What Puffer Shall I Have?

[Skeuer]

Hey there, i have a 15 gallon/60 litre tank, and am removing the current inhabitant with the possible exception of a gold nugget pleco depending on compatibility, and i would like to know the best puffer for this tank.

I wouldn't mind turning brackish much as long as its not too hard to do. I would like either one puffer 'pet' of moderate size (maybe with anything it could be kept with), or a few smaller ones?

What do you think? Ive seen a video of a guy with a school of tetras and a dwarf puffer and he said the co habit just fine, is it completely out of the question to have similar tank mates with a puffer? Advise me!

Thanks.

 

[Ceramicbull]

What immediately springs to mind is a single figure 8 puffer (brackish), I think it would fit in 15G but 20G might be a safer bet. A school of dwarves would also work. Unfortunately, no puffer is predictable regarding tank mates, some will get along great, others will eat all the fins they can, and some will get along great until they decide to eat all the fins they can . A figure 8, due to the brackishness, would be limited to bumblebee gobies as tankmates. Dwarves are too aggressive to really have any. With any puffer you'll need a very "busy" tank with lots of things in it to keep it busy, and hiding places for multiple puffers should they start picking on each other. It would also be advantageous to overfilter the tank a bit, as all puffers are pretty messy.

 

[Skeuer]

Hey, thanks for the fast reply! How many dwarf puffers could i get in a school? Fig 8 puffs look great, but if 15g is too small i dont really wanna force it in, i would prefer it to be happy. How hard is it to become brackish, do i just add salt?

 

[lilacamy931]

A Figure 8 would be perfect for that tank, low brackish conditions and if good filtration and set up couple of bumblebee gobies.
Otherwise you could have 3-4 dwarf puffers as long as heavily planted and good broken line of sights, if went with lesser numbers could try them with otos, but to be honest it is down to the puff/s in question as to whether they are going to accept tankmates. As long as aware of the consequences and back up plan, then go for it.
Have a google of both and decide whether wish to try couple of dwarves (ensuring good male to femle ratio) or have a wet puppy F8 by itself.
With a 15g there wouldnt be much choice for other choices. There is the irrubesco though usual minimum is 20g, a F8 would be a great choice.

EDIT: Just saw your reply, dwarf numbers above.
As to salt you need marine salt, hydrometer and mixing container, spare heater. Salt needs to be properly dissolved to the correct salinity levels and add to the tank. With F8s they can vary with each water change so the exact salinity each time isnt too much of a problem just dont vary over 0.002 each way. Salt can not be added direct into the tank
as it will burn fish and you will not be able to get the salinity right. It takes practise and as long as do research before then shouldnt be a problem. Look up Neale on the forums as he has a online guide in his signature on brackish setups and water changes.

Extra edit: I tried two F8s for myself and they just werent for me, I got them back to health and gave to someone who was delighted (mainly our cats messed too much for the salt mixing). Dwarf puffs were my first fish and great puffer starters. I had 4 but because they were tiny unable to tell male/female at that time. I ended up with two of each and taking a male out, the other 3 had a hierachy and worked well together in their dense planted tank.

 

[Skeuer]

Ohh its so hard to choose! How come fig 8s wern't for you? Is there really no way i could keep my plec with any of them? My missis is rather attached to it!

 

[Ceramicbull]

Depending on which Gold Nugget you have, it might be best in a larger tank anyway. Take a look at planet catfish, some of those get up to 10 inches. As far as with either of the puffers, if you got very, very lucky with the dwarves, then mabye (I wouldn't). The brackishness of the F8 makes that an absolute no.

If you wanted to try a larger tank, SA puffers (Colomesus asellus) would have a much better chance of working with your pleco, but they actually like to school, so they need a fair amount of space. The nice thing is that you can keep something of a community with them, but they're still puffers so you'll want fish that can either swim quickly or make the puffer think twice.

 

[lilacamy931]

F8s just werent for me as we had no where else to mix the salt water over a period of time withouta cat getting electrocuted lol. Ceramicbull has guided you well, neither would go with plecs, it would be nipped mercilessly and also the bioload would be too much for that size tank and there would be water issues. SAPs are one of the ones you can try with plecs but again there may be nipping issues as with any puff. SAPS need at least 4 to a schooling and you are looking at a much larger tank, plus one problem you have to deal with SAPs is trimming their beaks/teeth on a regular basis every 3-4 months as no matter how much crunchy food there is their teeth grow at an astonishing rate.

Back to the plec again, the missus might get upset if it got badly injured and had to rehome anyway or ended up dying from stress/injury.

Otos and bumblebees are just as cute and along the lines of plecs. They will fit the environment of each puff and there is a good chance of them fitting in with good decor. Google bumblebee goby A note on otos though they will need to be added to an established tank and have supplemented food.

There are other puffs but they require bigger tanks and still wouldnt go with the plec..

