new pet~

[catfish]

Okay I did an impulse buy. I bought a spotted green puffer fish and turned my 5 gallon into a brackish tank. My male betta got moved into my 10 gallon tank that has had only 3 fish in it. . . and I added the marine salt to my 5 gallon and put my new pet into that.

I have yet to name him, but he is very cute. He's still a baby, so the 5 gallon will last ihm for a while until my other 10 gallon is cycled. I know I shouldn't have bought it... but I've always wanted a puffer fish~

[Sally]

Sounds so cute!

[Kathy]

I LOVE puffer fishes! I had one of my own, but he didn't live for that long. I've had great success with all other fishes though. My hands are too full at the moment, but one day I hope to set up an aquarium again.

Do you have pics of your new pet?

[Pado]

BACK AWAY FROM THE PET STORE - Catfish I think we need to intervene and keep you away from the Pet Store's for a while :p :D

[catfish]

I agree Pado.... I tried to put my male and female bettas together. He used to leave them alone. Not any more. So he got put in my spare 5 gallon tank and I had to go out and buy another filther and more aquarium rocks.

I also found out I confused the green spotted puffer w/ the dwarf puffer... I'm eventually going to have to buy a 30 gallon tank for him. So I hope he will be okay fo a while in my 5 gallon tank since he is still a baby.

[Pado]

Well of course' you'll just HAVE to get a 30 gallon ...... Catfish now you're REALLY scaring me :D :D

BACK AWAYYYY FROM THE PET STORE :p

[catfish]

But the pets need me.That's what I tell myself that is....

[Pado]

I just read this about Puffer fish:


Most puffers have a toxin called tetradoxatin. The Japanese eat salt water puffer as a delicacy. 85% of the people who eat puffer get poisoned 65% die from the poison.


Now why do you think the Japanese would eat these ? H E L L O - :eek:

[catfish]

I don't think the percentage is correct. The toxins are only in certain organs that are normally removed. The only reason someone would get poisoned is if the organs was nicked or not removed.

But anyways... I am one of those crazy people that want to try puffer fish sashimi. I love sashimi, we have this great restuarant here that a friend and I go to. We have to be careful because we can spend close to $100 on drinks and food. Love the raw fish~

[Pado]

One of my favorite Restaurants is Mikuni's - (Sushi Restaurant) - But you won't catch me trying any Puffer fish after reading that site :eek:

http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC051877/puffer%202.htm

Don't try it Catfish - who will take care of your critters?

[catfish]

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/th_S7001527.jpg (http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/S7001527.jpg)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/th_S7001525.jpg (http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/S7001525.jpg)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/th_S7001523.jpg (http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/S7001523.jpg)


pictures of my new puffer: Sashimi

Picture of my 10 gallon tank: 2 female bettas (Spicy & Yellow Tail) 1 algae eater (Unagi), and 2 ghost shrimp.

Picture of the 2 quakers: Crabby is behind General.

Oh and Pado, I'm sure I would be fine. I love to try new foods and am almost willing to try anything!

[catfish]

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/tail%20bob/th_S7001526.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/tail%20bob/?action=view&current=S7001526.flv)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/tail%20bob/th_S7001524.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/tail%20bob/?action=view&current=S7001524.flv)


Sashimi and Soy Dog (male betta) in their tanks.

[Mustang99]

I would admire the puffers from afar...I'll stick with birds

[Mustang99]

The betta is beautiful...I do have to say that the puffer is pretty cool...it looks so lonely in that tank!

I love Quakers! The breeder that I got Kiwi from breeds Quakers and I love to help him at bird shows...I think they're beautiful.

[catfish]

Puffers, after spending some time reading, do not do well with tank mates and often are kept alone or with another puffer... and even that can be a disaster.

They have sharp beaks and are prone to attack and EAT other fish to satisfy their never ending appetite. They are little deviants hidden behind a cute face. They love to eat ghost shrimp, snails, crabs, and mussels. Truly dangerous fish for other fish~

I love my quakers, but sometimes Crabby drives me crazy. He is VERY noisy and we are working to solve this along with the nipping. He's a good bird, but since he was a stray, he has a few quirks. Some weeks are better, some weeks are much worse.

[ArtS]

Wait,

Let me get this straight...

