Free to a good home - Starry Puffer

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Carson.

Hello

How many gallons is your tank? You say 400g - 500g would be suitable, and of course bigger would be better. You know much more about this species and specific specimen than do I, however live aquaria lists minimum tank size at 300g. Of course, they as a retailer have a vested interest to sell these fish to as many people as possible, but I find these ratings are typically accurate. I say this because I am setting up a 300g fowlr, within the month if not the next. It is not a tank, its more of a tub. It is 69" long, 63" wide, and 24" deep. Its an oval. This provides more swimming room than a lot of tanks because of its shape. If you can't find a home for your beloved pet, I'd be glad to take care of it. I planned on keeping a puffer anyway.

I can give you more details if needed, let me know what you think.

I agree that Live Aquaria is somewhat accurate but not this time. I guess it's a tough fish to list requirements for. In my opinion, there is no home aquarium that is actually suitable which is why I am trying to contact the Vancouver Aquarium. They should not be sold and I wish I had not accidentally mis-identified this fish when I bought him. Anyways...

The problem with something like 69" long, even at 63" wide is that potentially this fish would be more than half the length of that tub. They sometimes get listed as growing to 48" although I have spoken to some experts who said to more realistically expect 32-36" max. They also said often in home aquariums it's even as small as 30".

Then there is filtration. He is eating so much at 8/9" and I can't imagine how much he will eat at 30"!! In theory a dozen shrimp and half a dozen clams per day. I am just cautious about passing this problem off to someone else.

I potentially have a 700G tank for him to go to but I have still been holding out for the Aquarium, which I know is unlikely but would be the best home for this animal.

300G wouldn't be large enough for more than a few years I would think. My tank is 7' x 3' and I can't imagine him being in there for more than another year... if my filtration can handle him. Right now the tank is struggling to keep up.

[Carson.]

Understood. In that case 300g won't be enough. As you touched upon, some fish don't grow as large in captivity as they do in the wild. Some fish grow according to the space they are provided, others will continue to grow beyond their given space. Seems like the latter is the case which isn't good for us or the fish. Good luck with things.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Carson.

Understood. In that case 300g won't be enough. As you touched upon, some fish don't grow as large in captivity as they do in the wild. Some fish grow according to the space they are provided, others will continue to grow beyond their given space. Seems like the latter is the case which isn't good for us or the fish. Good luck with things.

Thanks. Having kept puffers for a very long time, I would recommend you try either a Porcupine or if you prefer a larger Arothron family puffer, something like a Mappa. I thought I was buying a Mappa when I got this guy. They still reach about 18-24" but from what I have seen, usually closer to 18"

I'm sure you know this but QT puffers and watch for internal parasites. At least 50% of the puffers I have kept had internal parasites. Sometimes it was hard to see symptoms until years later but slow growth was also a bit of a give away.

[Carson.]

Thanks. I was planning on a porcupine puffer from the start. Classic look

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Thanks for all the replies and people who reached out to the Vancouver Aquarium. Looks like this guy will go to a 700G home on Friday. I wish I could have found something more suitable for his size but this has ended up being the best option.

It would be great if places like J&L stopped selling these fish.

[Reeferamir1]

Hi I got 150g I could take it I think

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Reeferamir1

Hi I got 150g I could take it I think

That is way too small. He is going to a 700G which I just posted above.