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Stuart Morse
I am very fortunate to have such a great fish. Only another puffer
owner can really appreciate the relationship that these fish can
provide. There is something about their face that makes you feel they
are studying you as you look at them. It is not uncommon to hear a
puffer owner say that their puffer greets them when they walk in the
room, just like a puppy. Very few fish behave in the way that a puffer
does or can match their character. While some cichlids can claim to have
character, a puffer has it in buckets. I shall concentrate on the Mbu
puffer, as it is the species I have, but certain rules are true
to all puffer species. Puffers are sensitive to poor water quality,
and therefore they require over filtration and large water changes. Most
puffers are aggressive and as a rule should be kept in a single specimen
tank, however the Mbu is one of the more laid back species and is
generally more tolerant of other fish. This needs to be taken with
reservation however, as few Mbu live to maturity in captivity with other
fish so it is difficult to say how that might change with age. Clooney
seems indifferent to tank mates at the moment he may change his outlook
as he matures. I am aware of some Mbu being very aggressive and
attacking everything else that was unfortunate enough to be placed in
the tank.
A Few Facts about the Mbu
Tetraodon Mbu is widely spread throughout the Congo basin and Lake
Tanganyika; in fact the word Mbu means rock in certain African dialects.
It is pronounced "uhmboo" but I say "muhboo" and to be fair I’m sure it
doesn’t matter. The other name often given is Gold Ringed Puffer or
Reticulated Puffer and this derives from the stunning markings of these
fish. The pattern of darker reticulated rings over a golden base color
is unique to each individual fish and allows for great camouflage in the
wild. Even a fully-grown adult can disappear before your eyes in a river
and become one of the rocks, hence the local word for rock, Mbu, is used
for the fish. The Mbu is the largest of all freshwater puffers and will
attain a maximum size over 67cm(two feet) in the wild. They feed
primarily on crustaceans such as crabs, mussels , clams, and shrimp. The
reason that they can tackle this hard-shelled prey is because of the
very impressive beak that they have. The name of the genus to which Mbu
belong, Tetraodon, literally means four fused teeth, and the pointed
beak formed by the teeth can be seen clearly on the larger puffer
species. These teeth are incredibly strong and continue to grow
regardless of the size and age of the puffer, so it is imperative that
they feed on ever harder shelled food as soon as they have the jaw power
to tackle it. Without this diet the teeth become overgrown and
eventually prevent the puffer from
feeding at all.
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Tetraodon mbu
Tetraodon mbu
Tetraodon mbu
Tetraodon mbu
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In the wild the Mbu will swim along and blow water at the sand
bed, hunting out prey that may be buried in the river bottom
tucked away safely. Their independently moving eyes allow for a
great range of vision, which helps them to take in the
environment around them as well as study it for food items. I am
not sure if they rely solely on eyesight to find their food in
the wild, but I often see Clooney blowing jets of water into
gravel to uncover something beneath. Saying whether he can pick
up on a tiny movement of something in the gravel or can smell
something there would be purely conjecture; but from my
observations of Clooney I believe there is more to these puffers
than has been researched. As the term puffer suggests, these
fish are able to inflate when threatened, and though they are
not easily seen as with porcupine puffers, Mbu have spines under
there skin which act as a deterrent to potential predators. A
puffer’s defense against predators can be summed up as a warning
saying, "You really don’t want to eat me." Puffing is a really
unique adaptation, and works thusly, according to Dr. Peter
Wainwright:
After filling its mouth with water, the fish flexes a
large muscle at the base of the oral valve which then catapult
forward against the entire front of the mouth, forming a tight
seal against the back of the front teeth. This prevents the
water from escaping while a "plunger" type of apparatus… mounted
at the base of the throat forces the water upward where it
shoots down the fish's esophagus and into its stomach.
