Sounds like Big Chungus and Finley are about the same size. Around 50% is typically what I do as well for water changes, sometimes I do less, like about a third or so, nothing smaller though. I've also seen 75s as a popular homes for them too.

@ IBEW BRO my dad works for the same company that is your profile picture

@@fl3xv239 very cool uou dad must be a awesome dude... let him know I said whats up from local 363 new york

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Pp

They're almost like a water puppy. They can have some fun personalities. 🐡👍

They really are intelligent creatures. Mine definitely doesn't like being touched though. Mine won't chase actual fish, but will chase shrimp and crayfish until she catches him.

He's starting to fill it fast too. He's been about right on pace with that inch per month thing.

They swim so playfully to me. If you get the chance I'd definitely recommend it. Puffers are truly awesome fish.

Mine sometimes gets spooked as well. Fortunately with mine it's not very often. But, something I personally do to lessen the chances of him getting hurt is making sure my rock or driftwood have any overly sharp or pointy parts that would puncture him. I even grinded down some points of rocks that I put in his tank and just broke off any knots or spikes on my driftwood. As for the running into the glass part, maybe he occasionally sees shadows or reflections that spook him. One thing I'd consider doing is may putting some aquarium background pictures or paint if you prefer to bring that to a minimum. It takes away some of the view of you seeing you fish, but I have some amazon puffers that were running into the galss a bit and since I put some background posters on the side of their tank I have yet to see them run into the glass like they were before. Hope all goes well with your puffer!

Just reading what Julia was saying above, about her fish hitting top cover of tank , Gonna get my Fahaka in a couple of weeks, but I have an open top tank , as I love to grow emergent plants, Not only do they look good, but they cut down nitrates, Do you guys know if Fahaka are prone to jumping out of tanks , ?

Thanks! Finley seems to enjoy it as well. :)

Awesome! Glad I could help. Best of luck with your Fahaka, they're an awesome fish. 🐡👍

@@FintasticFreaks I hear they are very personable fish and I just love there eyes thank you so much again

It quickly became my favorite as well. It's like owning a small water dog. 🐡

For sure! That be awesome. 👍

Oh yes, two glass lids cover his tank, as Finley loves to spit water too. He also has leaped about half his body out of the water once to take food out of my hand when I was feeding him once. Glad all he got his teeth on was the food.

Thanks! Appreciate the kind words. 👍

I give my fahaka bloodworms occasionally as well. But now that Finley is over 13 inches I dont give bloodworms as much. But I also give her frozen krill, plenty of snails, crayfish, and sometimes ghost shrimp and half shell clams.

@@FintasticFreaks That’s mate this really helps, I can’t believe how much she has grown in short space of time. But do love her

I've seen some keepers use 75s often. I don't condemn it, I'd just recommend a 120 or bigger because of the extra space it provides. Sounds like your puffer is about the size of mine, perhaps a bit bigger as mine just hit 10 inches earlier this month, who has also feasted like a king. (He loves frozen krill and ghost shrimp). My thought has been, if they can grow to 18 inches in the wild, it's not impossible to reach 18 inches in a tank. 14 inches is about the biggest one I've seen currently as well. Supposedly the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has a Fahaka that's like 16 inches. Never seen it myself so can't confirm.

@@FintasticFreaks Oh I agree besides the more room the better anyway!! I definitely went into it expecting to getta 180g for him but he's doing great in the 100g wide. If he dies grow more tho I would upgrade him of course!! Great video & great looking Fahaka Puffer!!

Other than various young snails, mostly ramshorns, I sometimes feed crayfish legs, claws and tails that I get in bags from one of my local fish stores. Mine also has always liked ghost shrimp too.

By your description It's very possible you may have a Fahaka. When I first bought mine, he was like a dark brown, sometimes more blackish, with a white belly and he was about 3 quarters of an inch big. They gain the coloration that mine has now as the grow though. Mine started showing his mew colors around 3-4 inches.

@@FintasticFreaks Thanks!

What kind did you have?

Personally I ALWAYS go with sand. And the finer the grain the better. More specifically I've used pool filter sand and play sand for a lot of my puffers. Play sand may be dirty, but if you're will to spend the time cleaning it out, it's hard to beat 50 pounds of sand for $4-$5. 😅

Typically it shouldn't. My water ph is around 7 and for the first 3 years with my Fahaka she hasn't been borhered by it. 👍

Maybe, Im looking to get some self-cloning crayfish myself soon thus I don't have personal experience. But I would think depending on how big the size of the tank. If its like a 180 gallon tank or bigger and there's plenty of smaller caves for them to hide in then it might work for a good chunk of time. Once the puffer gets bigger though, along with his appetite. then he may eventually take them all out.

The ends may get a little tight but it should work, for at least a good amount of time.

@@FintasticFreaks Thank you for the fast reply. I’ve seen a Fahaka at my local fish store. He’s about an inch long and so cute. I have to tank it just needs to be setup. I’ve kept Oscar’s clown knife fish ect in it in the past so have a bit of experience with larger fish. Would a Fahaka be ok with some large cichlids like vieja. If not would he be ok with a school of Congo tetras?

