u/petrichoroma

I had posted a while ago asking how often you guys have seen your puffers puff up after catching a glimpse of mine doing it a couple of times but never managing to capture it on camera. Well today I'm back and happy to report that I have videographic proof!

He actually does it all the time, I think it's part of his daily routine, but since there are no obvious triggers that I have observed, it's hard to catch him in the act and most of the time I just catch him puffing down and he's done by the time I have my phone out.

I have just fed him a big meal of shrimps & clams right after capturing this video and he is now belly parking in his usual spot :)

This duo really have something special going on. The arowana chases everyone else back to the bottom except for this little guy. And the puffer, who’s by far the smallest fish in the tank, has convinced himself he’s the muscle in this relationship. Together they never miss a beat, they’re like Batman and Robin, a two boss encounter. They only turn on each other during dinner time as they both want first dibs!

Definitely the most boring puffer I own but Bean deserves some love nonetheless. I had to move her into the big community tank for a week due to a tank emergency once, she was with 30cm+ fish including an arowana, datnoids, and a gar. Nobody dared to mess with her though, the gar got too nosy and she thought him a lesson right there and then.

In terms of aggression and toughness,
I think these guys are the pound for pound GOAT. I can’t think of any other fish in the ~15cm range that can throw down with Bean and live to tell the tale.

Doesn’t really do much though except wallow in the sand all the time and maybe change spot 2-3 times daily. Also drops massive turds at night that I have to pick up with tweezers in the morning haha

If I get another decent size tank I might consider keeping a colony of these guys.

I want to build and hook up something exactly like this:

https://scapecrunch.com/ams/yugang-co2-reactor-a-guide.14/

I'm in Futian, I'll help buy all the parts, any missing tools you need, pay the kind person for their time, and coffee, dinner, and drinks on me!

My big boy has these lines on his cheeks and running along his body. I can’t find any resources discussing this and have been wondering what they are exactly…

Snapped a pic capturing her in all her glory right after feeding and thought I’d share. I’ve got several tanks, and there’s plenty of tank mates in this one too, but there’s just something about these fish that make them special!

I’ve had this guy since January and he’s refused to even look at anything that’s not ramshorn snails. Problem is he wasn’t growing at all. After I had enough, last month I decided to starve him until he breaks. It was hard but after 11 days, when he looked completely shrivelled, he finally broke. He started to eat a small piece of shrimp begrudgingly here and there at first, but now he’s a changed fish! Always the first patrolling the surface waiting for shrimp to drop from the heavens at dinner time, and he will feast until completely stuffed. I just shed a tear of pride. He’s finally starting to put some weight on! Here he is chilling out with his buddies after a good meal :)