You got a puffer fish;

The puffer fish is in a tank that is too small for him (don't let Andrea or Sally see this or they'll be after you...:D );

But since he/she is still a baby it's OK;

Soon you will be buying a large tank because the present tank is too small for a growing puffer fish;

Once you get the big tank, the tank will look empty with just the puffer fish and the puffer fish will be lonely;

So you will get other fish to fill out the tank and keep the puffer fish company;

But, puffer fish don't play well with others;

And you like sashimi;

So, you will remove the puffer fish to protect the other fish and make yourself some puffer fish sashimi (already foretold, considering the fish's name is Sashimi) which is a Japanese Delicacy!

But, according to Pado, a high percentage of Japanese that eat Pufferfish sashimi die from the pleasure...

catfish, are you trying to tell us you are tired of life...;)

[catfish]

Well I am tired of being busy, but I won't be ending my life... so no worries :D Oh and I do know how to make sushi!

In my defense about the small tank. I confused the green spotted puffer with the dwarf puffer. The dwarf puffer can live quite well in a 5 gallon tank.

For his current size the tank is good, plus it is already cycled. So.... the plan is to ask for a larger tank for x-mas. That's how I got the hermit crab tank ;D

[Kathy]

LOL! Sounds like something I'm familiar with (not guilty now, but used to be!). Keep moving them up to big cages/tanks and then feel sorry for the small cages/tanks because they're empty and could be put to use.. and then run out and get more.. only to upgrade again shortly after. The cycle continues.

catfish, your dwarf puffer is cute! Mine was a dwarf, too. He was SUPER picky about foods - is yours like that, too?

[catfish]

he's not a dwarf, but a green spotted puffer. He's not been picky about foods. He likes his bloodworms. I'm thinking of getting a couple of ghost shrimp and seeing if he will eat them.

[seraphim]

use to keep brackish puffers. there are several species that live in brackish water, and a few that live in plain fresh water. they don't do well without frequent water changes, and proper diet rich in shrimp and other invertebrates like snails. When they get oler they get very territorial, and bite like a parrot;) The most comon sold in the U.S. is the spotted green and figure 8 puffers. They're is a dwarf peruvian species (sometimes call the pea puffer) very small and freshwater. Careful of your other fish, they have nasty habbit of tasting their tankmates, and can gulf down a fish their same length and size. Brackish and freshwater puffers do best in a planted tank (esp. rich in snails). I had some figure 8 puffers 6 inches. Fugu puffers are cool they have an orange bull's eye. donot be tempted in mixing diffrent types. There is a "lineolated" puffer and african sepecies, very expensive they get near a foot. In india they have gold puffers (brackish to fresh) they will attack waders and animals in the water like pirranah. if you ever need advise i kept them for years.

[catfish]

wow~ that's awesome!

I think I need to hurry up and get a 30 gallon tank for my new puffer. He's about an 1.5 inches, so I know his current 5 gallon tank will not last him too long.

I really enjoy watching him. I'm going to try and get him some snails this weekend.

[seraphim]

Your spotted puffer will eventually need a 30 gal to his own. They'll feed on silversides and shrimp from your hand, just be careful they don't feed on your hand (nasty bite on bigger ones) but usuall they don't get bigger than 4 inches (though i've owned 6inch ones)

with the types of food you'll need to feed , it will fowl the water quickly in a 5 gal. better to get the 30 gal. If you put driftwood and lots of javafern and a bunch of snails that can populate the tank they'll be healthier. they love brineshrimp aswell. they are closely related to triggerfish (highly intelligent and mean marine fish) and will recognize you as the food person (literally)

blood worms are a nice treat but offer little nutrition. however Hikari makes a brand that is vitamin fortified. better to stick to freshwater or brackish (not land) snails, and brineshrimp. When he gets bigger frozen silversides, cleaned frozen bait shrimp, and crickets are good. never feed feeder fish (they carry diseases and parasites). I've seen people feed chicken or beef heart (fowls the water up). You can feed once to every other day

[catfish]

Took these tonight. I figured I would share them~

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/th_Pose.jpg (http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/Pose.jpg)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/th_3amigos.jpg (http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/miyakko/3amigos.jpg)

[Kathy]

I believe I've said it before but I'll say it again -- how did you make them pose for you?! :p

I can't remember who's who, but the light orange one looks a lot like my own kitty. Your cats are soo adorable.