How many dwarf puffers for 29 gallon?

[oliver]

Hello, I have just finished cycling my 29 gallon tank and am ready to get my dwarf puffers. My question is, how many could I keep? My tank is heavily decorated with lots of fake plants, a small cave and a fake tree root. I would also like to have a couple of ottos and maybe a ghost shrimp or two in there with them.
Also, I have heard that you should keep 1 male to three females. Can you tell the sex when they are very young? If so, could someone tell me what to look for. Thanks!

[Sponge bob]

3-5 gallons per dwarf puffer
I would do at least 6
-4 females
-2 males

or 2 females one male and some corydoras or otto's

[mrgreen]

I have a dp. if you go to dwarfpuffer.com, there's a section about sexing. when they're really young, though, you can't really tell.

As far as the tank goes, the rule is 1 dp per 3 to 5 gallons. if it were me, I'd maybe do 5 dp with 4 females and one male. That's 25 gallons with room to spare. puffers are messy and need really good water quality at the same time. ghost shrimps and ottos, maybe 10 shrimp and 5 ottos. just want to keep the bioload way down. Anybody who disagrees with my math, please say so and why. i'm relatively new, too. had my dp for 2 mos, but he's doing great.

[Sponge bob]

IMO I would do 3 dwarfs and a school of ottos and corydoras
2-4 ottos and 4-5 little corys

[oliver]

mrgreen: are you saying I could keep 5 dp's along with the 5 ottos and ghost shrimp?
The reason I asked about sexing the dp's is because I have found a place that has them, but they are very young and pretty much look the same, as far as I can tell. What will happen if I end up with more males than females? Am I going to have a problem when they are older?

[oliver]

One more question. Is there any other type of algae eater that I could keep in place of the ottos that would be compatible with the dp's. The reason I ask is because I just read that ottos are very sensitive and need to be in an established tank. My tank is a new tank that I have recently fishless cycled.

[LilGreenPuffer]

mrgreen: are you saying I could keep 5 dp's along with the 5 ottos and ghost shrimp?
The reason I asked about sexing the dp's is because I have found a place that has them, but they are very young and pretty much look the same, as far as I can tell. What will happen if I end up with more males than females? Am I going to have a problem when they are older?

A 29g technically holds only 25g. Ridiculous, I know. I would say... with five DPs and five otos, only a couple of shrimp, if any. You won't need them if you vaccuum carefully every week.

As for sexing, that would be a problem, yes! The males will get into little spats over the females. This is a pretty big problem for people buying DPs. There's really no way to tell unless you're an expert, i.e. a breeder, or maybe if you speak fishinese and can ask them whether they're little boys or little girls. Some go the trial-and-error route, but of course that means giving up males that you may have become attached to, plus the added bonus that you'd have to quarantine new fish before adding them to the main tank, and of course catching the little boogers and transporting them back to the store. Alternately, you could seek out a local breeder, who will hopefully be able to help you. You might not have any in your area. In that case, you could go the trial-and-error route, or else ask your pet store to order you a specific number of each gender and to hold them seperately until you get there. You may still have a few slip-ups after that, but you'll have a better chance of getting it right. I asked for them to order one male and one female, and they got it right.

One more question. Is there any other type of algae eater that I could keep in place of the ottos that would be compatible with the dp's. The reason I ask is because I just read that ottos are very sensitive and need to be in an established tank. My tank is a new tank that I have recently fishless cycled.

Almost any other algae eater will get pretty big. I would go for the otos, but wait a few months, or else make sure that there's plenty of algae available, which you can do by putting a couple of rocks or other decorations in a bowl of tank water by the window and letting them grow algae, then switching them out with others in the tank as needed. Offer algae pellets periodically, just in case, to make sure they're getting the food they need (they have ADD hamster metabolisms) - mine love them, though some won't touch them, hence the reason for an established tank - they can starve without the green algae that an established tank (or rocks from the windowsill) offer.

[lilacamy931]

Just my two cents! I have 4 dwarf puffers. Only had them two and a half weeks. When I first got them, the very kidn store person spent absolutely ages trying to pick me the biggest and what he thought was identifible male and female puffs (wanted 1m/3f).

