Fighting Puffas!

[craigybaby37]

could this on camera this morning of my dwarf puffas having a scrap...or thats what i think unless its some weird mating thing?? why would they behave like this do u rekon they have been perfect until this morning after i fed them they went mad.

http/smg.photobucket.com/albums/v337/cra...03052007050.flv

 

[iSnail]

They are fighting for sure. Are they the only DPs in that tank? DPs can be very temperamental. The main reasons for fights are: territories, females and food. Your DPs might have fought over a particular bloodworm they wanted since you had just finished feeding them. Do keep an eye though. Fights can be fatal sometimes.

 

[craigybaby37]

just got back from work and they are both fine swimming together as they were before and yes they are the only DP's in the tank i not sure on the sex of them though is there any ways of telling?? both are same size about 2cm in length.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i'm going to itemize this just to make it easier

(1) DPs aren't brackish fish. they should be kept in 100% freshwater.

(2) DPs are also rather territorial, males moreso than females. At a minimum, each DP should have 3g to claim as an individual, but even that is often insufficient. We typically recommend 5g of territory per DP (or no more than 2 DP per 10g tank). Baby DPs typically get along quite well, but the adults can have nasty tempers.

 

[iSnail]

just got back from work and they are both fine swimming together as they were before and yes they are the only DP's in the tank i not sure on the sex of them though is there any ways of telling?? both are same size about 2cm in length.

If they are still young, then it's hard to tell their sexes. In general, mature males show "wrinkles" behind their eyes and when ready to mate, they show a dark line along their bellies (from chin to tail). Females are a little bigger in size and rounder in shape. Here are some pics to show the differences:

Male DPs

Female DP

same female

Hope this helps

 

[pica_nuttalli]

wow, that second pic of your male is great! you should add that to the fish index entry.

 

[PufferFishRule]

how many of them lil fellers can i fit into...say...a 10 gallon...not that im gonna try but i have a empty 10 lying around and i would like puffers to put in it

 

[pica_nuttalli]

no more than 2 and sometimes even that is too many...

there's an excellent pinned topic at the top of Oddballs on keeping dwarf puffers. but remember, they're totally not brackish

 

[iSnail]

wow, that second pic of your male is great! you should add that to the fish index entry.

Thanks That is an old picture I took when I first got my DPs. The little guy was actually sleeping in that pic LOL

there's an excellent pinned topic at the top of Oddballs on keeping dwarf puffers. but remember, they're totally not brackish

Yes, that means DPs should not be kept with Mollies really

 

[nmonks]

As others are saying, keeping dwarf puffers in groups can be tricky. One thing that can work is keeping them in large groups, say six or more. As with other mutually aggressive fish (e.g., cichlids, archerfish, mudskippers, halfbeaks) this diffuses out the tension by preventing any single specimen from becoming hyperdominant. It also makes it difficult for one to hold a territory for too long.

HOWEVER, deliberate overcrowding relative to the size of the tank has risks, and should only be done by experienced hobbyists. The problem is that keeping a lot of fish together in a small space overloads the filter and the life support capacity of the aquarium. Pufferfish are extremely intolerant of poor water quality and low oxygen concentration, so keeping, say, five specimens in a ten gallon tank might work from a behavioural point of view but end up being unstable in terms of the health and longevity of the fish. Keeping six specimens in a 50 gallon tank, on the other hand, might work quite well, and give you plenty of scope for adding other species of pufferfish as well.

Cheers, Neale

 

[corygirl]

wow, that second pic of your male is great! you should add that to the fish index entry.

Thanks That is an old picture I took when I first got my DPs. The little guy was actually sleeping in that pic LOL

there's an excellent pinned topic at the top of Oddballs on keeping dwarf puffers. but remember, they're totally not brackish

Yes, that means DPs should not be kept with Mollies really

why not? i have pufferfish with balloon mollies in a freshwater tank. mollies are freshwater fish.

 

[iSnail]

why not? i have pufferfish with balloon mollies in a freshwater tank. mollies are freshwater fish.

This is why..

http/www.fishforums.net/Mollies-Need-Salt-t137887.html

 

[corygirl]

why not? i have pufferfish with balloon mollies in a freshwater tank. mollies are freshwater fish.

This is why..

http/www.fishforums.net/Mollies-Need-Salt-t137887.html

hmm everything ive ever read about mollies of any type says they are freshwater....

 

[nmonks]

Spend any time on this or other livebearer forums and you'll see literally dozens of posts about mollies with fungus and finrot. These problems rarely develop when they are kept in brackish water.

The odd thing is that mollies are found in freshwaters in the wild, even feral domesticated hybrids. The problem seems to be that mollies are very intolerant of nitrate. In the wild nitrate levels are close to zero, so the mollies are fine. In the aquarium, unless you keep nitrates at low levels (well below 20 mg/l), the mollies sicken. In brackish water nitrate is several times less toxic than in freshwater, hence mollies kept in brackish water are generally healthier even where water quality is otherwise not optimal.

The other advantage of brackish water is it raises the pH and hardness to levels mollies appreciate. Too many people keep mollies at pH less than 7.5 and hardness below 20 dH, and mollies will not thrive in those conditions. Wild mollies are almost always found in hard, alkaline waters, and usually close to the sea, hence their high tolerance of salt. Mollies are very common in brackish waters and have even been found in the sea, apparently feeding on algae and plankton. When kept in brackish or saltwater aquaria mollies get larger and develop much better colours. For anyone serious about mollies, particularly sailfin mollies, keeping them in brackish or salt water is a no-brainer: it's just better.

Cheers, Neale

hmm everything ive ever read about mollies of any type says they are freshwater....

 

[fredyk]

That is two males establishing territory. Very classic. Males puff up to dispaly to each other and establish who is dominant, who gets the larger territory. They have a line along their bottoms, and female shape is more like ballon. Male shape can be kind of flat looking in display mode. Females don't display to each other. But they are all kind of territorial. Exceptin' when they feel threatend, then they all bunch together and school sort of, and look around the tank together.