The lack of a ribcage or pelvic bones and very flexible
spine allows the puffer to inflate considerably and small
muscles under the skin erect the spines. I have only seen
Clooney do this once but there have been several times I saw him
partially inflated in the 4 years that I have had him. Another
unique feature of puffer biology is the ability to store toxins
in their skin and organs. The poison is tetrodotoxin in marine
puffer, but a variant, called Saxotoxin, is present in some
freshwater puffers. The puffer does not produce them itself;
they come from
Pseudoalteromonas strains of bacteria found in the crustaceans
that puffers eat. The bacterium has no ill effect on the puffer
and is only dangerous to humans if puffer flesh is eaten,
contact with the fish is not dangerous. The symptoms of
poisoning can include nausea, vomiting, muscular weakness,
paralysis, respiratory distress and eventually death. The poison
can betake effect as fast as 10 minutes or as long as three
hours later. No specific antidote is known. To give an idea of
how powerful tetrodotoxin is, injected intravenously less than
one milligram is fatal to humans, making it over 1200 times as
deadly as cyanide. There is no reason for worry for puffer
owners however, as the food we give our fish are free of the
necessary bacteria and therefore their stores of poison will
deplete over time. However, I still do not suggest you try
puffer filets this summer on the BBQ; sushi chefs spend many
years learning how to prepare puffers safely for human
consumption. While it’s generally claimed there are 50-100
deaths from tetrodotoxin poisoning a year, Japans Health, Labor
and Welfare Ministry reports only 14 people dead of blowfish
poisoningfrom 2002 to 2006, and even if amateur preparations
outside of restaurants (Amateur preparation is much more likely
to result in poisoning and much more likely to have the true
cause go unreported) are taken into account, between ten and
twenty a year is more likely.The way that puffers swim is also unique,
to quote Neale Monks in his article in Practical Fishkeeping:
The way pufferfish swim compared with that of other fish
is
rather like comparing a helicopter to an aeroplane; while they
may be slow, they are extremely
maneuverable, and this allows pufferfish to spot and capture
prey that other fish would simply swim straight by.Propulsion for a puffer to swim is
produced mainly by the small pectoral fins on the body, with the
large and impressive tail used only for bursts of speed. This
method of swimming allows even the largest Mbu to turn on a
sixpence or rotate on the spot; they are diligent, thorough
hunters that will not dart past potential food, and find snails
or crustaceans even if they are well hidden.Very little is known about these puffers’
habits, it is not believed that the Mbu can be sexed from
external observation and information on their breeding habits is
non-existent. For this reason, all Mbu that are available in the
aquarium trade are wild caught in nets and then shipped to us.
It is fair to say that this would be a stressful time for any
fish, but puffers seem to suffer more from it. A Mbu puffer who
a couple of weeks ago was free to swim in the Congo basin or a
huge lake now finds itself imprisoned in a small tank with a
pink castle and some bothersome fish in its personal space. It
breaks my heart to see them confined like this and if anyone has
seen one in their local fish store they will know what I mean.
Aquarium Care
A very well respected puffer keeper of many years and
scientist has recommended a tank of about 4000 litres (approx.
1000 gallons) and I have to say that I agree that a large tank
is the only way to keep these fish happy. I would say that the
footprint is key and that as a minimum size I suggest seven foot
by four foot as an absolute minimum, with a height of about 3ft.
In an ideal world I would go for a tropical pond or a ten-foot
by four-and-a-half-foot by four-foot tank. This would give a
probable volume of about 4000 litres if you allow for gravel and
decoration. You then have to deal with the issue of how to
filter such a tank, so a large sump and/or several large
canister filters such as Fluval FX-5s would be needed.
Additionally, plenty of pond heaters would be needed to keep the
temperature around 26 C. All in all an appropriate tank is a
little out of most people monetary or practical range. It is
also worth noting that acrylic tanks are not a good idea for
large puffers, as their teeth are known for scratching the
plastic, which is unsightly and may weaken it over time.Even assuming that we have a tank large
enough that these puffers can turn around properly in, we need
to look at decoration and design of thetank. Varied surrounds
with manypoints of interest are necessary to keep these puffers
active and interested in their surroundings; again this is
something a standard six-foot tank would struggle with. Ideally
you would have lots of bogwood, medium grain natural gravel and
large plants. Clooney loves it when I put new plants in thetank,
he will always swim over to check them out. Plants that are
ideal for a tank this large include Giant Vallis and certain
large sword plants, Clooney actually chooses to rest under sword
plants when I have them in the tank. These fish are active
hunting swimmers, not lurkers, the planting and décor should be
kept far enough apart or to the fringes and background to allow
plenty of room to swim about and crucially to be able to turn
properly.Once you have a tank set up it will need
to be fully cycled before the Mbu is added, Mbu puffers like all
puffers are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrites. Though it
may seem silly putting 4 inch baby Mbu in such a vast tank, I
would much sooner do that than try to catch and remove a twenty
inch fish powerful enough to bite your fingers off without
getting it above the water, important because like all puffers,
if it inflates and traps air, it could end up dead. They prefer
a PH of 7.2-7.6, while hardness is not too much of an issue.
