Mbu Puffer I am thinking on getting an Mbu puffer fish I know that it gets big but just how big does it get in the home aquaria  <About a foot in length in a big enough system, time, food going by...> there is all different advice like this puffer can go in with other fish depending on how the fish is but they never say which fish <"Smart", fast, aggressive ones... best are cichlids, catfishes, Characoids from the same region the Mbu is collected. You can find this information on fishbase.org> and also if I get one from a baby how long does it take to lets say 6 inches from say a 2inch 
<About a year to two years... depending on feedings, maintenance... Please see "Optimized Growth": http://wetwebmedia.com/optgwth.htm > please could you email me back which some advice thank you  <Chat with you soon my friend. Bob Fenner>

New Mbu Puffer  8/10/04 Hey crew, <Hi, Pufferpunk here> First let me point out that I think your site is fantastic.   <Well, thank you very much!> I found myself looking and learning about systems I never even thought about.  Thanks for the good info. I read a lot of great info on Mbu puffers, but found some of the eating habits and acclimation techniques to be contradicting. Just to clarify, here is my situation. <There is a lot of contradicting info on puffers in general, on the web & even more from shops that sell them.> I have a 55gal, with 2 large Tinfoil Barbs (8"), 3 Bala Sharks (ave.. 5"), 1 Clown Knife (4"), 1 large Pleco (8" need to do something here, whole other subject) and a few Tiger barbs (1") <Hmmm, sounds overstocked already!  Do you have any idea how large clown knives grow?  4 feet!  They will also eat anything they can fit into their huge mouths.  Mmmmmm, tiger barbs!  I hope you aren't going by the 1"/gal rule, that's only for 1" fish.> All except the Clown Knife have been in the tank since inception. My tank has been up and running for over 2 years now with no major problems.  I do plan to upgrade to 100-200gal in the next year, <Not nearly large enough for all those fish.  I don't think a 4' fish will be able to turn around in there.> but trying to do things one step at a time. I was ready to put a great fish, and make an investment on something special.  After research into my water conditions I found that the Mbu Puffer would be a good choice.  After talking to a few people, I got one and he is glorious.   <One of the most stunning & personable fish alive, IMO.> Anyways, while I acclimate the most expensive fish I've ever bought, I am finding myself nervous.  I was very slow and deliberate in my introduction to the tank.  He even ate about 20min after getting out of the bag--fantastic.  But has not eaten since.  I am trying with Krill, frozen and freshly thawed.  I feed my other fish in the tank a variety of flakes/Brine Shrimp/ Bloodworms and other frozen that the Mbu takes no interest in either.  It has only been 24hrs, and normally I would just let the fish be, but this time I have more invested, financially and emotionally.   <The 1st thing that comes to mind is when I introduced 4 7-8" tinfoil barbs to my large puffer's tank (12" Fahaka alone in a 125g tank) for some swimming interest.  Boy was he pissed!  It seems they were just too much & his eyes would shift back & forth angrily at them.  They would eat every morsel of food, before it would get down to him.  I had to get rid of them, for his sake.  Now all is good in his tank.  You may be having the same problem. Between the rotund, slower-moving  puffer & all the streamlined fish you have in there, who do you think is going to eat 1st?  The puffer may not want to even bother, since he is the new guy.  Another scenario I can imagine, is the puffer getting mad enough to just start taking chunks out of some of the other fish.>   My question is basically how much will he eat (4in) and how often? <One of the most difficult aspects of keeping these special fish is their diet. All puffers are predatory fish and need hard-shelled, meaty foods to keep their teeth trimmed. Like rabbits, their teeth grow constantly and can overgrow enough to cause starvation in the fish. Puffers eat crustaceans in the wild. Foods for smaller puffers are frozen/freeze-dried krill/plankton, gut-loaded ghost shrimp, glass worms, crickets, worms and small snails (the size of their eye). As your puffer gets larger (even now), there are many more crunchy foods for them to eat. Larger Puffers will eat cut-up pieces of scallops, shrimp, crab legs, whole mussels, clams, oysters, squid, lobster and crayfish. Mine love to chase live crayfish, fiddler crabs and gut-loaded ghost shrimp. I gut-load (pre-feed) my live food with algae wafers, so my puffers get their veggies. I buy most of these foods at the fish department of my grocery store, freeze and later thaw in warm vitamin water as needed. Smaller puffers need to eat every day, skipping one feeding/week. Feed them until their bellies are slightly rounded.> Are their any other techniques I should try when feeding him?  And at what point should I be concerned? He is moving smooth and seems OK as of yet.   <I'd be concerned when he hasn't eaten in a week or 2.  Again, I must stress, I think there is way too much competition for food in there.  Puffers are actually rather shy.> For your info, here are the basics about my water conditions.  T=77F, pH=6.9-7.0, Ammonia, nitrates-low, but known to jump (no live plants), filter-established external BioWheel with snorkel.  Bimonthly water changes (25%- probably increase now with Puffer) <You are having ammonia & nitrIte problems, because your tank is overstocked.  For most fish, puffers especially, those must always be 0!  Also, your pH is extremely low, from the huge bioload & small water changes.  Puffers prefer hard, alkaline water, with a pH of around 8.  I do 50% weekly water changes on all my tanks & none of then are stocked anywhere near the capacity of yours (even before your Mbu).> Any advise would be appreciated.  Thanks for calming my nerves. <Please read this.  It was written by my puffer mentor, Robert T Ricketts, who has been keeping puffers for over 40 years.  Please reconsider your tank & inhabitants.  http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=fbp&action=display&num=1088527135  ~PP> Sean