​@@banditfishing1558 I personally have never tried putting putting tankmates with my Fahaka as they're typically aggressive towards tankmates. That said, I'd personally recommend you keep your fahaka solitary. However that also said. I have seen people successfully keep a fahaka with tank mates too. Out of the two options you mentioned, if you're set on tankmates I'd say the cichlids would be the best chance as the congo tetras may end of being a snack once the fahaka gets bigger.

@@FintasticFreaks thank you for the great advice mate!

Well, I'd start saying that you really can't go wrong either way. They're both awesome fish, but they both also get over a foot big. I guess the main thing I'd ask is whether if you prefer community tanks are want a tank to just focus on one awesome fish. If you'd rather have a centerpiece fish with some friends in the tank with him/her, the porcupine puffer is the way to go, and depending on the tank size putting the porky with a dog face puffer or say a majestic angel or something would be cool. Though sometimes people put fish in with their fahakas, they're usually better alone. One youtuber has tiger bars with theirs and that looked cool, though I personally wouldn't even think about it unless the tank is at least 180 gallons and the tank has hiding places for fish to get away from the fahaka.

Unfortunately, unless you have a massive tank, I'd advise against it. Fahakas are typically very territorial and considering how big some of those fish like Oscars get it be very hard to have enough territory for each fish without having problems.

Fahakas are a full freshwater puffer. 🐡

Fahaka Puffers are fresh water. 🐡

I try to give Finley some at least once every week, mostly for me, it depends on how much I have in terms of supply in my fishroom, sometimes its only once every 2 weeks or so.

I personally would recommend sand. Puffers some times like to bury themselves in the sand, that and lots puffers like to lay on the ground and sand will feel way more comfortable to them than gravel would as gravel can scratch your puffer.

@@FintasticFreaks sand it is. I have ordered 50 small Ramshorn snails and have bloodworm ready for delivery of my Fahaka on Friday. I hope he/she eats well and ideally the Ramshorn will breed albeit in another tank. Do you have to feed a juvenile Fahaka every day I would guess so and when 1+ years can that be reduced to every 2 to 3 days ?

Technically you could. I have seen people keep them in a 75 gallon tank. While I' would still recommend at least 120 gallon tank or so, since it provides them puffer more space, 75 gallons would be the absolute smallest tank I'd go with a fahaka.

@@FintasticFreaks Very useful information. Thank you!

For this tank I use Caribsea. It's a very fine grain sand and all my puffers love it. My spongefilters are from aquatop. I have one in all 18 of my tanks and I have no complaints. 👍

Personally, I don't touch my puffers because it can mess up there slime coat, but you won't get poisoned if you do touch them. Usually there toxin doesn't become lethal unless the fish is injested. They do have a very strong bite though so watch out for the teeth.

@@FintasticFreaks thank you for the response! Yeah I will not touch them.. 😊

A 75 is definitely not terrible nor is a 125, but my personal recommendation and opinion is that a 120 or 125 would just be better. For comparison, I also could live in a studio apartment rather than a house, but it's just nice to have the extra space to live more comfortably and enjoy more living space.

@@FintasticFreaks A single person can live just fine in a moderately sized studio, and save money as well..

@tom11zz884 Very true. Having both a 75 gallon and 125 tank (2 of both actually) 75s are definitely the cheaper of the pair, big time. Again I've seen people keep Fahakas in a 75, and while I won't do that a 75 can certainly do the deed. I'm just saying, if you can give them the bigger tank, you don't have to, but I'd personally recommend it, because in my opinion that's something that helps you get the most out of them. I have rainbow, roseline, angelfisg, and gourmi community tank (among other fish) that given the stock I have could house in a 125 or smaller, but I have them in a 240 gallon now (but most of them used to live in a 75.) Since the move their colors have been way more vibrant, they've been more active and what's really rewarding for me is seeing that huge tank with all that activity.

Tom11zz884 I agree . I was told the same thing from my seller who raised multiple fahakas , most puffers reach about 14 inch in captivity. So 75 minimum is fine. One fish. I can't keep any other fish w my puffer unfortunately he has that " oh pretty, I'ma kill it now " mentality lol so I didn't see the point of having a massive tank for one fish lol That's for my puffer tho . I heard some puffers are less aggressive.

Sure, a 75 is fine. But a 120 or 150 is better. Much better.

75 is fine . Agree .

Have you kept one before?

@@FintasticFreaks yes. I got one in a 75 right now.

@@coldtex9324 Cool.👍 I wish you the best with it.

Actually to quote a care site. "The Fahaka has an initial growth spurt, in which it grows very quickly. You should expect your Fahaka to grow at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) every four weeks for the first 10 months of it's life, with the remainder of it's growth being achieved in the following 12 months." So while not every ones will hit a foot in the first year his is a good estimate. If yours didn't grow close to that you may need to take a close look at your puffers diet. These fish aren't cheap to keep largely in part of how much they need to eat and due to their carnivores nature.

Sounds like it was something wrong with your Fahaka.