freshwater puffer

[crayfish]

Ok, so after reviewing all of this, i've decided to get bio-spira and dwarf puffers. The bio-spira has to go in at the same time as the fish right? so other than that is it just the basic 2 or so day wait for the water to be ready? i want to get all dwarf puffers but i am scared they will mate and i dotn have an other empty tank. what can i mix them with? like what are combinations of fish that will work? haha thank you for the help
mael

[Tihsho]

Ok, so after reviewing all of this, i've decided to get bio-spira and dwarf puffers. The bio-spira has to go in at the same time as the fish right? so other than that is it just the basic 2 or so day wait for the water to be ready? i want to get all dwarf puffers but i am scared they will mate and i dotn have an other empty tank. what can i mix them with? like what are combinations of fish that will work? haha thank you for the help
mael

Good choice! Hmm, where does the 2 day wait come in? Bio Spira is a living culture of bacteria. When you add the fish in, the fishes waste feeds the bacteria. The water will almost be ready the same day you add the bio spira and the fish in. Probably after a few days to a week the bacteria will be settled. Don't worry about the mating of Dwarfs being a problem, it is an occasional spectacular even, but nothing to highly be worried about. With other species I have found a clown pleco, cory cats, ottos, and the occasional ghost shrimp to be tank mates, even bumble bee gobies before I found out they should be kept in brackish peramiters.

Good luck and go on the hunt to find your Dwarfs!

Oh btw, PetsMart does carry Dwarfs. You may need to check more then one PetsMart though. Some carry and some don't. For them it's supply and demand and they will only order in bulk. So keep looking for them in a PetsMart.

[crayfish]

Really? i have never seen them at petsmart but i will look. so if i get 3 puffers can i get like a couple of shrimp? i dont want to crowd the tank.
mael

[Myaj]

Okay, you can not listen to the store or anyone who tells you to just let the tank sit for a few days then its safe to add the puffers, it is not.

You either have to use biospira or do a fishless cycle (read the articles please!) to make it safe for the fish. Like we said, puffers are very sensitive, so dropping them in an uncycled tank is not a good plan. Just scan through the hospital section and read all the posts that begin with "I just bought a puffer and he's dying!" and you'll see we are not exaggerating.

Fishless cycling is pretty easy, especially if you can boost it from another tank. But you have to do it right, which is why you need to read the articles.

[crayfish]

Oh, i know. I am planning on looking everywhere for bio spira. its just i thought you had to get it running for a couple of days so the filter works good. but im still going to cycle it with bio spira.

[Pufferpunk]

If you can't find it, you can order it here: http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

[crayfish]

I was actually just typing in my address on that website. I will get it there, i just am not confident that puffers will be findable around here. i did see some salt water ones at the place where i bought my crayfish but no freshwater ones. maybe petsmart but i havent seen them yet.

[Pufferpunk]

Try some out of the beaten path ma & pa shops. You'd be surprised what they might have.

[Tihsho]

Try some out of the beaten path ma & pa shops. You'd be surprised what they might have.

Yeah I agree with PP here. I am personnally on the search for some puffs and have been looking at every store in a 60 mile radius. So far the big chain stores (last places I went) had nothing and said "Ok, we are sorry we could not help you find what you want. And sorry we can't make special orders." and crap like that. But when I went to the AWSOME little mom and pop stores they were like, "Hold on a minute. Let me go in the back and find the list of what fish our supplier has and if we could order you some!" If anything they will be more helpful at the least. So they took my name and number down and said they would call me when they made the order. Call me a few days before the order came in so I could help set up a quarantine tank there (they said they would hold on to them for me for a week so that if anything went wrong they could give them special attention and any treatments nececary with no cost to me . And then I could pick the puffers up once I see they are healthy, active, and of course not killing eachother. Also they said I didn't have to put any money down or pay till I decided to pick them up. (The part of actually holding on to them for me was a shock, didn't expect that.) But I think this part will help them aswell, cause I have a feeling the owner (the guy who set this deal up for me) wanted to keep a stock of freshwater puffs in the store.

Crayfish, IMHO it would be more benifit to find a place that carries the puffs you want so you can examine them and see them in person then risk mail ordering them.

