Gettin a DP

[David]

Im thinkin of spicin' up my 20 gallon tank a bit with a weird fish. How would a dwarf puffer fit in with tiger barbs, red-tail, and siamese flying fox? Im thinking the barbs are equally as aggressive, and the shark and flying fox are either too big or too fast for it to bother. What's your opinion?

 

[Pufferpack]

IMO not a good combo. With puffers (especially Dwarves) size doesn't matter. Depending on the puffers individual personality, it will likely take a run at all the fish in the tank. Best kept to species only tank unless you have a spare tank cycled and ready in case an emergency relocation is called for.

 

[David]

ok because I heard that they can be kept with larger, faster species like sharks and I thought with the barbs it would be sort of a safety in numbers thing, instead of one single individual being picked on all of the time. Also barbs are also notorious fin nippers so I supposed they would kinda cancel each other out and learn to keep their distance. Anyway at my local pet shop I a puffer in a tank with a bunch of mollies, no problem. Go figure. It was rather large though , about 4 inches, so I dont think it was a DP, maybe one of the brackish water types, since mollies can live in salty water? Can anyoen clear this up for me? What is the max size for a DP?

 

[Pufferpack]

DP's can get up to a whopping 1 inch in size

Also barbs are also notorious fin nippers so I supposed they would kinda cancel each other out and learn to keep their distance

Unfortunately the puffers won't see it that way. IME Dwarf puffers will hold a grudge and if a fish is aggressive towards them they will go out of their way to attack the offender every chance they get. My little pack has been known to gang up and kill any fish that shows aggression towards them (other than another puffer) including a cichlid that was 5x their size (they were 1/2 inch when they killed and ripped the lips off a 2 1/2 inch mbuna cichlid that was harrassing one of their pack).

 

[Daveo]

I would just keep it to the Dwarf puffers(I might get some bigger puffers though)
But if you must have other fish with them then You could have soome tiger barbs in with thim. Thats what I did.


DAveo