Breeding otos with DPs

[Touchmaster Odd]

Hello all. Im pleased to announce that after four months everything seems to be going smoothly with my first little cheeky puffers - three dwarfs that share a heavily planted tank with 5 otos - and supposedly an amano shrimp but he has been AWOL for some time and I fear he may have become a snack. Today I came home from work to see my otos, which while always frantic seemed particularly manic today, swarming and chasing each other, and noticed that they were doing the classic T position that I have seen in my spawning corys, and then laying eggs. I am surprised at this because I live in the chalky SE UK and my water is consequently hard and alkaline, which I thought Otos werent mad on - like the cory's, perhaps it is triggered by a particularly large water change, which I did a few days ago. Anyway, I think I know the answer, but am I thinking the fry will have no chance with the puffers about? I wish I had somewhere safe to put 'em, but my only other tank is a heavily stocked community with around 50 hungry mouths, to the extent that I never even see any platy fry in there despite the two females looking constantly pregnant...

[kass]

Cool! Good luck with the eggs.

[Boxermom]

IME, puffers, including DPs, love little live things like brine shrimp and daphnia. I wouldn't think that any sort of fry would do particularly well in a DP tank.

[manutius]

the only thing you can try is to have loads of moss or floating riccia, I can send you some if you like? That will give the fry a sanctuary, however knowing what dilligent hunters puffers are I think the best bet would be to hang a flaoting breeding trap and try and gey the eggs in there and raise the fry with the food they need until they are big enough to release into the tank.

Good Luck