How long can a fish live in a temp home?

[ralphie16]

I have a 3"-4" puffer that I had to move to a 29 gallon temporary home. I will not have a new home ready for him until early September. So thats a little more then 3 months. The 29 gallon has a biowheel filter, a powerhead, and a put in 5 peices of live rock from my main tank for biofiltration as well as to make him more comfortable with places to hide behind and such.

I plan on doing daily water changes of at least 3 gallons, if not more, depending on how the water parameters are (more if needed).

Obviously this is not the ideal home for him but he got in a fight with my anthron and I had to take him out of the display for fear of another fight.

I also plan on feeding him less often that I do now in order to maintain water conditions. I was thinking every other day. Of course I wont compromise his health, just less catering to his beggin behavior.

Is this feasible or should I give him away?

[Reefland]

I think this is feasible, but don't think you should sacrifice his feedings and don't think that the daily water changes will be necessary.

[leebca]

You don't mention the kind of Puffer you have. At 3-4" it depends upon the Puffer as to the best answer to your question.

Some Puffers are near maturity at that size, in which case they should only be fed twice a week. Some Puffers are young at that size and require daily feedings (sometimes twice a day depending upon the species).

That having been said, it also depends on the type of Puffer you have with regards to the size of the tank and the answer to your question.

Generally, 8 weeks in the wrong sized aquarium for the purpose of quarantine is all that I would recommend. You can play the game is 4 months okay? 7 months okay? 10 months okay? Then you have to answer what's the difference between it being okay for 8 months but not for 10 months? It's a game not to play.

A marine fish in the wrong sized aquarium is being stressed. That reduces their lifespan and increases their likelihood for disease and health problems. If the fish is in water that changes in quality, which you implied could be the case for making frequent water changes, then this adds more stress with the same consequences: shorter life; increase likelihood for diseases and health problems. At least I'd hope the small aquarium is properly setup to handle the rather large waste 'shots' that come from predators. You can reduce feedings (not recommended for certain Puffers (see above)), but feeding a predator produces a 'burst' of waste that the system must be able to quickly process, or the fish will be stressed. Predators put the greatest strain on the biological filter.

If you'd like to provide the scientific name of the Puffer you have, I can better respond. But you may already have the answer once you apply the above criteria. Good luck!

[ralphie16]

porcupine puffer

"new water" will be a mixture of new water & water from his display as to lower stress caused by the water changes

feedings every other day ok?

[ralphie16]

maybe smaller feedings every day better right since he is still young?

i wanted every other day because then i could do a water change only every other day after his feeding so as to reduce the frequency of water changes therby reducing stress as you pointed out

make sense?

[ralphie16]

Generally, 8 weeks in the wrong sized aquarium for the purpose of quarantine is all that I would recommend. You can play the game is 4 months okay? 7 months okay? 10 months okay? Then you have to answer what's the difference between it being okay for 8 months but not for 10 months? It's a game not to play.

its not a game i understand. the reason for the wait is because when i saw they could no longer coexist with each other, i went out and bought a 265 gallon tank as a new home for the porcupine while the panda puffer will remain in the 125.

the reason for the wait is because i have to wait two weeks for the tank, set it up, and then wait for the new live rock to cure so i estimated september for all that. its not going to be 4+ months or anything

[leebca]

The Porcupine Puffer will/can grow to 12 inches in the home aquarium. It will need that 265 for sure!

If it's eating well and all is fine, can you keep it in a 55 gallon container (garbage pail)? or kiddie pool of at least 50 gallons?

As a Puffer in its youth and growing, it should be fed daily or every other day. Your choice.

Sorry for the confusion about my use of the word 'game.' I meant if it is okay for 3 months, then why not 5, 7, or 10? Know what I'm getting at?

The 29 is not appropriate for anything for this fish unless the fish is ill and needs treatment, and then for only the minimum of about 6 to 8 weeks because it would be required to cure the fish.

Normal quarantine tank size for this fish should be about 30 gallons but that would be considering it would only be kept there for 6 to 8 weeks.

Good luck!