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
- fishhead88 (Aaron)
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- ger310 (Ger .)
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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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- fishhead88 (Aaron)
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- ger310 (Ger .)
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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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- fishhead88 (Aaron)
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- 2poc (2poc)
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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
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- fishhead88 (Aaron)
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- 2poc (2poc)
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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

Cheers,
Patrick
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- fishhead88 (Aaron)
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- 2poc (2poc)
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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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- fishhead88 (Aaron)
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