PokeSephiroth
Member
Where. Can. I. Buy. Them?!?!?
South American Puffer (Colomesus Assellus)
- Thread starter PokeSephiroth
- Start date
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PokeSephiroth
Member
Believe me, we've been looking for them already. Still on the lookout for them at the co op as far as I know, wholesellers haven't carried them in a while. Must be seasonal.
PokeSephiroth
Member
I'm not surprised. These awesome puffers are wanted! I can't wait to see which store will have them first!
PokeSephiroth
Member
I changed my mind. I don't want then anymore as I've read stories of people having to trim their teeth regardless of them feeding hard shelled foods. That's a commitment I'm not willing to do. Even if it is every other couple months.
hose91
Member
Yeah, but they stay pretty small, are active swimmers vice lurkers, and they seem to be more amenable to a group of them in a species only type tank. It seems the teeth thing can be kept in check for the most part. I dunno, it scares me a bit, but I may try them anyway. I'm leaning towards 3 of them in a 40B sometime this fall.
PokeSephiroth
Member
Thanks for the offer! Unfortunately I don't think I have the tank room to keep a dragon puffer. I've already got a red spotter puffer in a 26 gallon tank that I'm still contemplating about if I want to keep it it not :-( it's a lurker, but definitely not as active as I would like. It literally just stays in one spot all day. ALL DAY. lol.
I am happy with my new pea puffer tank though. So I think that will keep me puffer fill for now.
The problem with the South American puffers is that even if you feed them hard shelled foods (snails, clams, shrimp, etc...) their teeth still grow pretty fast. Faster than you can keep up. Which I find odd, I mean in the wild, food must be scarce, so how are they managing to keep their teeth filed in the wild?! Lol
Anyway, if these do pop up in a certain local store, it may win me over.
I am happy with my new pea puffer tank though. So I think that will keep me puffer fill for now.
The problem with the South American puffers is that even if you feed them hard shelled foods (snails, clams, shrimp, etc...) their teeth still grow pretty fast. Faster than you can keep up. Which I find odd, I mean in the wild, food must be scarce, so how are they managing to keep their teeth filed in the wild?! Lol
Anyway, if these do pop up in a certain local store, it may win me over.
PokeSephiroth
Member
Some informative info about these little guys
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Puffers/AmazonPuffer.php
The one and only sentence that really stood out for me was this:
"They also have a fast growing teeth that will at one time or another need to be physically clipped. Even with the proper diet in an aquarium setting it is inevitable that you will need to clip their teeth."
........ yeah. no. I can't... I'd be too nervous. What if I accidentally cut off their entire head?! OMG. :'(
[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/6BCl8zSN9Kc" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Puffers/AmazonPuffer.php
The one and only sentence that really stood out for me was this:
"They also have a fast growing teeth that will at one time or another need to be physically clipped. Even with the proper diet in an aquarium setting it is inevitable that you will need to clip their teeth."
........ yeah. no. I can't... I'd be too nervous. What if I accidentally cut off their entire head?! OMG. :'(
[flash=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/v/6BCl8zSN9Kc" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true[/flash]
A
Anonymous
Guest
Who clips their teeth in the wild? There must be a way to mimic their wild habitat so you don't have to physically clip the fishes teeth....
PokeSephiroth
Member
That's what I was thinking... I mean, let's assume that we feed them shelled foods EVERYDAY.... that means that it should file down their teeth daily.
In the wild, I'd assume that they don't eat as often because I'm pretty sure food is scarce (at least, if you only limit it to shelled foods) . . . so, yeah, how are they keeping their teeth trimmed?
I'm assuming that the people on the internets are having to do all this dentistry because they don't feed their puffers shelled foods daily, because, that itself would be WAY expensive in the long run. Think, Hank... but on a way smaller scale.
In the wild, I'd assume that they don't eat as often because I'm pretty sure food is scarce (at least, if you only limit it to shelled foods) . . . so, yeah, how are they keeping their teeth trimmed?
I'm assuming that the people on the internets are having to do all this dentistry because they don't feed their puffers shelled foods daily, because, that itself would be WAY expensive in the long run. Think, Hank... but on a way smaller scale.
xicaque said:
It does but should be dosed correctly to act as an anesthetic, otherwise it works as a euthanasia.
ShortyKiloGyrl said:
From my research the clove oil basically stops the breathing process and is NOT the item you want to use. It is best used as a euthanasia.
What you want to find is known as finquil, tranquil, ms222 or tricaine methanesulfonate.
Here is a good article relating to trimming: http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/lib ... dentistry/
DMD123 said:
That's very true! I think some people use clove because it's more readily available :/ I'm glad I finally got my puffer eating snails so I don't have to worry about it. I also bought enough and stuffed them into another tank and they are breeding like crazy so I don't have to buy them anymore.
PokeSephiroth
Member
Ughhhhhhhhhhh.......... okay. I've made a decision. Well...sorta.
This will ultimately help me decide if I'm destined to have one of these (or a couple!)
I currently have a 40 gallon acrylic tank that I'm currently using as a Quarantine Tank for my recently obtained, fire eel... once I fatten him up, I'll be transferring him to the 100 gallon.
So, if there are puffers still available at the store, by the time my 40 gallon opens up, then I will get some. If not...well, it's destined that I am just not meant to have amazon puffers.
Who am I kidding? You KNOW I'm going to get them. LOL!!
As for snails, I'd say that the ramshorn snails are the easiest to breed... not to mention, they stay relatively small compared to other snails, and their shells aren't too hard to crack for smaller puffers
Here is the 40 gallon tank... Kinda had to work on the canopy and stand, had to remove the old light fixture, as it was using an old t12 fluorescent tube. Beside it, is a 30-40 gallon somethingorother acrylic hex, that I'm...well... not sure what to do with yet. It currently just has my gold white clouds that were in my outdoor pond. Heh.
This will ultimately help me decide if I'm destined to have one of these (or a couple!)
I currently have a 40 gallon acrylic tank that I'm currently using as a Quarantine Tank for my recently obtained, fire eel... once I fatten him up, I'll be transferring him to the 100 gallon.
So, if there are puffers still available at the store, by the time my 40 gallon opens up, then I will get some. If not...well, it's destined that I am just not meant to have amazon puffers.
Who am I kidding? You KNOW I'm going to get them. LOL!!
As for snails, I'd say that the ramshorn snails are the easiest to breed... not to mention, they stay relatively small compared to other snails, and their shells aren't too hard to crack for smaller puffers
Here is the 40 gallon tank... Kinda had to work on the canopy and stand, had to remove the old light fixture, as it was using an old t12 fluorescent tube. Beside it, is a 30-40 gallon somethingorother acrylic hex, that I'm...well... not sure what to do with yet. It currently just has my gold white clouds that were in my outdoor pond. Heh.
