New To To Tropical Fish Keeping (Dwarf Puffer)

[Antony]

Hi everyone i'm new to the forums and new to tropical aquariums all together so i have a long way to go before i know anything much

So basically heres my question, (this is my first post ever so it's probably going to be a daft one).

I bought a dwarf puffer yesterday for my community tank after seeing it at my lfs and liking it's cool looks,
Obviously being relatively new to the game i asked the store staff if it would be ok going in my community tank .....
.... being a douche he assured me it would be totally fine and would feed on fish flakes.....yeah right.
So i get home dump her in the tank and literally as soon as she was out the bag she latched onto several fish and was chomping away making a real mess of some fins , she calmed down a little with an hour of isolation so i released her in time for feeding , as it happens she completely ignored the flakes and decided to munch on the resting nocturnal's so now shes in isolation in a home made separating thingy until i sort her a heater out to set up her own tank (*yay an excuse to set up a third tank*)

anyway's she's been really hungry but still wont eat anything i have (tubiflex cubes, algae wafers,flakes,sinking pellets,daphnia) so i decided to arm myself with a large spoon and go dig a small earth worm from a plant pot in the front garden..(bearing in mind it was 1 am at the time)
... so anyways i got the smallest worm i could find washed it in the sink and dropped it in the tank with the puffer, it was twice the length of her but she gobbled it up in seconds ....NOW IM WONDERING ...WILL SHE BE OK EATING THAT?

Sorry about the long story but i thought i'd make my first post a biggie

Any feedback or advice on anything tropical would be great , thanks for an hour of your time reading this

 

[Kelly-Jo]

Please return the puffer ASAP. The fish needs a species only tank and keeping it in a community tank for even a few days is out of the question.

Garden worms shouldnt be fed as they can carry all kinds of diseases which are harmful to your fish.

 

[Hunterprey]

Yeah Dwarf Puffers are best kept in species tank. Try frozen bloodworms, my old Dwarf Puffer loved those. Puffers have beaks that continuously grows so feeding them very small snails will help trim it. I fed my puffer twice a day, they seem to digest food fast. Theyre also messy, I would suggest a strong filter and a fully cycled tank.

Theyre very curious fish, so provide lots of decors for your puffer to explore. I had a driftwood in my puffer tank, she was biting the wood as if she was trying to trim her beak.

And welcome to the Forum

 

[Antony]

Thanks for the feedback on the worm subject ... i thought that my self after i did it hence this post luckily she seems fine but is under close watch through the night
Shes separated in a net breeding/maternity pen at the moment until the morning when she will be moving into her own 20L
(would have done it imediatley but didn't have a spare heater) ...would a heavy planted ,sand bedded 20l be ok for just her and possibly a small hermit and snails (small food)?

Yeah Dwarf Puffers are best kept in species tank. Try frozen bloodworms, my old Dwarf Puffer loved those. Puffers have beaks that continuously grows so feeding them very small snails will help trim it. I fed my puffer twice a day, they seem to digest food fast. Theyre also messy, I would suggest a strong filter and a fully cycled tank.

Theyre very curious fish, so provide lots of decors for your puffer to explore. I had a driftwood in my puffer tank, she was biting the wood as if she was trying to trim her beak.

And welcome to the Forum

thanks for the welcome party
i have some driftwood that'll need a boil but would fit perfectly so thats a bonus thanks for the idea

 

[Kelly-Jo]

Only move her if the 20 litre is cycled. If not then return her as dwarf puffers need brilliant water quality.

 

[Antony]

The 20l has been set up for a week or 2 now but only with 3 female guppy in and it was sat on a heat mat at 24 degrees instead of a heater...is that ok after a quick poop scoop?

 

[Kelly-Jo]

Do you have a test kit to make sure your water is ok? Where will the guppies go?

 

[Antony]

I have a few test kits .... what exactly should i test it for chlorine, ammonia or nitrite or neither completely new to all this...
guppies can go back in the community seems as there definitely not pregnant i guess or they can chill at 22* with the goldfish...
...but one things for sure , returning the puffer is not an option returning it to the tank at the lfs is pretty much murdering it with the conditions there

 

[Antony]

.

