What do mbu puffers eat

We suggest a sandy substrate , with smooth rocks and driftwood pieces for decoration. Leave plenty of open space for swimming. You can plant the aquarium if you wish but be prepared for bite marks to appear in the leaves if the puffer spots any morsels of food on them. It should be fed snails and unshelled shellfish such as crab legs, mussels etc.

As with other puffers, these grow continuously and become a problem for the fish if they are not kept ground down. A generally aggressive and intolerant species that really should be kept alone. Its beak-like mouth can easily bite chunks from other fish, or in extreme cases rip them to pieces.

However, some specimens are less aggressive than others and it is down to the individual fish as to how it will react to tankmates. If you decide to take the risk, you will need a huge tank and tankmates that swim too quickly for the puffer to catch them easily.

It is also very aggressive towards conspecifics and should never be kept in groups. Breeding has not occured in aquaria. A truly enormous volume of water would be required for any serious breeding attempt. Puffer fish are so called as they have the ability to inflate their elastic stomachs with water or air. The giant pufferfish belongs to the family of Tetraodontidae, which means that their bodies contain the same neurotoxin tetrodotoxin as found in sushi pufferfish.

Due to their large size, Mbu puffers are out of the scope of most fish keepers because a huge aquarium is required to house them correctly. Unless you are an advanced keeper, the species is more appropriate for public aquariums. Its large size and need to swim dictate ideal aquarium sizes of to 1, gallons. This type of large, heavy installation requires high cost, time, and effort to set up and maintain and is beyond all but the most dedicated keepers. Smaller aquariums of to gallons can house Mbu puffers up to 20 inches or so if the tank is in a horizontal shape to give them lots of swimming room.

This is not considered ideal because if they grow any larger, it is time to move them to a huge tank. If you plan to keep Mbu puffers for many years, it makes sense to invest in the correct size tank and filtration system upfront to avoid multiple equipment upgrades.

The native waters of the Mbu puffer are immaculate, and aquariums for this species should have robust filtration systems. Large fish produce a lot of waste, and they are messy eaters. As they are a chewing species, outside the aquarium, canister filters are a good choice. In terms of water, the Mbu puffer likes it warm, They are very tolerant of water pH and hardness ranges as long as it is maintained as a constant.

Filtering chlorine, if it exists, out of your replacement water and letting the other balances stay the same is a good way to acclimate your Mbu puffer to your water conditions. They are not very tolerant of nitrogen and other substances caused by dirty water or bacteria. Many of these headaches can be avoided by changing out a third of the water weekly, if not more frequently.

For enormous aquariums, this is extremely laborious. Automatic water changers remove this burden by pumping out tank water and replacing it with water from a good clean source free of chlorine.

Scale the return of the water so that there is not an extreme current. A gentle motion is OK, but Mbu puffers are not strong swimmers and can get stressed by strong currents. When Mbu puffers become ill, there are usually warning signs such as sudden changes in swimming patterns, sluggishness, and the appearance of dark spots on their usually bright bellies.

Much of their home range is in sandy bottom rivers, so a good coral sand substrate is ideal for Mbu puffers. They will often make depressions or nests in the sand or sift it in their mouths as they hunt for clams and snails.

The large size of the recommended aquariums allows larger rocks, pieces of driftwood, and other bottom structures to create caves, crevices, and other hiding places. The Mbu puffer will explore the ones they can get into. Smaller spaces can make good hiding spots for smaller species of tank mates if you think your Mbu puffer is friendly enough to cohabitate with.

Rooted plants are a great way to line the sides and back to provide some visual relief and a place for small fish to hide. Plants that root well are preferable because Mbu puffer will sometimes chew on them. Mbu puffers are difficult to cohabitate for several reasons. Their aggressive and carnivore nature can make them hostile to pretty much everything that swims. Given their large size, anything you put in the tank with them has the prospect of becoming a meal.

The fish are true individuals in that each has their own personality. One Mbu puffer may do well with tank mates and others of its own kind; another may not. The only way to find out is to put two of them together and see if they get along. If you get a Mbu puffer with a friendly personality, you can try them with non-threatening species.

