So you want to buy a fahaka [tetraodon lineatus]? Well then, we can go over some basics on caring for this large puffer. First of all, be prepared to provide adequate housing. A fully grown fahaka can grow upwards of 12-13 inches. With this in mind, they need enough turning space so as not to cause damage to their caudal area. The suggested tank size for an adult fahaka is 125gallons. This should be enough room for them to explore and flutter about. Keeping them in smaller tanks can cause serious damagesuch as permanent caudal fin curling and growth stunting.

Housing
Now that you have a big enough tank, you should take into consideration heating and filtration. Filtration is an issue due to the fact that they're predators and most, if not all, predators create a lot of waste. For a good idea of what sort of filtration you need, an average turnover rate should be about 10x the amount of gallons your tank is. So a 125 gallon tank would need a filter(s) that pumps 125x10 gph [gallons per hour]. For more info on this, refer to the piranha-fury database.

Heating
As for heating, fahakas are tropical fish and require warm temperatures. I keep mine at 78F and he's a happy camper. The general range for heating should be around 77-81F.

Feeding
One thing the fahakas have been infamous for is their eating habits and aggression. You simply cannot raise a fahaka on flakes and pellets. Some things need to be included into their diet, things like hard shelled and meaty foods. A good diet will have variety. Try to include shrimp, krill, mussels, thick worms, crayfish, prawns, and other things of that sort. When feeding shrimp, be sure to keep the shell on. This aids in keeping their four teeth trimmed.

Tetrodotoxin
Finally, we come to the poison aspect. Fahaka puffers carry the poison tetrodotoxin. The highest concentration would be in the internal organs. While they do have poison in their skin, the traces are so slight that it isn't very dangerous at all in most cases. For this reason, coupled with their aggression and predatory nature you shouldn't keep them in communities. Fahakas are fin nippers and aggressive. And if the fahaka is to be killed by another fish, a decomposing puffer may likely leak tetrodotoxin into the tank. That could lead to disaster. [Keep in mind that fahakas do not shoot or excrete the poison. There is no special glad or bodily function that creates this poison, it his contained within their internal stucture.]

Hopefully this answers some popular questions in regards to the fahaka. I'm no expert, in fact I've only owned my fahaka for a few weeks. But I thought I'd share some of the info I've horded.

Ah, I've read this before! Great post!

I was thinking about getting a Fahaka a while back for my 100g, but decided not to. Kinda regret it now!

Anyways, again, great informative post!

--Dan

Are they completely FW, throughout their whole lives?

--Dan

yessuh, completely freshwater :)

great post