 

[Hunterprey]

U need API water test kit. You want to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. The Puffer will need to be by himself, will most likely nip @ the guppies. How big is your community tank and how long have you had it running? Only use aquarium water when cleaning filter media, and do just a real quick clean.

If you really feel you have to keep the Puffer cause the tank in the store is in really bad condition. Take a little bit of Biological filter media from your community tank and see if you get some more from your local Fish store and add it to your Puffer tank's filter. You might have to do frequent water changes depending on your water stats. Dont overfeed.

Looking @ your profile tho, your 13 litre goldfish tank is way overstocked. I dont think u should have a single goldfish in a 13 litre tank. You might have to rehome the goldfish, sorry

 

[minnnt]

Welcome to the forum! I see another lfs strikes again!

 

[nurglespuss]

BTW Garden worms are fine, you just have to condition them first (rear them in a seperate container and feed them - after a few weeks take them out and 'strip' them (remove the poop basically) wash them and they are safe to feed) so a lot of hassle and not really worth it ;p

If your going to set up a separate tank for him (as everyone seems to have missed ;p) and can do it quickly nough with mature filter media (minimum 5gal/puffer) then he will eat bloodworm, small snails etc.

 

[Antony]

U need API water test kit. You want to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. The Puffer will need to be by himself, will most likely nip @ the guppies. How big is your community tank and how long have you had it running? Only use aquarium water when cleaning filter media, and do just a real quick clean.

If you really feel you have to keep the Puffer cause the tank in the store is in really bad condition. Take a little bit of Biological filter media from your community tank and see if you get some more from your local Fish store and add it to your Puffer tank's filter. You might have to do frequent water changes depending on your water stats. Dont overfeed.

Looking @ your profile tho, your 13 litre goldfish tank is way overstocked. I dont think u should have a single goldfish in a 13 litre tank. You might have to rehome the goldfish, sorry

you said nitrate twice.... but thanks for that and as said the guppies are going to the comunity or a friends tank i dont know yet :L
as for the filter sponge i have alot of new spares for a fluval internal which im not using so i suppose me hoarding them came in handy eventually. i never overfeed i put small amounts in and watch evry feed and romove the excess after 10 mins

yeah the 13l/3.3gal sounds alot worse than it actually is (all the goldies are 10 -15mm) and there only in there for another week until they get re-homed to my little cousin for Christmas (which ever 2 he wants) and the rest minus the Black moor are going to a pond of a friend ...
... other wise well spotted and thanks for looking a bit more in depth

so whats a simple to use Brand test kit that actually gets the job done?

 

[Antony]

BTW Garden worms are fine, you just have to condition them first (rear them in a seperate container and feed them - after a few weeks take them out and 'strip' them (remove the poop basically) wash them and they are safe to feed) so a lot of hassle and not really worth it ;p

If your going to set up a separate tank for him (as everyone seems to have missed ;p) and can do it quickly nough with mature filter media (minimum 5gal/puffer) then he will eat bloodworm, small snails etc.

basically the way i washed it was with pretty warm water with 1ml of tap safe and about 20ml of water...soaked and rubbed it a bit re soaked it in tap water and then dryed it off with a bit of kitchen roll.... it did come from a fresh compost bin if this counts as self rearing worms?

** The him you refered to is a female dwarf puffer lol* * but yeah shes in her own tank in a hour or two after i pick up the tests ect
I read on countless occasions and the average minimum was anywhere from 3-5gal per puffer hence the 20l snails are going to be her staple diet i think as well as live bloodworm as a treat :L


Current update on The puffer (still to be named, open to suggestions )
Been watching her non stop for the past 10 hours (over night with no sleep) and i can pretty confidently say shes fine if anything less hungry than she was and seems to be swimming with more grace than she ever has

 

[ZoddyZod]

let's go back to the beginning here. Are you proposing to keep a dwarf puffer in a 20L?

If so I'm afraid the tank is far too small. They are highly inquisitive, active and waste producing fish. I would say nothing smaller than a 60L is suitable.

the only fish suitable for 5gal is a betta.