ATG's DPs

[ATG]

Hello!

This will be my thread to help myself and others document my adventure into fish keeping with Dwarf Puffers!

Things I hope to accomplish with this thread:

1. Document my progress
2. Have open discussions with fellow fish keepers about DPs and anything related (or non-related XD ).
3. Learn and share knowledge with everyone!
4. Have a healthy tank thriving with life!

Feel free to comment on anything you see or ask questions or leave suggestions. Any advice is gladly welcomed!

[ATG]

Here is the tank:

[ATG]

I cracked the tank when I was moving it to the workbench......

[LilGreenPuffer]

Oh, NO! I did that once, taking it back up to my room after cleaning it. I'm sorry - that's no fun.

[J-P]

That's too bad! are you going to try with the build again?

[ATG]

Yes. I went ahead and bought another 5.5g and I'm not going to wait to build the filter I'm just going to throw a regular power filter in it. (growing extremely impatient lol). I will take some pics when all the micro-bubbles clear out.

[ATG]

I want to buy more silk plants to put in the front right hand corner. I like the zen theme XD

[LilGreenPuffer]

The more decorations, the better.

This is the coolest zen tank I've ever seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LubYMbtL23E

[J-P]

ummm not a zen tank ....

but looks good btw ...

[ATG]

The more decorations, the better.

This is the coolest zen tank I've ever seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LubYMbtL23E

That's awesome! I love the bhudda and the bamboo! That's def the kind of thing im shooting for..I need to aquascape a bit more.

[ATG]

I was thinking of a couple Amano, Cherry, or Ghost shrimp for the tank to help clean up the after the DP. Which would be best/how many for stockign a 5 gallon with one DP? Do they eat only left over proteins or will they help with algae too?

[LilGreenPuffer]

They'll eat algae too. I would go with 1-3 ghost or amano shrimp. Red cherries tend to be a bit on the small side and are more prone to getting nommed by puffers. Also, they prefer cooler water than DPs do. But keep in mind that any shrimp, no matter how large, is at risk. Go with a couple 50-cent ghost shrimp before trying anything more expensive/rare.

Whatever kind of shrimp you get, make sure there're a lot more hiding places in the tank than there are now.

[ATG]

. But keep in mind that any shrimp, no matter how large, is at risk. Go with a couple 50-cent ghost shrimp before trying anything more expensive/rare.

Whatever kind of shrimp you get, make sure there're a lot more hiding places in the tank than there are now.

I will make sure of the hiding place part.

Are shrimp in particular very fragile or sensitive? Or are you referring to being eaten..because I will let the shrimp grow out some before I put DPs in there. The only store that would have shrimp is 45 mins away. They have lots of those 50 cent ghost shrimp, but they are feeders and isn't that dangerous because they might be carrying parasites? Otherwise they have some already fairly large cherry shrimp.

[LilGreenPuffer]

If you quarantine them for a couple of weeks before adding them to the tank, especially if you also treat them with levamisole (an invertebrate-safe dewormer), it should be fine. The cherry shrimp are just as likely to have some sort of parasites - any aquatic animal in a pet store is prone to diseases. I would avoid adult cherries because they are not very long-lived animals and at their adult size, they're already within a few months of death.

Shrimp can be VERY sensitive to temperature and pH swings, as well as even tiny amounts of ammonia and nitrite. But the reason I say to start with cheap feeder shrimp is that they might wind up as what they were originally intended to be - fish food.

Edit - Let me clarify - most shrimp can adapt to a wide range of temperatures and pHs. It's sudden changes that cause problems.

[JessK]

I would put the shrimp in the tank before the DP also, that way you will have a less chance of territorial issues. And +1 with going with the ghost shrimp too. I've got two in my tank. They were just feeders from my LFS. One is huge now and will swim to the top and eat live blackworms from my tweezers. Like you, I got them for a clean up crew, but they're actually pretty amusing to watch.