Watch their interaction closely, so it does not result in the death of the tank mate. Some keepers will add guppies and similar small fish that can easily hide but can also be easily replaced. Additionally, plenty of pond heaters would be needed to keep the temperature around 26 C. All in all an appropriate tank is a little out of most people monetary or practical range.

It is also worth noting that acrylic tanks are not a good idea for large puffers, as their teeth are known for scratching the plastic, which is unsightly and may weaken it over time. Even assuming that we have a tank large enough that these puffers can turn around properly in, we need to look at decoration and design of the tank.

Varied surrounds with many points of interest are necessary to keep these puffers active and interested in their surroundings; again this is something a standard six-foot tank would struggle with. Ideally you would have lots of bogwood, medium grain natural gravel and large plants. Clooney loves it when I put new plants in the tank, he will always swim over to check them out. Plants that are ideal for a tank this large include Giant Vallis and certain large sword plants, Clooney actually chooses to rest under sword plants when I have them in the tank.

Once you have a tank set up it will need to be fully cycled before the Mbu is added, Mbu puffers like all puffers are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrites. Though it may seem silly putting 4 inch baby Mbu in such a vast tank, I would much sooner do that than try to catch and remove a twenty inch fish powerful enough to bite your fingers off without getting it above the water, important because like all puffers, if it inflates and traps air, it could end up dead.

They prefer a PH of 7. Temp needs to be between C, though the lower part of the temperature range is better as it allows for more oxygen in the water, something a large puffers uses in spades as they grow and feed. High volume water changes are also absolutely essential for such a large, messy and sensitive fish. Their sensitivity to any accumulating toxins is another reason for the large tank size, the bigger the tank the more dilute any poisons in the water will be.

Applying the normal rules for stocking small fish is not accurate for puffers due to their messy eating, waste production, and rotund figures. Feeding the Mbu It is important to address the natural dietary needs of these fish to keep them healthy so shelled food is important to keep the teeth trimmed. Young puffers will benefit from snails the most, and the best types are pond or rams horn snails.

You can raise either yourself as they lay eggs quickly if well fed and can be fed well on household vegetables. Snails you raise yourself will be free of any disease or pesticides that may be present in those taken straight from a pond or local fish store tank. Garden snails may be used too, but again they must be pesticide free and it is suggested that they be stored in a container for a few weeks while fed wholesome foods to purge anything potentially dangerous in their systems.

Malaysian trumpet snails, which look kind of like ice cream cones, should be avoided as it has been reported some persistent puffers have cracked their teeth on the tough conical shells of these snails. Puffers that damage their teeth may need to be drugged with clove oil and have them trimmed to even them out, not a job for the faint hearted and not one any Mbu puffer owner would want to do.

The teeth overgrowing from lack of crunchy food will also necessitate trimming, and while it is easier when the puffer is smaller, trying to hold a large unconscious Mbu and get enough force with the clippers sounds terrifying. Perhaps a dremmel or power sander would be a better option, but best to avoid it entirely by giving your Mbu a proper diet.

The best staple food for many larger puffers would be mussels, and the Mbu is no exception. As the fish matures it can be moved onto other larger foods, such as cockles in shell, crab claws, freshwater clams, and squid. Another good food is ghost shrimp; ideally these can be kept in a separate tank and fed up on veggies to gut load them, conveying some greens and vitamins to the puffer. I believe variation is the key to a good diet, Clooney eats almost anything I put in for him, mussels, clams, cockles, bloodworm, and prawns.

Crab claw is a real favorite, and he absolutely loves Hikari brand algae wafers. He will also spend some time tearing up the tank up chasing live shrimp, which is very fun to watch. In Closing While I hate to end with such a down note on these great fish, I do not believe they belong in the general fish trade. They should only be made available on special request to someone who can care for and house them properly.

If I had it to do again knowing what I do now, I would not have purchased Clooney for my 5ft tank. I was assured that he would be OK by my local fish store, but with how large he is now, his tank would be the equivalent of me being caged in a ten-foot by four-foot space. I might survive but I don't think I would be too happy about it. In the wild these gorgeous fish are roamers; I would love to know just how far they travel but it has not been studied.