My DPs extremely hostile...

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Sean W.
Puffer Fry
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Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 4:16 am
My Puffers: 3 Dwarf Puffers
Location: Claremont CA

My DPs extremely hostile...

Post by Sean W. »

I got 3 Dwarf puffers in a well planted 10 gallon tank ( ill include a pic ), i got them 3 days ago, i cycled the tank, made sure all the water parameters are good if not perfect: Ammonia: 0 ( I'm color blind, so they ammonia level might be between 0 and .25 ), PH is 7.8 and the temperature is between 78F and 80F.
My problem is that all of them are fighting, they go out of their way to get into a fight with each other, its like they all really like the left side of the tank and the are all fighting for that side of the tank, and I'm pretty sure there is 1 male and 2 females. I know this is normal, for them to fight to establish dominance, but i thought it would only last a day at most. When they engage, they circle, go vertical while circling, return to horizontal, curl their body and one charges and the other usually swims off, but since this morning, they are actually striking each other, sometimes whole 2 are engaging, one comes out of no where and takes a sucker punch on one of the others, I'm starting to get worried... is this typical Dwarf puffer behavior for them to fight for dominance for this length of time, its been 3 days since i got them.
Where they always seem to fight, is the only part of the tank that is open for swimming, so the only thing i can think of is to put a plant in that area..? Here is a pic of my tank. It seems like they are fighting on the most extreme left front to mid tank, where those 2 shorter plants are.

Image
Nick
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Re: My DPs extremely hostile...

Post by Nick »

Pretty normal, if the butting against each other goes to nipping(you'll see fin damage) they might be too hostile to live together, but most likely they are just settling out the new territory. Adding more decorations can make them less likely to run into each other.
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Mareva
Figure 8 Puffer
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Re: My DPs extremely hostile...

Post by Mareva »

Also, sometimes just rearranging the decor might work. Try adding a piece of bogwood to separate the left side in two! That worked for me!
Dwarfpuffer2008

Re: My DPs extremely hostile...

Post by Dwarfpuffer2008 »

I agree..either rearrange your tank...or get some more interesting items in there...(your tank looks alittle bare) I have 2 males and 2 females...20 gallon tall tank...the dominate male..has already spawned with one of the females...and has nothing to do with her...I thought he was going to kill the other female..he trapped her in the corner of my tank and attacked her...and chased her all over the tank...my tank is heavily planted...you see more plants than glass...but she was unharmed...the other male only stays on the left side of my tank..The dominate male will not allow any others to come within about a 5 inch area on the lower back section of tank..where I have a HUGE watersprite...and driftwood with java moss..I don't know if the female laid eggs or not..because I would have to take the whole tank down to see...but this activity has been going on for the past couple of weeks..and he will patrol this area and will not come to the surface to feed..so yours may be bored...or the male is ready to spawn...but I would get some more plants..such as watersprite or java moss...with the java moss they feel more comfortable laying in it...mine do...if you need any java moss or watersprite I have plenty of it...and I'll send you some..just pay for shipping...BTW what and how often or you feeding them? Also sorry for the multiple periods..bad habit of mine...
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