I don't have them yet. I have a ten gallon cycling. But what would be a good amount of puffers and possible mates for them? I've read that fast moving fish like barbs might work--but it also seems like it will be a small setup.

And can I put in big mystery snails without them being bit?

Mystery Snails? Are they the same as Apple snails nefertia?

When I had my Puffers last year (C. Asselus from South America) they preferred their own company really. They inhabited all areas of the tank and, although they were a bit 'nippy' toward other fish, they were quite timid as well. Try and plant the sides and back of the tank, this will give them added security. If the snails are big like Apple snails then they may leave them alone.
The Asian Dwarf Puffers are more agressive and less shy however and anything could be fair game to them I guess

I think they're the same as apple snails.

i agree with Gibbo, my friend kept puffers for years and always kept them as a species tank! They tend to prefer it and he always said it was much easier that way!

same type, for name different country i think mystery is the american version of our name.

Hi Nefertia.


(...Oh oh...here he goes again... )
I have a pack of 6 Indian Dwarf Puffers (Tetraodon travancoricus) and so far the only tankmate I've discovered that they will live peacefully with are my 4 Bumblebee Gobies, unfortunately I will have to move the BBG's to a brackish water tank soon, leaving the Puffers alone in their 25 Gal Hex tank.
You may want to try Peacock Gudgeons (FW Gobies). From what I've been able to find on out they are similar to the BBG's in temperment, so they should make good roomies for the Dwarfs (my little pack will gang up on any aggressive fish that tries to harrass one of them, and give him a right good thumpin')
I also have 3 Golden Ramshorn snails in the tank as a cleanup crew. The puffers like to try and eat them, but the snails are just too large for them. The snails usually suffer a few nips, and rarely get any peace, but they seem to have a system worked out. Each day there will be a different snail out front being stalked by a couple of the puffers, while the other 2 are busy cleaning up the tank. ( in the lfs around here the "Mystery snails" seem to be a mix of ramshorns & smaller apple snails)
IMO you could house 1 male & 3 females comfortably in your 10 gal, just make sure you have lots of plants/caves/logs etc for them to sleep in, mine seem to choose 2 or 3 different sleeping spots to call their own (see what happens when someone asks about Dwarf puffers...I cant shut up...Luv my babies ), and break up the lines of sight (the puffers sight not yours) as much as possible to cut down on the chasing a bit.
In my tank I placed plants in a semi circle around the back and sides and put 4 caves (I used shot glasses for caves and covered them with sand) in the open space at the front. I also contoured the sand in the open space so that there are hills and valleys, this seems to have cut down on the chasing and nipping quite a bit.
I also removed some of the plant parts from their base and let them float freely on the surface, the pack loves to play hide and seek in the floaters and will ride the plants as they spiral through the current from my filter.....looks like great fun.

HTH
Don.

This post has been edited by Pufferpack: Apr 22 2003, 02:07 PM

i have my dwarf puffs in a sort of oddball tank. they seem to do quite well, and there hasnt been any conflicts. I think it may be because all of the other tankmates take up the bottom of the tank where the dwarfs rarely go down to. I just have the two dwarf puffers with 4 coolie loaches, 5 dwarf frogs, a handful of ghost shrimps, and 3 upsidedown catfish (which only come out at night when the dwarfs are "sleeping" so they never mind eachother)

the puffers dont bother the dwarf frog at all? I currently have an albino frog in a 25 gallon and my big tank is almost ready for fish (puffers, either dwarf or figure 8's prolly) and I was affraid that the frog might not be the best choice to have in with them

my dwarf puffers dont mind the frogs at all, and are much more interested in eachother than anything.
if your albino frog is a clawed frog (not a dwarf frog) i wouldnt think it would go well with puffers at all, and will probably eventually eat them.

I think it depends on the individual Dwarfs temperment. If the frog isn't really active or aggressive the Puffers will pretty much ignore it, but if it moves around a lot they may take nips at it. They love active live food (I think that's one of the reasons the BBG's work well with them as they don't do a lot of moving around in the tank).

hmm, ok, yeah my Albino is a clawed frog.. very young right now, no bigger than in inch long (not including legs)

I thought it would have been the other way around, the puffers picking on the frog, just a thought, maybe I will leave my frog in the other tank and find some other tank mates for him.

thanks

my puffers didnt bother lage danios

I think Danio's would probably be Ok, they are fast enough to get away from any nipping, and non-aggerssive enough that the puffers would be Ok as well.