New dwarf puffer set up advice

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Crazyjoe
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New dwarf puffer set up advice

Post by Crazyjoe »

Looking for a second opinion on my planned tank for dwarf puffers. I have a 150 litre corner tank. It’s not set up yet as I’ve just moved but will be set up with fertiliser substrate capped with sand and heavily planted as well as bog wood (currently soaking), rocks and some catappa leaves. My intention is to stock in the following order post cycling: a few khuli loach, 3 Amano Shrimp, a couple of Otos and eventually 5 dwarf puffers. I know fish are always a risk with DPs but the tank will be scaled to provide a ton of complexity and escape routes.
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JayEmpty
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Re: New dwarf puffer set up advice

Post by JayEmpty »

Hmmm... not an expert at all, but IMHO, pea puffers would not do well in a community tank housed in a 40 gallon tank. First, you won't see them, especially if it's planted or if you have a lot of places for them to hide into. They're shy, as far as I can observe. But if put on a species only tank, they move around a lot. Sometimes, you might get to think that they school.

Second, in my observation, they don't seem to eat flakes or preserved food. Sometimes, frozen foods are a problem. So, live snails and worms are they best way to go. That being said, all these worms would go into the mouths of the community before it goes to them, if it comes to that. In my experience, they only eat the snail's meat and not the shells. Their teeth does not seem to grow as much as the other big puffers.

Lastly, in my cousin's community tank that use to have pea puffers, they sometimes get nippy on some of the fish that gets near them. I haven't seen this in mine. But, it might be because I had them placed in their own tank, after three days in a community tank.

I hope this helped.
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Pufferpunk
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Re: New dwarf puffer set up advice

Post by Pufferpunk »

DPs have been known to take "fin rides" on fish 10x their size!
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Macks
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Re: New dwarf puffer set up advice

Post by Macks »

My DPs have never looked twice at the amanos I have. I don't think that's the rule, but I've been really successful with having them in a tank with amanos and nerites. The nerites get bothered every once in a while, but they have that nice trap door and a very small foot, so I haven't had any major incidents or deaths. I keep ghost shrimp because they're really fast, efficient clean-up crew, and DPs are messy af at eating. I have caught my DPs squaring up with the ghost shrimp, and I did find them eating one one day, not sure if it died on its own or if it was killed, but eh. The ghost shrimp are butt heads, they steal food directly from the DPs mouths, and they're cheap, so I don't mind the occasional ghost shrimp death. Otos are known to be good with them. I would have a back up plan ready if you need to take the loaches or anyone else out, because I do think it's pretty likely they're going to get their fins nipped. I would love if it worked out for you, but if the loaches are stressed out, even if they're not getting bullied to death, it sucks for them anyway. I used to have a tank with corys, and overall they coexisted well, but their fins were getting nipped pretty often and I rehomed them because I'm sure they were super stressed and unhappy. As someone said earlier, surprisingly, my DPs hang out together a lot. I've never had DPs get along so well. The only fighting that happens is during meals. Generally, tho, I've had DPs that were really territorial and were always getting in little fights when they would encroach on each others space. My current group genuinely surprises me with how much they seem to "school" together.
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hadla
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Re: New dwarf puffer set up advice

Post by hadla »

Yeah in my experience, they’re braver in groups!
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. -RTR
shaynabic
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Re: New dwarf puffer set up advice

Post by shaynabic »

I keep 2 dwarf puffers in a 20G high with a dwarf crayfish, 3 celestial danios, and a peacock gudgeon. Everyone's been getting along for 4+ months. They definitely have very strong personalities. One puffer is way more aggressive than the other. I'd say as long as you don't put them with a slow or long finned fish you'll be okay for the most part. Put the other fish in before you add the puffers. They are a bit territorial and may think you are feeding them a treat if you add other fish in after the puffers have established their territory. They are very smart and very aware of their surroundings!
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Pufferpunk
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Posts: 32755
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: New dwarf puffer set up advice

Post by Pufferpunk »

Careful with the cray--they are opportunistic feeders & will go after any sleeping fish.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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