Dwarfs or Dwarves?

[Aiya Quackform]

(I'm a grammar freak. So sue me.)

Anyway, Dad really wasn't crazy about the "another aquarium" thing I was going for. I might be able to swing a tall 5g. So, here are my questions.

The list says that dwarves (that's the spelling I'm going with) need 5g each. Do dwarves need companions, or could I put one all by his lonesome self in a 5g? What is the absolute minimum for two dwarves?

[supenguin]

First off, I'm pretty sure its dwarves. I'm not sure how a single dwarf would do, but I remember reading that its best if you have more than one to get three. If you only have two, they may compete for food or something. Three DP's do quite nicely in a 10 gallon tank.

-Kenny

[Tihsho]

The thing about dwarfs are that if you keep them in a small number try to keep atleast 3 at the minimum. 1 I would say would seem a bit dull, he will be active and inteligent but you will not see puffer to puffer interaction. 2 dwarfs are not to great of an idea, there is a high possibility that one will dominate over the other giving it hell. Where as if there were 3 usally there will not be too much quarreling.

Keep 3 in the minimum of 10 gallons.

[RTR]

A single dwarf needs ~3 gallons of water volume for support and adequate water quality. Since a 5 does not hold five gallons of water, this is not out of line. A five will hold one, plus a couple of Ghost Shrimp or Amano Shimp IF the puff does not eat them (some do, some don't - mine don't).

A singleton dwarf will do as well as do other singleton puffers. Rumors to the contrary are mistaken. Dithers such as the shrimp mentioned before, and/or Otocinclus cats (in a larger tank than 5 gallons) are good companions.

The common suggestion of 3 dwarves (or dwarfs - both are acceptable) in a ten is good (note: a 10, not a 15), provided the tank is properly set and maintained, and provided that the three are: One male and two females, or three males, or three females. Other combinations are likely to have aggression issues. All should be nearly the same size and age when combined, and are far better if from the same batch at the LFS.

For a larger tanks beyond 15 gallons, especially well planted with bushy plants, the gender ratios get more flexible.

[Aiya Quackform]

Thank you all! Now, is it true what I hear about PetSmart carrying dwarf puffers routinely?

[RTR]

In my area they do. But they are not always well-tended. Beware of sunken bellies - it could be starvation (some stores use flake for feeding) or it could be gut parasites. Neither of those oprtions is good.

[Jayhawk]

I've hard that PetSmart breeds their own, so they usually are carried by most of their stores.

I'll second what RTR said about their health, though. I'd simply expect to lose one or two, so plan on adding more unless you're lucky enough to get really healthy ones.

Eric

[supenguin]

I've purchased all my puffers at Petsmart. The quality definitely depends on where you purchase them. There are three within driving distance of me. First batch of dwarf puffers I've had one die, and looks like I may lose a second. This is out of a total of nine puffers. If you have the same odds, sounds like you may lose one if you get three.

Anyway, I've been to two of the Petsmarts near me. One keeps the puffers in tanks with pink gouramis and south American dragonfish and feeds them brine shrimp with a weekly treat of bloodworms. The gouramis and dragonfish are 3 - 6 times bigger than the puffers, so they are always freaking out and hiding or freaking out and nipping on fins. I've heard that brine shrimp are OK to feed to puffers, but don't have enough protein to keep them healthy. Needless to say, I don't buy fish at that Petsmart anymore, but still pick up things like replacement filter catridges, since this is the closest place that carries them.

The other keeps them in a dwarf-puffer only tank, and routinely will take their snails out of the other tanks to feed to the puffers. These puffers seem to be much healthier and more active. Also, there are a couple staff members there that keep puffers themselves! One of the employees recognized me there when I went back for more snails. "See you next time."

Oh yeah, make sure you have plenty of places for your puffers to hide. Fake plants and other decorations are good. DP's are fun - some of them hide when you come, others swim right up to the front of the tank to see what's going on. But don't worry, they'll all come out for food!

-Kenny

[supenguin]

Forgot to mention - one of the Petsmart employees said they get their new fish on Tuesdays, so you might want to go then.

-Kenny

[Tihsho]

Forgot to mention - one of the Petsmart employees said they get their new fish on Tuesdays, so you might want to go then.

-Kenny

There are some draw backs on buying fish on the day that they are shipped to the store. If the bag is already been dumped into the water (well not dumped, but i mean the fish have already been released into the tank) then they will be getting use to their surroundings and are either currently stressed or de-stressing. So to stress them out again by purchasing them then putting them into a new tank maybe a bit too much for them. If you can see if you can get there when the store opens and see if you can buy one of the bags that the puffs came in, it be less stress. If there are more then you want to buy maybe see if they could transfer them to another bag.

[Steelgeek]

(I'm a grammar freak. So sue me.)



The list says that dwarves (that's the spelling I'm going with)

one dwarf puffer

two dwarves puffers?

'course thats why I go with "DPs".

[RTR]

LOL! Both "dwarves" and "dwarfs" are valid usage. Someday it may swing to one or the other. For the present, it is either.

[Aiya Quackform]

*looks up in dictionary* Yep, dwarfs or dwarves is acceptable. *shrugs* Go figure. And yes, "DPs" works well. Of course, the correct punctuation would be "DP's," with an apostrophe. (Anyone here know the Panda Joke?)

[Flusher]

Of course, the correct punctuation would be "DP's," with an apostrophe. (Anyone here know the Panda Joke?)

I don't know the Panda joke... Here's my take on the abbreviations:

DP = Dwarf Puffer (singular)
DPs = Dwarf Puffers (plural)
DP's = Dwarf Puffer's (singular possessive)
DPs' = Dwarf Puffers' (plural possessive)

I could be wrong.

I ended up with two male and one female DPs in a 10 G. One of the males got his butt kicked by the other two (especially the female, I think - he even puffed up a few times), so I gave him away after several weeks. The remaining pair did well together in the 10 G with some otos, and later in a 5 G tank (a partition in a much larger tank rack) for a few months.

I later picked up two more females to put in an adjoining 5 G tank on my rack. I moved recently, and had to temporarily house all four puffers in a 5.5 G tank - no problems, though it was for less than a week (I'm not advocating overstocking). All four DPs are now swimming nicely together in a 20 G tank. I plan to add a few more in there, since the DPs' tank is 48" long.

[GekkoGeck0]

DP = Dwarf Puffer (singular)
DPs = Dwarf Puffers (plural)
DP's = Dwarf Puffer's (singular possessive)
DPs' = Dwarf Puffers' (plural possessive)

I could be wrong.

No, you're entirely correct.