The Puffer Forum

Hi! My betta recently died and so my 5g is now empty. I am deciding between gouramis and puffers but I'm leaning on the puffer side right now.
I just wanted to ask some questions about Dwarf Puffers:
Do I really need to feed them snails?
Are they expensive to keep?
The puffers are aggressive but would two otos still be ok in there to eat the algae?
I can’t have more than one in there, right?

I've looked through another forum and your PufferPedia (which was really helpful) for info but I thought I'd ask for some "first-hand experience" help.
Thanks in advance.
-Starlet

Nope they can do fine with just bloodworms, but feeding snails on occasion is a nice treat.
They aren't expensive to keep, they just need a lot of decorations and after that it's smooth sailing.
You could possibly put 2 in there but you wouldn't be able to add any otos. I'd just do the one and 2 otos (or amano or some other algae eating shrimp would work nicely)

Yup!! Crazedpuffer is right. I also feed them frozen bloodworms.Ocassionally some ramshorn snails that you can get if free at LFS or petco. 1 otto is good enough for a 5 gal tank. Put some veggie in from time to time. If your tank is clean and alge FREE. oto will die from starvation.

They need frozen food then no dried stuff?
I've had my otos in there before and they love the algae. For some reason that tank has the most and it won't go away so they're happy in there. I wanted to put both in since they like to live together, not alone. They're like cories who live in groups, right?
Thanks.
-Starlet

Edit: Here's what the tank looks like right now:

A DP would love that tank! Mine ate FD bloodworms & plankton.

That is beautiful. Im very impress!! Are those real rocks or fake?

The oto will be ok by themself. Be sure to house only the DPs and Oto and nohting else because you have no room left and DPs are bullies(lol)
To learn more about them go here http://www.otocinclus.com/

plurmaster wrote:Are those real rocks or fake?

The castle thing? No, that's plastic. I don't really like it much anymore because it's so big. I fit one plant in the back and that's it. It looked worse before though.

And, yeah, I know that I can't fit much in there. I actually bought the tank for my swordtail fry which eventually died. But I thought I'd try something new with the puffers.

So, maybe one dwarf puffer and one oto? I don't really care about the shrimp. He can go wherever.

Edit: While I'm at it...here's my 20g which is stocked right now with all the fish I have (except the cory fry that's in the 6.6g.) The 5g is to the left. I'm still working on it...it's kind of "plant-less."

Is that a castle?The green stuff on the rock thing(castle) is it alge or part of decoration?

5 gal should be ok with 2 DP's and 1 oto. Dont know about the shrimp because once your DP takes a bit at it and realize is tasty. Your Ghost Shrimp will have a problem.

The green stuff is painted on. My tanks are almost algae free, except the 5g of course.

When you get the DP's. You'll be addicted to puffers. Not only they are loveable,fun,interactive and extremely interesting fish to have as a friend.
Right now im very into my Irrubesco. Hopefully when i get a bigger tank i can get Abei's

It sounds like you've got all the info you need. The only thing I have to add is that you should make sure the puffers are DPs, there seem to be a lot of people misidentifying them lately ans ending up with Green Spotted Puffers (Basically, stay away from Walmart, lol. And try to find a good Local fish store with knowledgeable staff and you should be fine).

Good luck, and post pics when you get them

So how often do I feed this guys and what do I feed them on a daily basis?
On another forum they told me dwarf puffers don't need snails.

Also, I've gotten several different stocking suggestions:
1 oto and 1 puffer
1 oto and 2 puffers
2 otos and 1 puffer
2 otos and 2 puffers

Now I don't know which one to do!

They love snails but feed them as treats.I feed my DPs once a day. When you first buy it from LFS be prepare they might not want to et the first few days because they are getting use to the new enviorment and water. So dont be panic. Took mine 3 days after to start eating.I think for your 5 gal 2 DPs and 1 oto should be a full house.

Being a DP owner, i'd strongly suggest you put only one in there. Dps are very territorial and if you get 2 males in a 5G chances are one will be killed by the other. The problem is when you buy them, they are too young for you to identify as male or female so you never know what you'll end up with! So my suggestion is 1 DP and 1 or 2 otos, but definatly not 2 DPs. Also, although DPs generally don't have teeth problem, it's a good thing to give them snails once in a while. Like it was said you get them at the local fish store (and QT them, you don't want to make your fish sick!) but honestly they are really easy to breed! I started out with 3 pond snails found in a plant and now I have unlimited snail supply!
Good luck and have fun with the DP!

So, Mareva, you're saying I should raise my own snails?
But where? I don't have another tank.