Starting small........

SuperScro · 10-05-2006, 05:45 PM

Man, I sure wish I could have a Porcupine Puffer. The biggest size tank i could get is 75 gallons

Your fish are pretty cool.

Tommy Gun · 10-05-2006, 07:31 PM

You know Super, I am some what, sort of, kind of, a little bit dissapointed in at least the puffer that I have. I admit that I bought first and researched later with him, but he has so far gone against everything I read about him.

After really thinking about what has happened in my tank, especially the loss of four clownfish (at 15 bucks a pop), I think the puffer is to blame. He is the real reason I went with the aggressve fish tank. Now he is very subdued, BUT.....

I do love him a ton. He is so full of personality and can literally 'beg' me for attention. Someone told me that their puffer fish will spit out of the tank at them to get their attention. Mine defianately realizes when I am sitting on the couch watching TV. I read that they spend a lot of time 'sitting' on the live rock, but he hardly ever does this, unless I am out of the room. Once I walk in, even in the dark, he pops up from where he is and comes to the front of the glass.

I believe that my tank is also too small for him technically, however, I am not very far from the recommendations (I believe 110 gallons or 120 is the suggested minimum). My tank also does not fit the best dimension suggestions either, but again, I am not horribly off track either.

To be honest, I think that I spent maybe a total of 20 to 30 dollars more on my 90 gallon bowfront that I would have spent on a 72 gallon bow. Essentially, the tanks are the exact same, only mine is taller. This means I didnt have to spend more on a larger stand or longer lights.

Tommy Gun · 10-07-2006, 10:21 PM

Well, I added my eel to my display tank this morning after doing three sets of water tests this past week. Since I didnt see even a twitch in any of my parameters, I figured the natural filtration could easily handle one more fish. This eel is so sweet and even spent some time out of the rocks to check things out and eat. I am feeding him with a wooden skewer because I havent gotten the feeding stick I want yet. (I bought a tool with a shovel, scraper, and scrubber pad and just need to find the attatchment for feeding). I am amazed that this eel can seem so blind but it must have smelled this Krill and exactly where it was!

Fish Videos - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

TommysGirl · 10-08-2006, 11:42 AM

Hey Tommy Gun! Your setup looks so cool. I've enjoyed watching the videos and pics you have posted. Do these fish come in the same baggies that other fish come in? How the heck do you handle that eel should you need to pull him out of the tank? Has your puffer puffed up completely? Too cool!!!

Tommy Gun · 10-08-2006, 04:52 PM

TommysGirl,

All three of my fish did come in those same plastic bags that any other fish would come in, but I made sure they came in all seperate bags so I didnt have to put my hand in the water at all. When I put the fish in the tank, I used one of those plastic breeding (like the ones LFS use to put fish into before they get them in the bag) things that hang on the side of the tank (it is the kind that doesnt have holes in the bottom so that the water doesnt mix with the tank). This was how I floated them and I used the drip method to get the fish acclimated to the water.

I did put the eel in my Q-tank at first without really thinking about how I was going to catch it. Luckily all I had to do was take out the couple chunks of live rock to keep him in the open. Then I just used a big net to chase him into the same breeder cup. I did have to keep it covered with a plate so he didnt escape, but it was easier because the water in the Q-tank is actually the water I took out of my main tank when I did my last water change. Also, the fish wasnt out of heated water as long as it was when i had to drive home with them. I just had to walk up the stairs.

From everything I have heard and read, it is really a bad thing to get a puffer to puff up. However, when I got him, the LFS guy did much the same as I did with my eel and chased the puffer with a net. It did puff up, but I dont think it did it completely. It was about the size of an orange and I think it could get up to about a softball size. I am not sure about all puffers, but this one I know for sure is easy to get Ich and so I do not try to stress him out as much as I can. I can pet him though and he will follow me around the tank when I walk by. It definately has a lot of personality, kind of like an oscar in freshwater tanks.

firefish lover · 10-28-2006, 05:23 PM

Thats a 90 gallon tank? that seems pretty small for the pictures? Those are really good pictures Though

!! Are you going to turn that into a reef when it is completly cycled. If you are i did not know that a lionfish can be kept in a reef tank.

Tommy Gun · 10-29-2006, 04:40 PM

Firefish Lover,

Actually Lionfish are completely reef 'safe' as far as one of them damaging corals or something, however they would eat any cleaner shrimp and some other inverts if given the chance. That would be an expensive lunch I suppose. They are also not really recommended for reef tanks because of their high waste production as that would tend to degrade the water quality, which may be hard to keep up with since corals need good water all the time. Other than that though, I suppose if you had a big big tank (to handle the wastes without huge water quality swings) and didnt utilize any shrimps or non-shelled inverts, and kept the other fish bigger than a lionfish's mouth (which is pretty darn big in reality), you could keep one in a reef with no problems. At any rate, I dont have him any more and I am still unsure as to what my plans are in the future. I would like to get my stocking perfected and go from there.

Yes, the tank is really 90 gallons. It may look small, but it is taller than me with the canopy on. It is also almost bigger than my entire entertainment center (dont mind the small TV, my big one just broke) as you can see in this pic:

Tommy Gun · 10-29-2006, 04:45 PM

Got some new pictures of my tank with the newly stacked (and better, IMO) Live rock as well as a couple of the newest addition to the tank, my bicolored angel (for those who havent been following my wonderous stocking changes, I took out the lionfish and snowflake moray eel to make room for some more colorful and active fishies)

^Newly stacked LR. I wanted it a bit higher as well as more open on the sides of the tank

^My new bicolored angel fish. I think it really brightens things up a lot and even though he hides quite a bit, he has his moments of high speed algea searching

^A little bit closer picture of him

Keep checking! I have a movie working on uploading now!

gm333 · 10-29-2006, 05:54 PM

Do you have good algae growth on the rocks yet? IF not get some dried seaweed and stick a couple pieces in between the rocks this way the angel has some foraging food. Just make sure the pieces are small, and take them out when they start to look like they are rotting.

Tommy Gun · 10-29-2006, 06:25 PM

Oh, for now I suspect I have some pretty good amounts of algea growth on the LR and I have noticed the angel fish picking at the algea that is on the back wall of the tank as well, even though I didnt expect to see that.

I am having some problems locating seaweed anywhere near me. Do you have a suggestion on where to look for it and should I be looking for one particular type over another?

Thanks for the reply gm!

TG