algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

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stevo_gti
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algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by stevo_gti »

is there any small algae eaters that i can put in my tank with a dwarf puffer? i have one in a 40L tank

also is this tank big enough for another dwarf puffer? i have a female at the min but would love a male to put in with her or just another female for bit of company for her
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by blondenblue »

I think it is recommended 2 female to 1 male if you are going to have more than one DP. as far as algae eaters, i have an otosinclas sp. in with my Dwarfs.
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by stevo_gti »

i like the look of those otosinclas sp what are the common names just otto cat? what size do they grow to as i said its only a 40L tank which also means she will have to stay as the only DP as i just read you need atleast 20L for one DP so cant have 3
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by Sponge bob »

u can put otos are Japanese algae eaters
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by blondenblue »

otto's stay small about 3/4" i would say
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by stevo_gti »

well ottos it is then, is the 40L no good for adding 2 more Dp's? it does have few plants and bogwood
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by Sponge bob »

how many gallons is 40L?
and actually I recommend Japanese Algae eaters bc they eat the algae and they say small
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by stevo_gti »

Sponge bob wrote:how many gallons is 40L?
and actually I recommend Japanese Algae eaters bc they eat the algae and they say small
not many lol its only 9gallon the tank was originally a quarantine tank but after few week my DP decided to start fin nipping so the tank got turned into a puffer tank, i may have a look at both ottos and JAE as im not sure what they stock round here but i sure i seen some JAE in a shop near me
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by Sponge bob »

oh..that should be fine I would keep 3 in there.
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by stevo_gti »

Sponge bob wrote:oh..that should be fine I would keep 3 in there.
wow im suprised at that i thought it would be too small now i just need to try and get hold of a male and female wont use the place i got my female from as their fish have alot of disease and even though i said i would never get a fish from there i couldnt resist the DP which ended up putting white spot in my tank so i wont use them again

but luckly i never lost any of my fish and the treatment worked
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by Sponge bob »

a 12 gallon would b better but 9g can hold3 just need tons of hiding spots
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by Myaj »

In a 9 gallon tank you should be able to fit 3 dwarf puffers (preferably one male, two females) but that won't leave you room for tankmates.

I would get a better ID on the "japanese algae eaters".. I've never heard of those but we do see a lot of "chinese algae eaters" which are fish that grow 4-6", don't eat much algae, and tend to get very aggressive with a habit of eating other fish's eyeballs.

A small bristlenose pleco is a good option, but the tank is too small. Oto cats are perfect, but don't do well in newer setups, so make sure your tank has been running healthy for several months before trying to buy any.
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by Sponge bob »

at one of the lfs they where called Japanese algae eaters


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _eater.jpg
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Myaj
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by Myaj »

Yeah, that's a chinese algae eater, you don't want one of those.

Siamese algae eaters are excellent fish, but get too big for that small of a tank.
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Re: algae eater for a dwarf puffer?

Post by ryverrat »

Oto cats like to be in groups-5 or more - and will only eat algae. They can starve if there is not enough in the tank. Make sure you have some algae wafers on hand in case they really clean up the tank. Better yet put live plants in the tank. Brazilian swords and Anubias are easy to grow. They will take up some of the nutrients the algae is using. Light is not the only cause of algae blooms- puffer produce a lot of "fertilizer" and plants will take some out. In my tanks that have plants I don't have algae problems. I don't use fish for algae control anymore- just plants, water changes, and limiting light to 8 hrs. or less.
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