"Cenote Tanganyika": 300G build for our 26-inch Mbu puffer...
- Thread starter Jenerik
- Start date
A few quick iphone pics. This is how he spends most of the day, in his "favorite corner", where he can watch the TV, see out the front windows to the street and most importantly, watch for when the freezer opens, which often means "crawfish coming"...
These are some of his buddies. The "Three Amigos" are Lamprologus leleupi, an. L. tretacephalus, and an L. brichardi (not in these photos...). That is a young Neolamprologus kendalli, as well, which is a newer addition and to which I am very much looking forward to watching grow up...
These are some of his buddies. The "Three Amigos" are Lamprologus leleupi, an. L. tretacephalus, and an L. brichardi (not in these photos...). That is a young Neolamprologus kendalli, as well, which is a newer addition and to which I am very much looking forward to watching grow up...
great looking Mbu and tank! I miss my big guy 
I will have another one some day though, for now my big fahaka keeps me company 
I will have another one some day though, for now my big fahaka keeps me company 
Thanks, all.
If anyone is curious what a 26" puffer eats, try about 65 lbs. of whole crawfish a year. I buy them when in season, then freeze them for future use...
We feed him whole mussels as well as whole prawns and the occasional garden snail but the diet is probably 90% crayfish.
If anyone is curious what a 26" puffer eats, try about 65 lbs. of whole crawfish a year. I buy them when in season, then freeze them for future use...
We feed him whole mussels as well as whole prawns and the occasional garden snail but the diet is probably 90% crayfish.
I too love the crayfish pictures. Your set up looks fantastic as well, a very good example of a puffer family pet.
Thanks, gents.
The season (here in TX, anyway...) seems to run from about March to May. Pretty much all our crawfish come from neighboring Louisiana. I just purchase a couple of big sacks at the local grocery, divide them up into a bunch of gallon ziploc freezer bags and then freeze, like you see above.
Just one comment I would like to add. I am sure one of the reasons why our puffer has done so well is that whole animals constitute the bulk of his diet. That way, he is getting as nutritionally complete a "package" as possible with each feeding.
I kept and bred snakes for many years and they all ate whole mice, which is another example of a nutritionally complete package. I doubt, for example, that I could've maintained and bred snakes on a diet of, say, mouse thighs or mouse breasts. Those could be high quality parts but the snake would be missing out on (IMO) vital nutrients that would be included in the bones, organs, etc.
It's the same with predatory fish like this. I doubt our puffer would be doing anywhere near as well if he just got fed, say, crawfish tails or prawn tails. Lots of important nutrients could be missing. This is probably the one thing which is, IMO, most challenging about raising Mbu: They are not too picky about water quality but because they will not eat pellets or any other manufactured food, and will not prey on whole fish, I can see how it would be tough to meet one's nutritional demands in certain parts of the country or the world. Just my 2-cents as always.
The season (here in TX, anyway...) seems to run from about March to May. Pretty much all our crawfish come from neighboring Louisiana. I just purchase a couple of big sacks at the local grocery, divide them up into a bunch of gallon ziploc freezer bags and then freeze, like you see above.
Just one comment I would like to add. I am sure one of the reasons why our puffer has done so well is that whole animals constitute the bulk of his diet. That way, he is getting as nutritionally complete a "package" as possible with each feeding.
I kept and bred snakes for many years and they all ate whole mice, which is another example of a nutritionally complete package. I doubt, for example, that I could've maintained and bred snakes on a diet of, say, mouse thighs or mouse breasts. Those could be high quality parts but the snake would be missing out on (IMO) vital nutrients that would be included in the bones, organs, etc.
It's the same with predatory fish like this. I doubt our puffer would be doing anywhere near as well if he just got fed, say, crawfish tails or prawn tails. Lots of important nutrients could be missing. This is probably the one thing which is, IMO, most challenging about raising Mbu: They are not too picky about water quality but because they will not eat pellets or any other manufactured food, and will not prey on whole fish, I can see how it would be tough to meet one's nutritional demands in certain parts of the country or the world. Just my 2-cents as always.
