Got Another Tank

[Grant1897]

just came home from work and had a lovely suprise waiting for me

told my cousin on monday who works in a charity shop that i was after a second tank and found one sitting on the table when i got in

came with a couple of ornaments, gravel (which will be disposed of as im using sand) a magnetic algae scrapper and a fluval U1 filter. just need to pop down pets at home and pick up some filter media and the cycle can begin (after a few hours cleaning). now just to decide on a dwarf puffer or a betta. oh the decisions.

 

[Nutbeam]

puffer

 

[Salam]

Great bargain

Puffers are great, so much personality once they get used to you. Mine stare me out as soon as I enter the kitchen. Always begging for food

 

[crazyforcordoras]

What size tank is it? Let me tell you that dwarf puffers are picky eaters. They will not TOUCH flacke or pellet. They need snails in their diet, with shells on, and the easiest way to do that is to crush the snail. They only eat live or frozen foods, and are extremely aggressive. They are in my opinion tough to take care of. I you decide on them, that will be the only thing in the tank. Trust me, ive kept them before. If i were you, i would choose bettas. They do have great personalities, if you can provide for them.

 

[Grant1897]

What size tank is it? Let me tell you that dwarf puffers are picky eaters. They will not TOUCH flacke or pellet. They need snails in their diet, with shells on, and the easiest way to do that is to crush the snail. They only eat live or frozen foods, and are extremely aggressive. They are in my opinion tough to take care of. I you decide on them, that will be the only thing in the tank. Trust me, ive kept them before. If i were you, i would choose bettas. They do have great personalities, if you can provide for them.

tank capacity is just over 10 US gallons.

ive had a good read about puffers. food wont be a problem, im more than happy to get what ever they require. i have a community tank with MTS in which i can feed them when needed. i havn't looked into live foods yet, but frozen foods won't be a problem.

only issue at the moment is filtration. it came with a fluval 1 which i really dont think is going to be enough to cope with a puffer, im on a budget so not sure i can splash money on another more powerful filter just yet.

 

[Salam]

Yes, puffers love frozen, live and snails, but it's not really a problem. Pack of frozen mix at P@H is £2 or so and lasts ages. They can happily live with otos and ghost shrimps, in 10g you should get a trio of otos in with him/her and a couple of shrimps easily.

 

[Grant1897]

Yes, puffers love frozen, live and snails, but it's not really a problem. Pack of frozen mix at P@H is £2 or so and lasts ages. They can happily live with otos and ghost shrimps, in 10g you should get a trio of otos in with him/her and a couple of shrimps easily.

thanks for the reply mate. yeh im more than happy to buy frozen regularly. im happy to buy live aswell but weather i can to this for every meal is doubtfu but doesnt sound like thats a problem.

main concern at the moment is the filter, not sure the fluval 1 will be good enough. but will look into it.

 

[colleen0309]

What size tank is it? Let me tell you that dwarf puffers are picky eaters. They will not TOUCH flacke or pellet. They need snails in their diet, with shells on, and the easiest way to do that is to crush the snail. They only eat live or frozen foods, and are extremely aggressive. They are in my opinion tough to take care of. I you decide on them, that will be the only thing in the tank. Trust me, ive kept them before. If i were you, i would choose bettas. They do have great personalities, if you can provide for them.

tank capacity is just over 10 US gallons.

ive had a good read about puffers. food wont be a problem, im more than happy to get what ever they require. i have a community tank with MTS in which i can feed them when needed. i havn't looked into live foods yet, but frozen foods won't be a problem.

only issue at the moment is filtration. it came with a fluval 1 which i really dont think is going to be enough to cope with a puffer, im on a budget so not sure i can splash money on another more powerful filter just yet.

I've been looking at puffers too. From what I read, the mts aren't good. the shells are too hard.

 

[Salam]

I get live about once a month when I'm down at a LFS that has them. But frozen is really fine as staple diet. And snails! It's hilarious to watch how they are watching them and then they go for the kill

How much does the U1 go to? As in litres?

 

[Grant1897]

I get live about once a month when I'm down at a LFS that has them. But frozen is really fine as staple diet. And snails! It's hilarious to watch how they are watching them and then they go for the kill

How much does the U1 go to? As in litres?

from what i can find it pumps at 200 lph. which will give about 5 times an hour turn over in my tank.

what snails do you feed yours?

thanks for all the advice so far.

 

[Salam]

I think the U1 will be fine. Mine get pest snails. Just the bog standard ones that come with plants when you don't wash them properly and breed like crazy. It's usually the insides that are eaten and I pick the empty shells out afterwards so they don't mess up my filter.

 

[Grant1897]

I think the U1 will be fine. Mine get pest snails. Just the bog standard ones that come with plants when you don't wash them properly and breed like crazy. It's usually the insides that are eaten and I pick the empty shells out afterwards so they don't mess up my filter.

this is another thing thats confusing me. a lot of people are saying that dps need to eat snails shells to avoid problems with their beaks. and others are saying that they wont eat the shells and they dont need to like other puffers do

 

[Salam]

Well, I can't see any rabbit teeth yet and shells are definitely not eaten. Maybe they scrape on them for a bit? Don't know, I just take the shells out at the end of the day and chuck them away.

 

[Grant1897]

well ive pretty much decided on a dwarf puffer. the more i read about them themore convinced i am that i want one. will probably take your advice and stick a ew otos in with it aswell.

betta will have to wait, but seeing as my cousin can pick up gear for me so cheap i dont think it will be long before i find space for another tank

 

[Salam]

You won't be disappointed. They are funny and cute little creatures. So cool to watch.

Just a little warning regarding the otos. They don't do well in new set-ups, unless you provide them with another source of algae or food. Mine survived the first weeks due to me having 'algae rocks' (and obviously they live happily now). I got a bowl on my window sill in the kitchen filled with rocks and water. This is in direct sunlight. Algae grows on the rocks within about a week or two. Start with plenty of rocks and you can rotate the rocks in the tank, so start with one, once the algae is gone next day the next and return the munched on rock for new algae to develop. You can also try cucumber and courgette, but they usually don't eat it first or second or third try. But persistence usually convinces them that it's nice and good food.