A salinity of between 1.005 and 1.008 specific gravity (S.G.) has been found to increase the lifespan of this species to as long as 15 years[2].

I had him in Freshwater so no wonder the dirty looks!!

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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30 Nov 2011 21:21 #5 by fishhead88 (Aaron)
Haha he will learn to like it. the dwarf ones are just freshwater but most of the others arent so ill have a think about it. it will help me dive into the deep end of marine if i go for figure 8 cheers for the help ger.

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01 Dec 2011 01:28 #6 by murph (Tony Murphy)
Plant very heavily, get a colony of small snails established and throw 4-6 dwarves in. Nothing else will be happy in that size tank.

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01 Dec 2011 13:04 - 01 Dec 2011 13:05 #7 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re: Freshwater Puffers
Puffers are great fish.
This is my Fahaka puffer, over a foot long so not quite suitable for 54 litres



If you can source them, I would recommend you like for C. Irrubesco puffers. (Red tail, red eye puffers).
These are great little characters, one of the least aggressive and stunning to boot.

Bear in mind though that puffers are very sensitive fish so need lots of care and attention to maintain good health.

Best of luck,
Patrick
Last edit: 01 Dec 2011 13:05 by 2poc (2poc).

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01 Dec 2011 13:17 #8 by fishhead88 (Aaron)
Cheers muph but im hopeless at plants and patrick he is amazing makes me want one more. how i about i just go 1 figure 8 in my tank any one see any problems with that? what does your little guy like to eat?

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01 Dec 2011 13:30 #9 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re: Freshwater Puffers
No problem with a figure 8 in 54 litres.

For long term health you'll need to keep the water brackish but as you'll probably be buying one kept in freshwater from the shop you'll need to slowly raise the sg over a few weeks.
If kept long term in freshwater they don't do well and are succeptable to disease that they wouldn't otherwise be. They can actually be kept in full marine conditions.

My fahaka eats shellfish, mussels, prawns, cockles and lots of them.

She is a big pet though. Just don't put your hand in the water :unsure:

Cheers,
Patrick

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01 Dec 2011 17:32 #10 by fishhead88 (Aaron)
Cheers patrick is keeping the water to suit them hard? also i dont need to do anything diff to my tank just add marine salt? any other tips would be great mate

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01 Dec 2011 18:09 #11 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re: Freshwater Puffers
To be honest I'm not sure re: brackish.

I've kept a reef tank and it certainly required more effort to keep the water right as there are many more parameters to keep an eye on. I suspect the only additional variable with a brackish tank is the SG in which case it shouldn't be a big deal.

If I were you I'd still be inclined towards the C. Irrubesco I mentioned. Totally freshwater and relatively tankmate friendly. You might struggle to get them though as most 'red eye' puffers sold are C. Lorteti which look fairly similar but are more aggressive. I'm sure one of the sponsers could source them and you could keep several in 54 litres.

Hope that helps,
Patrick

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01 Dec 2011 20:42 #12 by fishhead88 (Aaron)
Cheers for the help patrick ill let yous no how it goes and ill keep doing my research

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