[crayfish]

Alright, I found two stores that sell puffers that are pretty close to me. I am ordering the Bio-spira tonight on the internet. when it will come i will buy puffers. The people at one store didnt seem to know what they were talking about. they were telling me that hey a bunch of different types of puffers that were all dwarf freshwater? one i remember was the figure eight and if im correct those arent dwarf right? How can i recognize the puffers. also, what should i put in my tank, i am going to buy stuff tomorrow. thanks
mael

[Tihsho]

Alright, I found two stores that sell puffers that are pretty close to me. I am ordering the Bio-spira tonight on the internet. when it will come i will buy puffers. The people at one store didnt seem to know what they were talking about. they were telling me that hey a bunch of different types of puffers that were all dwarf freshwater? one i remember was the figure eight and if im correct those arent dwarf right? How can i recognize the puffers. also, what should i put in my tank, i am going to buy stuff tomorrow. thanks
mael

Ok go to: http://pufferlist.com/ and look at the pics of the Carinotetraodon travancoricus (which is the Dwarf) and the Tetraodon biocellatus (which is the figure then read about how big they get then you will get an idea of how to tell them appart (its really simple.)

In lamens terms the Dwarf is usually sold small, usually smaller then a mature dwarf (which is about an inch to inch and a half.) The Figure 8's are over an inch usually. and look like they have a 8 on their back, may not look exactly like one but they have yellow circles on a black top half of their body. Where as the Dwarf is tanish. There are a few species of dwarfs that I remember, maybe someone has a link so you can read more on them. I can't remember much on the dwarf impersonators.

Btw the Figure 8 is brackish not freshwater.

When it comes to creating a habitat for puffs make it creative and fun for the puffs. Give them places to investigate like driftwood, tericota pot, plastic ordaments etc. You can use any gravel of your preference. If you you are one of those lieve plant people (like me) find some intresting plants (use vals, sword plants, java fern, or java moss to begin with as a begginer) and plant them in a gravel substrate such as flourite (cool gravel that comes in blackish red and tericotta red) it will help for the root systems of the plants. But the draw back on plats will be you need good lighting. You can also supplement sources of nutrition for the plants with plant tabs (little fertalizer tablet) or liquid fertalizers. If you do not choose plants in the tank add a air stone or two to help with the oxygen content of the water, plus it adds good circulation.

Thats the basics, good luck!

[crayfish]

Alright I think i will be able to tell them apart, I'm sure i can argue long enough to get a manager to check which one is which anyways. Should i get ghost shrimp for the tank? what do those eat? just plants? also i have frozen brine for my crayfish, can i give that to the puffers? I feed my other fish tetracolor tropical flakes, should i try those with the puffers? Should i put water conditioner in the water along with the bio-spira? thanks!
mael

[RTR]

Please read the information on the pufferlist site before you buy any puffer. Puffers will not survive on frozen brine shrimp, it is poor nutritionally. Puffers do not ofen eat prepared foods (flakes, pellets, etc.), They require specialized diets. See if you are willing to provide for their needs before you order or purchase them.

[crayfish]

Please dont underestimate me, Im new at this, it doesnt mean i will just buy them and let them die. I will buy what it takes, i just asked if i could use frozen krill.if i put snails and ghost shrimp in my tank, will they be fine for food? or do i need bloodworms too?

[Tihsho]

When it comes to puffers try to feed them fresh live foods if you can. Frozen staple diets are not alone the healthiest to have as a constant meal for them. Go to your LFS and get a 2 portions of blackworms and keep them submerged in a bowl of water in your refrigerator. These worms (like blood tubiflex almost) have more nutritional value then just frozen foods. If you can, start to grow some cultures of micro worms, glass worms, and or brine. Frozen krill (if fed in really tiny pieces) can be good but can cause hell on the amonia levels in the tank if you feed too much of it, or if the puffers leave it to rot in the tank. Ghost shrimp can be good things to stock up on aswell. Put about 5 in the tank a week (if the puffers eat them, or if some are eaten) they will eat any left over food that the puffers wont want plus if the puffers are hungry there is a walking snack in there for them. My Dwarfs use to just go for the claws of the shrimp (usually only one claw) and after a week and me adding the decapitated shrimp to a 5 gal shimp hospital tank that had a dosage of iodine in it I would then throw them back in the puffer tank. Flake foods are not a good thing to give puffers, they lack nurtients that puffers need. Live foods are the best with some frozen foods added in along the week.