Dwarf Puffers

[outofmybin21]

Hello i`m just wondering how to keep dwarf puffer fish and if it would be suitable to have a pair in my 15gal

 

[StingrayKid]

Yeah 15g is fine for about 3 or 4 of them.(definately 3, not sure about 4 ) Make sure sure to have lots of hiding places. Mine like little clay pots and rocks. Live and fake plants are good for DP's. Good luck!

 

[outofmybin21]

Will they be ok with my tetras?

Yeah i have lots of hiding places in my tank mostly decorative rock and plants

ALso i hear they have some sort of beak i don`t know as i don` know ANYTHING about them?

Finally what sort of conditions do they like?

 

[outofmybin21]

Whoops just seen a thread entirely on puffers above lol

 

[J-Money]

Alot of people are gonna say that the puffers won't do well with anything else but maybe plecos or ottos. In my 45 gallon tank though I just put 4 more neon tetras, 2 black neon tetras, and 2 more fancy guppies to take my total in it to:
8 neon tetras, 4 black neon tetras, 5 fancy guppies, 4 tiger barbs, 4 albino tiger barbs, 5 dwarf puffers, 1 common plec (he's out soon), and 1 striped bulldog pleco. 1 of the older guppy's tail is a little nipped up but for the most part they are all cool. It took a couple of days after I got the fist guppies before they would stay out in the open tank, but now they all just kick it. The barbs sometimes will chase some of the other fish around, but they usually lead them back to the main barb group and they start going after the barbs instead... Good luck

 

[outofmybin21]

Thanks for the reply much appreciated

Can i ask what type of dwarf puffers you have? and i will check out what type the LFS has because i`ve heard some of the puffers can be quite aggressive toward other fish and even their own kind

 

[Erised]

All puffers can be aggressive to their own kind, and you've got to be lucky if you can keep them in a community tank. Myself I have the experience that I had 3 dwarfs in a 15 Gallon but had to put 1 in his own 3 Gallon tank because the other 2 would not get along with him and even after 2 weeks were still chasing him and nipping him. I decided it got too much when he actually got 2 small bite marks on his lip from getting into a tooth lock fight with the other male. So now I've got a 15 Gallon with 2 dwarfs and a 3 Gallon with 1 dwarf, all happy as ever now.

I really can not recommend keeping any other fish in with them at all, though, its up to you. You might be able to pull it off, however, make sure you'll have a proper cycled tank for the other fish, and maybe a puffer if they do not get along.

As you have probably figured out by now by reading the other thread, but hey! A dwarf puffers diet would mainly be bloodworms, live or frozen. A treat of brine shrimp from time to time will be good to keep the variation in their diet. I've heard of puffers getting a treat of daphnia, krill, prawns, mussels etc as well, but mine ignore all but bloodworms.

A requirement will be snails (or shrimp), feeding them once every 2 weeks should be plenty. They'll need this to keep their teeth down. If they dont get anything to 'cut them off' they'll overgrow causing your puffer to not be able to eat, which will more than likely lead to death.

 

[StingrayKid]

Yeah, mine aren't fussy at all with their food. They'll eat frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and other meaty foods. I'm going to experiment with mussels and maybe some prawn if I can get some. the werid thing is though with mine, actuallly ignore snails! I don't know why, I guess they just don't appeal to them. Good luck with your puffers!

 

[outofmybin21]

Thanks for the info i`m still contemplating getting a pair or just going for 2 pairs of peacock gudgeons.

If i did get a pair of dwarf puffers how many snails will i need to feed them every 2 weeks? Can shrimp really help break down their teeth as they have no hard shell like that of a snail??