 

[Skeuer]

Thanks for the help guys, looks like the plec has to go then . Those bumblebee gobies look great though, i read the like to school however and im not sure how big they get? Could i have like 5 or so of them with a fig8 puffer? Also, is a hydrometer hard to find/expensive? And marine salt?

 

[Ceramicbull]

A hydrometer and marine salt shouldn't be too expensive. You won't need a fancy electric one or anything, a floating or swing arm one should work just fine. It's not important that you are exactly at 1.005 SG, just that you don't change the whole tank more than 0.002 when you change the water. Also, you will go through marine salt very slowly, the value on the box/bag ("for 25 gallons" for example) assumes you are going for full marine.

Regarding bumblebees, they don't school in the same sense that tetras/barbs/etc. do: they seem to appreciate company, but they are territorial. They stay pretty small, and while they don't add much bioload, they are kind of messy in my experience. Since they stay on the bottom, how many you can have depends on the dimensions of your tank. I'd say they each need about a 6 inch square worth of bottom area to themselves.

 

[lilacamy931]

With bumblebees if you can settle them in before the puffer goes in so they set up their territories. 6 inch per bee sounds good! They are funny things and have neighbourly squabbles, also will rest and stick to sides of tank. Salt will go a long way on low end brackish, ensure to seal tight after each use so not to let the moisture in. Have a look on eBay for hydrometer they have some good ones for decent price for your needs!

 

[Skeuer]

Thanks you guys are great! I might take my fish up to the lfs for store credit to get the gobies and a figure eight"

Another quick Q, feeding them. I have plenty of MTS in my tank, but what else should i use, blood worms? Also, can i feed the puffer snails from my garden? or do they have to be aquatic snails? Thanks.

 

[Skeuer]

Also my tank is 24X12", so thats like 4-5 gobies? Thanks!

 

[lilacamy931]

Bloodworms will be great for the bumbles and F8, have a read on some articles for varied food for bumbles, they may not take flake at first and may need patience. Other foods food for them are frozen brine and mysis shrimp. As to the F8 the MTS may be a bit too hard a snail for him as they have been known to chip puffer teeth. As to garden snails, I honestly do not know! I guess if you can ensure they are healthy and pesticide free give it a go, but do not leave in the tank to drown if puff doesnt eat.
Goods to add that dont break the bank and will last a good while for a single F8 are people prawn, mussel, cockles etc (mussels I get a pack of fresh for 99p and freeze, prawns are the same). With these a F8 wont eat a whole one in one go at least to start with, so you can cut up before and freeze for portions. Earthworms can be ordered off of Ebay for couple of pounds come in a good container to keep in with moisture. You can order batches of 20,50 and 100 (or again as long as pesticide free from own garden)and again with the other foods would last a while!! Ramshorns and Pond Snails can be bought in handfuls, or you may be lucky enough to have friends with pest snails in either LFS, tank or ponds to supply you with Hope this gives food for thought lol

 

[Skeuer]

Haha, very funny.. Thanks for the info. Now i dont suppose you know where i might acquire such fish? I called up most of the LFS' near me and they didnt have either F8s or bumblebee gobies

 

[lilacamy931]

Hmmmm puffers can be seasonal though generally seen both of the above all year round in my area. Try Ebay, Aquarist Classifieds etc as some may be rehoming and you can find absolute gems on there. If trying to specially order in stores do give them the latin name for F8s (Tetraodon biocellatus) to ensure get the right puff. With these guys some will keep in the correct brackish conditions and others in fresh, so do source them before going ahead as if your puff comes in fresh, you can add straight to your current tank and raise the salinity from there. Whereas if the puff is already in salinity then will need to ensure similar salinity for your own tank before bringing home or drip acclimatising

Hope this doesnt sound too confusing but best to be prepared! Other options try: tropical fish finder and see which stores have locally or if desperate if can use one of the two stores online services.

Just had a look and not sure what would be close to you but some stores:
Wholesale Tropicals London E2 0AA
Maidenhead Aquatics @ Lincoln Lincoln LN6 9BY
Natural World Leicestershire LE7 2JT
Maidenhead Aquatics@ St Albans Hertfordshire AL2 IDL
Maidenhead Aquatics @ Crowland Peterborough PE6 0JB
Heritage Aquatics Surrey SM6 0SH
Maidenhead Aquatics @ Syon Park Middlesex TW8 8JG
Aquatic Design Centre London W1W 6QG
Maidenhead Aquatics@ Bracknell Bracknell, Berkshire RG42 4HA
Maidenhead Aquatics@ Hare Hatch Berkshire RG10 9SW

Also Ebay 10 available through Jewel Aquatics though reasonably pricey at £15 for fish and £15 delivery. Depends how much you want one and willing to wait to see locally! I did pay £12 each for mine but then again they were healthy and puff do have a high price tag down here.