Temp needs to be between 24-28C, though the lower part of the
temperature range is better as it allows for more oxygen in the
water, something a large puffers uses in spades as they grow and
feed. Very large puffers will use up to 40% more O2 when
digesting their food, I have heard of one Mbu that suffocated in
a small tank because of this, so be sure to keep the water well
aerated. High volume water changes are also absolutely essential
for such a large, messy and sensitive fish. Their sensitivity to
any accumulating toxins is another reason for the large tank
size, the bigger the tank the more dilute any poisons in the
water will be. Applying the normal rules for stocking small fish
is not accurate for puffers due to their messy eating, waste
production, and rotund figures.Feeding the Mbu
It is important to address the natural dietary needs of
thesefish to keep them healthy so shelled food is important to
keep
the teeth trimmed. Young puffers will benefit from snails
themost, and the best types are pond or rams horn snails. You
can raise either yourself as they lay eggs quickly if well fed
and can be fed well on household vegetables. Snails you raise
yourself will be free of any disease or pesticides that may be
present in those taken straight from a pond or local fish store
tank. Garden snails may be used too, but again they must be
pesticide free and it is suggested that they be stored in a
container for a few weeks while fed wholesome foods to purge
anything potentially dangerous in their systems. Malaysian
trumpet snails, which look kind of like ice cream cones, should
be avoided as it has been reported some persistent puffers have
cracked their teeth on the tough conical shells of these snails.
Puffers that damage their teeth may need to be drugged with
clove oil and have them trimmed to even them out, not a job for
the faint hearted and not one any Mbu puffer owner would want to
do. The teeth overgrowing from lack of crunchy food will also
necessitate trimming, and while it is easier when the puffer is
smaller, trying to hold a large unconscious Mbu and get enough
force with the clippers sounds terrifying. Perhaps a dremmel or
power sander would be a better option, but best to avoid it
entirely by giving your Mbu a proper diet. The best staple food
for many larger puffers would be mussels, and the Mbu is no
exception. As the fish matures it can be moved onto other larger
foods, such as cockles in shell, crab claws, freshwater clams,
and squid. Another good food is ghost shrimp; ideally these
canbe kept in a separate tank and fed up on veggies to gut load
them, conveying some greens and vitamins to the puffer. I
believe variation is the key to a good diet, Clooney eats almost
anything I put in for him, mussels, clams, cockles, bloodworm,
and prawns. Crab claw is a real favorite, and he absolutely
loves Hikari brand algae wafers. He will also spend some time
tearing up the tank up chasing live shrimp, which is very fun to
watch.
In Closing
While I hate to end with such a down note on these great fish,
I do not believe theybelong in the general fish trade. They
should only be made available on special request to someone who
can care for and house them properly. If I had it to do again
knowing what I do now, I would not have purchased Clooney for my
5 ft tank. I was assured that he would be OK by my local fish
store, but with how large he is now, his tank would be the
equivalent of me being caged in a ten-foot by four-foot space. I
might survive but I don’t think I would be too happy about it.
In the wild these gorgeous fish are roamers; I would love to
knowjust how far they travel but it has not been studied. A Mbu
needs a tank they can explore and every time I see Clooney
sitting on the bottom at the back of the tank I get a bit sad
and feel sorry that I have imprisoned him.If you truly can accommodate one of these
fish and are ready to commit to a pet that could live well over
fifteen years, then you will never desire another fish. Clooney
has provided me with countless happy moments, and one very scary
moment when I thought he was going to die. I have never been so
attached nor will I ever be so fond of another pet. When my dog
died I was upset, when my rats died I was upset, when theday
comes thatClooney will pass on, likely due to my keeping him in
asmaller than suitable tank, I shall be distraught. In fact, I
find it hard to even type about it; my eyes are actually welling
up. If you don’t want to break your heart then get building that
big tank please!!There are plenty of puffers all with
great personalities that can be kept in a more reasonable set
up, so if you really want a fish with character then go for the
puffer you can accommodate. Remember to research them properly
as correct information on puffers at local fish stores is scant,
to be very kind.
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