Me And My Friend Both Thinking Of Dwarf Puffers

[fishlover500]

My friend has a 30 gallon long tank and would like to change his setup to a DP setup.
I am not sure if he would like otos or shrimp though, I will ask him when I can.
What could you fit in this tank? 6 DPs, 6 otos, 6 shrimp?

I have a 15 gallon that should be open in a few months, and I would also like DPs.
I can fit a trio in here? I don't mind otos but they aren't my favorite. Are otos algae
eaters? I like shrimp but what type of shrimp would be compatible?



I know they are hard to feed so could I get some suggestions.

I have frozen brine shrimp and I have read the pinned topic on them
just wondering about staple?

 

[kniesh]

Hi, if you are going to go with shrimp in with a DP, I would put Cherry in. They breed like mad and some of the babies will be picked off by the DP, but this means the population will be kept in check, and the adult Shrimp will likely be left alone.

Ottos are algae eaters, and very good at it for their size.

To feed my DP when I had one, I defrosted the bloodworms then put them in the exact line of the current of the filter, this makes them appear alive as they dart around the tank with the current. Or you could just get live bloodworms etc.. for them. The shrimp will clear away any of the mess left over by the DP

 

[jennybugs]

I feed mine live bloodworm, brine shrimp, small snails and sometimes they eat small river shrimp which is why I wouldn't chance expensive cherry shrimp with mine

I would allow 4, preferably 5, gallons per fish and try to keep 2-3 females per male if you can. They're impossible to sex until they're about 5 months old...males have eye wrinkles usually

They need a highly planted and overfiltered cycled tank and they are very rewarding fish to look after providing you keep up with the weekly maintenance - 50% freshwater changes each week etc.

 

[kniesh]

Just another note of caution, if you are going to add the Shrimp with them, add the shrimp first. If the Puffers are already in the tank, take them out, add the shrimp, then put them back in once the shrimp are in. More chance they wont see them as food that way

 

[fishlover500]

I like shrimp

What would you recommend in 15 gallon then?
3 DP's probably won't be able to tell gender
how many shrimp? Is there an easy way to
tell if cherry shrimp are male/female?

My friend likes shrimp too and he has 3 Chinese Algae Eaters in his tank right now, could they stay?


Should I breed snails to feed them because the risk is very high if I keep buying them from lfs.
What type of snails?


What foods how often though? like brine shrimp once a week? bloodworm every 2 days? what?
And I don't really want to have to raise brine shrimp eggs? What's involved in keeping live bloodworm alive?
Would you recommend about 50% frozen 50% live and then a snail every 2 weeks per puffer?

 

[kniesh]

You wont be able to tell sex of Cherries unless they are carrying eggs. 3DP and about 6 or so shrimp sound fine for a 15 gal to me. You will prob end up with more shrimp through breeding but I wouldn't imagine the Puffers would let many of the shrimplets slip through their radar.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Not true; Female cherries are generally larger and more colorful than males depending on the strain. Females also have bulkier abdomens.

Pictures of male and female cherry shrimp.


To breed snails just set up a ten gallon tank with a coral sand or coral gravel substrate. Add a sponge filter or two and cycle the tank(you can speed this up with some filter media from an existing tank). Add snails(pond snails or ramshorns are best), feed fish food and algae wafers. Of course, you could just add the snails to an existing tank but most people seem to dislike having snails.

 

[iSnail]

Just another note of caution, if you are going to add the Shrimp with them, add the shrimp first. If the Puffers are already in the tank, take them out, add the shrimp, then put them back in once the shrimp are in. More chance they wont see them as food that way

If you have to add the shrimps after the puffers, add them late evening when the puffs are asleep and so that the shrimps have a chance to find hiding places as well. DON'T add them at feeding times.

I feed mine frozen bloodworms as staple. Every 2 or 3 days with some baby snails. Only some of my DPs take frozen brine shrimps. Live Daphnia whenever I can harvest any from my tiny culture. Then live bloodworms and brine shrimps every couple of weeks or so which make them go hyper

The breeding populations of cherry shrimps are doing fine with my DPs. The puffs love eating the babies and they keep the numbers in check. Make sure there are plenty of plants/mosses for them to hide.

Snails - pond, pouch/tadpole, ramshorn snails are great for breeding for food. I keep some in my non-DP tank and some in tubs on window sill.

 

[jennybugs]

I like shrimp

What would you recommend in 15 gallon then?
3 DP's probably won't be able to tell gender

3 would be good and if you find the gender ratio wrong as they get bigger you can always swap around

My friend likes shrimp too and he has 3 Chinese Algae Eaters in his tank right now, could they stay?
Not in my opinion. Not worth the risk...puffers take bites out of things to see if they're edible or not

Should I breed snails to feed them because the risk is very high if I keep buying them from lfs.
What type of snails?
I have ramshorn and pond snails for my guys...MTS are too hard shelled for them

What foods how often though? like brine shrimp once a week? bloodworm every 2 days? what?
I feed mine once a day on live blood worm, brine shrimp, cockle meat, small shrimp and I miss one feed each week
What's involved in keeping live bloodworm alive?
I keep mine in the fridge for 5 days or so before they turn bad. Brine shrimp aren't sufficient to feed as a staple food and should be used as a snack occasionally
Would you recommend about 50% frozen 50% live and then a snail every 2 weeks per puffer?
Feed snails as often as you can. The puffs will hunt them down - quite entertaining to watch and it keeps them active

 

[fishlover500]

Aren't cherries a bit expensive? they are like $5-6 which is the equivalent of like 2.50 GBP


So for diet:

I will feed snails about every 4 days if I can and see if I can get some ranshom

I will get live bloodworm and frozen bloodworm(as staple) (I'm not sure if I can get live bloodworm) and feed them every day with frozen, every three days with live

and then frozen brine shrimp once a week



How is this? Oh and feed them six days a week not 7 so food gets cleaned up?


Is it good for DPs to have live fish? or is this not good.

 

[chesterscot]

some members on the forum sell cherrys for 50p each i know that doesnt help but shop around for some
scot

 

[kniesh]

I have over 100 Cherries in my 40gal tank, 4ft tank. Cant quite get the crystals breeding yet. Are you in the US or UK?

 

[TylerFerretLord]

It depends on where you get the shrimp from. From a shop they'll likely be expensive, but if you get them from someone on here or ebay or something you can get them a lot cheaper. I see them going for about a dollar each on AquaBid frequently.

If the cost puts you off the cherries you can go for ghost shrimp.

 

[fishlover500]

Do ghost shrimp breed a lot like cherrys?

how was my diet list?


Kneish: wow thats worth like 300 GPB

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Ghosts will breed easily, however they release tiny larvae that won't survive in a tank. The larvae would probably get eaten by your puffs anyway.

Sorry, can't comment on the diet as I've never kept dwarf puffers.