Considering...

[DeFishy]

Hi all, I'm considering getting a pair of Dwarf Puffers and breeding them:) I know that they are freshwater, and have been bred in the aquarium, but can anyone give me any more details? I've read a few articles but nothing conclusive. Do they need to be bought as a pair, or will any male and female do? Any special water height/parameters/temperature etc...When they hatch can you immediately feed them baby brine shrimp, or do you have to prepare some other food for them? Any help would be great. I've worked with GSPs, and I'm currently working on breeding betta fish. I've had more trouble rearing the fry then the actual breeding. Any plants you would recoment for the Dwarf puffers?

[WalkingTarget]

Alrighty....

This is a big and complicated subject.

First thing being first, you always want to buy DPs in a 2:1 or 3:1 Female:Male ratio.

Second, they prefer warmer temps and high protein diets for breeding; A *lot* of plants and a good clump of something like Java Moss are both a must!

You also need to watch for courting behavior. Believe me, it will be obvious.

Last, get those eggs out of there and into a 10G with the EXACT same water parameters and a sponge filter running very slowly with an airstone (gang or other type valve, bubble counter if you can, limit it to 1 bubble/second)

When they hatch, it is best to feed fairy shrimp, not brine shrimp, leave them till they are freeswimming before feeding. Fairy shrimp larvae have the unique advantage of being freshwater and not requiring salt, meaning you don't get massive larvae die-off and the accompanying ammonia/nitrite spike.

[Idontknow]

Here is a good Dwarf Puffer article...

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/bre ... ffers.html

[Idontknow]

This one has more info...

http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/rensaquarium.htm

[DeFishy]

Are fairy shrimp available in stores, or are they only available through online purchase? Both of these articles have been a lot of help:) Aside from my Bettas I've kept no other fresh water, so this will proove a unique challenge. Java moss not hard for me to get (I grow it in one of my betta tanks, they love it) How many babies can you assume to get with each spawn. Like, my bettas can have up to 400 spawn. Also how long do they take to mature? I know I'm asking a lot of questions, heh, and they're probably pretty obvious, but I always want more then one opinion on something.

[Idontknow]

I have never seen fairy shrimp eggs in stores here in Japan, but somebody on ebay usually sells them.

[StormySkiez]

andreas posted a good topic on breeding DP's here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13423&p=139410&hili ... rs#p139410

[WalkingTarget]

Fairy Shrimp are easily available on Ebay from malaysian/taiwanese sellers. I've never had problems with these sellers thus far (usually the same people who sell the Killifish eggs)

I got 40k eggs and their 'hatching tools and food' for a grand total of $8 Canadian, shipped. Hatching the eggs is as simple as dropping them in conditioned water and waiting 24 hours, although having an airstone set on a very, very low setting seems to help the hatch rate.

If you can feed liquid fry food or similar, the fairy shrimp make excellent live food for most fish when they get to be about 5mm long too.