The Puffer Forum

Hi, im new to the world of puffers, here some questions:

I plan to have one SAP in 15g with lots of plants and scenery for it to interact with , what temp is best to have for these fish?

would ottos make ok tankmates for them?

do they need heavy filtration, im planing on running 2 internals

do they eat earthworms?

would one in a tank be ok as long as i make it very interesting for them?

last one.... do they puff up? lol. Ive seen some videos of them on youtube and they dont show them expanded lol

I plan to have one SAP in 15g with lots of plants and scenery for it to interact with , what temp is best to have for these fish?

This link will answer most of your questions.

ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/C_Asellus/

would ottos make ok tankmates for them?

You could try otto's but the puffer may eat them. It's a hit or miss thing.

do they need heavy filtration, im planing on running 2 internals

Yes, You need 10x the turn over on your filtration. Puffer's are very messy eaters.

do they eat earthworms?

This could be a yes and no answer. Most puffer's will eat earthworms but I have a puffer that won't touch them. She is actually scared of the earthworms.

would one in a tank be ok as long as i make it very interesting for them?

I don't have an SAP but if I remember right they like to be schools. This is one of the few puffer's that you can keep in schools.

last one.... do they puff up?

Yes all puffer's puff. Just don't make them do it, this will cause them stress. I have a stars and stripes that has puffed twice in a year. I think he just does it for fun.

Thanks, what you said about schools, thats a problem, as my tank is only 16 us gallons, which is only big enough for one from what i read i had a real hard time finding dwarf puffers in my area but have my hear set on a SAP i will work to make it as interesting in possible, with cover and plants ect

spanerman wrote:Thanks, what you said about schools, thats a problem, as my tank is only 16 us gallons, which is only big enough for one from what i read i had a real hard time finding dwarf puffers in my area but have my hear set on a SAP i will work to make it as interesting in possible, with cover and plants ect

If you read the link I posted, it says

These puffers require a heavily decorated aquarium. They are often seen pacing the aquarium glass if they do not have complex surroundings to explore. Introducing relativly strong current as well as upgrading the size of the tank might help in this matter

so one should be ok.

Thanks for the help

cant wait now, just gotta wait for the tank to cycle, i have mature media in the filter so all should be good, my ammonia levels are dropping slowly but my nitrites are still very high

It takes time but in the end it's well worth it. It's been a while since I've cycled a tank but if my memeory serves me correctly I think it took a few weeks for my nitrite to go to 0. Seems like it took longer than the amm. did. If you can find tetra safe start you can add that to your tank. Here's an article about it:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... p?news=953

It should speed up your cycle if you can find it. Just make sure to check the exp. date.