Got them home, there was a very obvious male, he had a dark stripe down the belly and bright blue irridescent wrinkles aroud the eyes, one female was very much full grown and the other two had to wait and see though I had my suspicions. I can now say there is 2 females and 1 male. Within a week of having them the smaller male developed a prominent stripe on the belly and now also has the wrinkles (in my case I live too far away to take back but peaceful for the moment). So that is just so you are aware, perhaps go for the larger ones that have had a chance to grow and develop, if possible come up with an arrangement with the store to swap them if it turns out there are two males or be prepared to have one of the males in a solo tank.

I have been lucky so far that there has been one spate otherwise all peaceful at the moment (the two little ones have caught up in size now) but always keep an watchful eye.

From what I have heard and seen ottos are extremely sensitive..

[Myaj]

If they are young, they all look like females. IME, the yellow coloring of the males is the first sexual difference to show up, so ones with yellow on their bellies and tails are usually males. See the article in our library with photos and tips on sexing them:
library/puffers-in-focus/sexing-carinot ... rf-puffer/

Usually we say 3-5 gallons each.. I tend to think of that as 5 for the first, 3 for each additional.. so maxium you could have in a 29 (which yes, only holds 25) would be 7.. with no tankmates.

If it was me, I'd do 6 dwarves (hoping for 2 males and 4 females) and a bristlenose pleco for algae/cleanup. OR get yourself a ton of red cherry shrimp and let them loose in there, they eat algae, cleanup, look absolutely awesome, don't add much to the bioload, and the dwarves will have a blast hunting them.

[mrgreen]

There's a better idea.

I have some cherry shrimp in with my ottos and DP. I thought my DP would eat them but nope- not yet. And he's full-grown, I think.

If they are young, they all look like females. IME, the yellow coloring of the males is the first sexual difference to show up, so ones with yellow on their bellies and tails are usually males. See the article in our library with photos and tips on sexing them:
library/puffers-in-focus/sexing-carinot ... rf-puffer/

Usually we say 3-5 gallons each.. I tend to think of that as 5 for the first, 3 for each additional.. so maxium you could have in a 29 (which yes, only holds 25) would be 7.. with no tankmates.

If it was me, I'd do 6 dwarves (hoping for 2 males and 4 females) and a bristlenose pleco for algae/cleanup. OR get yourself a ton of red cherry shrimp and let them loose in there, they eat algae, cleanup, look absolutely awesome, don't add much to the bioload, and the dwarves will have a blast hunting them.

[oliver]

Thanks for your help with advice on sexing. I hope it goes well with trying to get the correct ratio of males to females. They have about 30 dwarfs right now, so there will be enough to choose from. I like Myaj's idea of the bristlenose, so I think I will go with that and 6 dwarfs. I will post pics as soon as I get them and they settle in!

[mrgreen]

Yay. can't wait to see the pix and hear your updates.

[Camaro95]

Sounds like you want some tank mates. Before I siponed out my DPs, I kept 3 of them in a 30gal with 2 clown plecos and 7 kuhli loaches. No problems. I then kept them with a dozen mollies and the puffers kind of shied away. If you wany my opinion, get a male and 3 females or something, get a clown or bristlenose pleco (or two) and 5 or more kuhli loaches. That equals a very low maintenance aquarium, doesn't require you to feed a whole lot (the plecos and kuhlis will basically eat whatever is left if you overfeed the puffers) and is fun to look at. Just to be safe, take a pinch of high quality flake food and an algae wafer every third day and dump it in as a special treat for your non-puffing friends.

If you want algae eaters, get some Amano shrimp. If you have a nice supply of algae, it will take them about a month, maybe two, to get to full size which is twice the size of a dwarf puffer (so no snack).

[lilacamy931]

[quote="the plecos and kuhlis will basically eat whatever is left if you overfeed the puffers"quote]

LOL Mine never seem to leave any, if they do it is because they have been too busy watching the hand that feeds