The Puffer Forum

Hi Everyone.

I'm new to the forum/board and also a new owner of a Dwarf Pufferfish.
I was told this species was labeled as an Indian DP by the owner of my local petstore.
I named him/her Oscar. I've had Oscar for about 4 days and was wondering what are my alternatives in feeding aside from bloodworms/snails/etc.

My local pet store had thrown in a common feeder fish in the tank after I bought my DP and those little guys devoured it in seconds. Is it okay to feed my DP feeder fishes?

And i've noticed my DP has been just settling down on my fishtank. Is that normal behavior? I hope Oscar isn't sick.

Here's a picture of my DP in my 2.5gL cycled tank.

I forgot to ask, how often should I do water changes? My tank is relatively small.

Hello! I have 3 DPs and they mainly live on bloodworm and snails tbh. I do try them with chopped mussels occasionally but they look at it then me as if to say 'what do we do with that?' Brine shrimp go down well for the chase factor (little nutritional value in them) as do small freshwater 'rock/glass shrimps'.

I change 50% of my tank water every week and have over the top filtration for the tank as they are messy girls with messy feeding habits to boot

Same species.

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Welcome!! He is really cute. You can try feeding him small pieces of krill as a treat since they are fatty. I grab some tongs and hang the krill in the tank and they love to attack it. You might hvae some luck with frozen mysis shrimp, I feed that to my marine puffer and also my green spots.

Thanks for replying! You guys are great help!

I think i'm going to purchase some feeders in a seperate tank and quarantine them and treat them for any parasites/diseases before I feed them to my puffer. Is this a good idea?

I also wonder if I can get him a tankmate. My tank is rather small tho. =/

No. It is always a bad idea to feed your puffer feeders unless it is one of the handful of lurking piscivores.

I wouldn't add another fish in there... 2.5G is a tight minimum for a DP, we're looking for 3 to 5 G for each DP. Considering there's substrate and decor in your tank, you probably have only 2G of water, so, really, it'd be best you do not add another fish in there.

I feed mine with a tweezer. After a while, 2 out of 3 would eat anything that hung from the tweezers!! One of them (the female) only eats bloodworm and snails.

By the way, it looks like yours a male!

Yea I wouldn't do a tank mate.. they really are messy fish! Although I do house my DPs with otos and cherry shrimp and they haven't bothered either of them. No interest in nipping. Each puffer is different though so you never really know if they're going to accept tank mates.
I also do a 50% change weekly and feed mainly blood worms and snails.

I love them. They're a very friendly and active fish! I haven't had mine for too long and they already know that when they see me it means food!!

LOL. Hopefully my DP is a boy because if he was a she; then Oscar would be a o_O for her.

I just added 2 ghost shrimp into the tank. They're so tiny! They do clean up after my DP with all the left over scraps he leaves with the bloodworms.

I went to PETCO to get snails today. I bought these Anarcharis weed/plant thing. And I asked the worker if I could have some snails and she literally scrapped every inch of glass and plants for them. She was really nice!

I had to set up a seperate tank for the pond snails & ghost shrimp that I got for 15 for a dollar in hopes that they will breed.

feeder fish are never a good idea, and not part of puffers natural diet...

you will need to do frequent water changes as puffers are messy and ammonia/nitrite/nitrate sensitive...


Do you have a lid on the tank? Puffers also jump!

Yeah, my tank has a lid. Thanks for the heads up! I sometimes forget to put the lid back on when I feed him!

I'm not going to follow through with the feeder fish thing. Sounds like a bad idea.

I just did a water change..I hope he adjust fine, poor little guy.

Are green spotted puffers another species of Dwarf Puffers?

I just saw them at Walmart.
They all looked sick & had their fins nipped. Poor little guys.

They're a mid size(5-6") brackish puffer that also thrives in full marine when older, generally very aggressive and territorial. The poor condition is from shipping(they bite the hell out of each other while bagged in the dark) and their wounds generally become inflamed and infected in fresh water, which walmart keeps them in.

I have 4 DP's 2 male and 2 female...I have mine housed in a highly planted tank...I know you have a small tank..but I would get a small amount of java moss and a couple of small plants...so he will not get bored...I move my plants weekly...to keep them curious..if you need some Java moss..I have tons of it and will be more than happy to send you some..let me know..