Puffer Fish Care

Puffer fish are cute and unique looking pet fish. They have a large round body which is covered with spines, but the spines are not always evident. But, when the puffers puff up the spines look very prominent. The fish have their fins sticking out, their heads are large and with widely spaced and usually mobile eyes. These fish have no scales, and the gills are soft openings which are located close to the pectoral fins. Also, you will observe these fish have four teeth which are fused in the jaw. These fish mostly use the pectoral fins for moving, and sometimes the tail fin will be used when the puffer fish wants to move quickly when being chased around, or in search of food.

How to Take Care of a Puffer Fish?

These fish are not for the novice, as a lot of maintenance is required for these fish. One needs to see that the water is changed regularly, the tank environment is kept clean, and the right amount and type of food is provided to the fish. Other things the pet owner needs to keep in mind is to keep an eye on the saltwater fish disease, which this fish tends to catch commonly.

Tank & Water Requirements
The size of the puffer fish can change from species to species. Also, you need to keep in mind the size of the fish when it grows up. Hence, buying the size of tank accordingly is a good idea. The species that you can consider from there includes the green spotted puffer fish and there is the dwarf puffer fish, also there are popular golden puffer, pignose puffer and the amazon puffer.

Once you have selected the species, the fish pet care becomes easier. For example, if you select the green spotted puffer, then you can research more on green spotted puffer fish care. After you have selected the species, you can take the right size of the tank. For a fish which is 12 inches, you need 100 gallon tank is minimum required. Mostly people worry about saltwater puffers care, however, freshwater is important too. So, you will have to maintain the water that way. A standard is to change 50% of water every week.

Food Requirements
Puffers love to eat. And they like a variety of foods too. Giving them vitamin fortified pellet fish pet food is good for their health. However, they also like to eat crustaceans so frozen meaty marine cubes and small pieces of fresh shrimp can also be provided. Once a week give the fish frozen herbivore foods. You can also give them snails, shellfish and other small fish. Their teeth sometimes grow very long, and giving them hard food will help to maintain good teeth health. However, if the teeth grow long you will need to file them manually.

These fish tend to beg for tidbits, however to maintain good health avoid overfeeding the fish. Puffers which are under 2 inches should be fed daily, while mid-sized puffers under 2-4 inches should be provided food every other day, and large puffers over 4 inches should be given food 2-3 times a week. These fish are messy eaters, and hence you will need to clean the water frequently, and for that you need a powerful filtration system.

Tank Mates
Avoid introducing any tank mates for proper puffer pet care. However, keeping the same species in the tank is advisable. Puffers should be kept alone in a tank, as these fish can be quite aggressive. If you keep smaller fish, then they will become its dinner. And if you keep larger fish, then the puffer will nibble at their fins, hence not keeping any tank mates is advisable.

Avoiding Puffing
Puffer fish are famous for their puffing nature, especially the porcupine puffer fish inflates and displays its long spines. However, the puffing up of puffer fish should be avoided at all costs. As puffers tend to puff up when they are in extreme stress or under danger to scare off the predators. Having a puffer puff up can be very damaging to health.

Hence, avoid puffing up for good of puffer fish. Also, when you are changing the tank water, avoid using the net to transfer the fish. Use a plastic bag and transfer the fish with little amount of water. When puffer fish are maintained well, you will love to have these fish as they recognize the owner and look forward to looking at their owners just like a puppy does!