Where Should I Put The Dwarf Puffer?

[Jen_S]

Ok, I am moving some of my fish around because of some misconceptions I made about a few fish. My coldwater tanks that I had going have been running too warm (78-80) because we are having a heat wave, I can't turn the house ac down. Anyway, I asked about goldfish yesterday and after some advice I got in the amphibian forum, I got some good advice that I followed this afternoon.
I have 3 goldfish (red/ryukin, black moor, and veil tail) that are all quite small (2-2.5 inches) at this point. They were housed in the 10 gal tank that I had set up. I have moved them into my 20H newt tank (filled with 15-16 gal of water).
I had tropical temp creatures that I then moved into the 10 gal tank that had been in the newt tank- fancy guppies and 2 dwarf frogs. I will be adding cherry shrimp to this tank in a couple fo days (when they arrive) which really means that the dwarf puffer can't go in this tank.
My tanks are now inhabited like this:
20H= 3 small goldfish (but too big for the newts to bother), 1 golden dojo loach, 1 California newt, and 1 firebelly newt, the puffer is still in here whichI will get to in a sec.
10 gal= 4 adult guppies, a few fry, 2 dwarf frogs, soon quite a few cherry shrimp
I also have a 46 gal bow tank that is heavily planted that has quite a few fish etc in it
2 small angels
2 Bolivian rams
1 farlowella cat
1 bamboo shrimp
3 "speckled cory catfish" unsure of species
4 otos
6 red serpae tetras
3 flying fox (sturdy little son of a guns and I didn't know that they were somewhat aggressive)
numerous trumpet snails
-my concern with this tank is the fly fox or even the tetras harrassing the puffer or the puffer harrassing the angels, rams, or tetras...

over half this tank is planted and might provide enough cover for everyone and the tank is kept at 82 degrees, filtered with peat to keep acidity and pH down.

The last tank that I have is a 2.5 gal eclipse tank that is empty and still cycling...

This is my big question now that you've gottne the backround, Where should I put the puffer? It's a juvenile that's only about 1/2 inch right now. i know that it would be happiest in a 5-10 gal setup but could I keep it in the 2.5 for a few months (sooner if it grows quickly) before setting up it's own species tank with a few otos?? It's such a neat few and I do want to do the little guy justice. I can keep him in the 20H tank for a few more days before I attempt to cool that tank down. There are plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in but the goldfish seem too curious about him/her. Please help!!

P.S. I know that the goldfish and dojo can't stay in the 20 H forever. I plan to eventually upgrade them to a 55 or bigger tank when we have the room!

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I wouldn't put the DP in with any other fish since they can be quite nasty and nippy. The minimum tank size for a DP is about 3 gallons I believe? (Or is that 5 gallons with 3 gallons for each additional?) Unfortunately I'm not too familiar with how sensitive these guys are to water quality, so putting it in the 2.5 gallon may be a little risky if it's not fully cycled yet, but if you can insure the water quality I would think that might be the safest route for your other fish.

 

[Jen_S]

I can certainly monitor the water closely (have test strips and ammonia drop/test tube kit) here. I can do daily partial water chages if needed and that's kind of what I'm leaning towards on a temp basis.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Actually, another option if you want to wait until the new tank is cycled... build a divider for one of your cycled tanks and put the DP in the smaller partition.

 

[Jen_S]

Hmmm that's a thought....
Problem I see though is: the 46 is a bow front and quite tall, I've not bought one in a while, not sure the one I have would fit. I'll have to check.
The 10 gal I don't think would give them all enought room but it might work for a bit. I'll think about that
The 20 gal will be coldwater so innapropriate choice.
I'm glad I asked though, that option didn't occur to me thanks.