how much food?

General rule of thumb for my large pred fish is that I feed them at least until I notice a slight bulge in the stomach cavity.

I wouldn't feed more than 2x/week. My guess is he's too aggressive for tank mates. How large it the tank? Is it heavily decorated with lots of broken lines of sight?

As it will take 1000g to house a single mbu, I can't imagine many folks would have the room to house 2 of them.

Your tank is already way too small for that fish. How are the parameters in there? When are you upgrading. How many of these folks you are getting this bad advise from have kept their full-grown, adult mbus into their late teens?

Please read: http://www.**************.com/forum/library/puffers-in-focus/mbuforyou/
http://www.**************.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=150

I do consider 1000 gal the bare minimum and that still will be a high-upkeep tank with alternate-day vacuuming and multiple water partials weekly. Few folks consider the mass of an adult T.mbu. Their mass is shocking. That is a lot of food in and waste out, and not as much room as you would think for exercise.

Could you maintain a small dog in a crate that size 24/7/365? Think about it.

Puffer is at the top...she has her own forum on the keeping of puffer fish.

That being said, it sounds as if you are willing to put in some crazy h2o changes, you could get away with something smaller.

+1 to not feeding the guys too much. 2 or 3 big meals a week is what my preds get.

puffa lover;4759089; said:

So basically you think pretty much every one ive spoke to is wrong?
ive asked many aquatics shops and current owners of the fish so i think im going to take there opinion as it seems more logical, and if you are right about 1000g nearly every one on the forum and other forums should not have one!

Click to expand...

The instances of people agreeing with us tend to stick out more in our memories than the times when we were told we were doing something wrong.

Pet shops are horrible places to get information. For current owners, that depends. My friend is a current owner of a goldfish in a ten gallon tank, and she'll tell you that her water is crystal clear and her goldfish looks fine.

And yes, nearly every one on most forums should not have a mbu, but just because they get one and it survives, that doesn't mean it's okay. Puffers are more sensitive than most other fish to waste, and while they may look healthy, a lot of people have come home to find them dead "out of the blue."