The Puffer Forum

Yeah you heard it right!! I got a DP!! I was so happy! I was very pleased with how the store kept their DPs. *BTW they are all juveniles* The tank was filtered, plenty of vegetation, and clear water. I was glad that the people at the stores knew what they were doing!! Here are the reasons why I knew:
1)They asked me if I understood their specific feeding requirements.
2)I saw a couple of empty snail shells in the tank so I knew that they were giving them a varied diet
3)All of the fish seemed healthy and overall disease free!
To me..this was a dream come true!

If you live in the state of California and want to find healthy Dwarf Puffers I absolutely recommend this store! It's called Seascape. In Mountain View, California. For more info PM me.

The DPs were housed with about 2 bumblee gobies. I also bought some bloodworms(Frozen) and about 5 free feeder snails.(they are so small!)

I am currently acclimating the DP and snails to their tanks. I will continue updating this topic for about a month.

congrats on the score .. you're going to love them!

Thanks I can't wait to feed him/her!! It's so small: it's 1/2 an inch!

as a rule of thumb, the snails should be about the size of the puffer's eye. Not all sails are acceptable too. Have you read the feeding articles in the library?

just in case you have not.. library/category/feeding/

Thanks...it seems like 1 of the snails is just as big as the puffers eye while the others are actually smaller!
By the way my DP is doing a bit of glass surfing...is this okay? I know that it means that the fish is stressed but he/she does it only once in a while. Like it would explore for 3 minutes and then go back to glass surfing. Then it would go back to exploring...then glass surfing and so on and so forth.

apparently they will do that for the first little while. Do you have lots of plants / broken eye lines in there and places to explore? They may settle down after a few days.

Yeah I have quite a lot of plants in there...like 5 or 6 in my 5 gallon hexagon tank. Also, if the Dwarf Puffer was scared or something it could hide inside my little caves that I have (they are terra cotta pots and a clear jar.) And it doesn't appear to be doing this.

Its not unusual to get some odd behaviors for the first week or two. Dont panic, he needs to adjust to his new home. Just give him time.

Ok thanks...you put me at ease of mind. I'm going to feed him/her soon. By the way...when I can start sexing the DP? It is a juvenile and is 1/2 an inch. Oh and what size will an adult be?

Adults tend to be just about an inch, maybe a bit longer. They are pretty easy to sex. Males have wrinkles behind their eyes and also develop a line running from their bottom lip all the way back along the center of their belly. They are also a bit more slim lined and females are fat and round.

Thanks for the info. But I also have another question, I tried feeding my DP today and it was very much interested in the food. The problem is that I don't think the DP understands that it is a bloodworm because it looks a lot more like a freeze-dried bloodworm *Even though it isn't*. If you are wondering what kind of bloodworms I have: Hikari Frozen Bloodworms(3 step sterilization version). Please repond ASAP!

Not quite certain what you mean. Did he eat or not? If not, give him time. I have had them refuse to eat for the first couple weeks. Dont forget to vary it up and try other foods as well.

What I mean is that most frozen bloodworms look: (pink colored, fat larvae). But my bloodworms are (brown colored, shriveled larvae) Is there something wrong with my bloodworms or something?

I have also found out that my hikari frozen bloodworms are actually the BIO-PURE type. I don't know if this makes a difference but it is a different color from the usual bloodworm.

I've noticed my blood worms to be varied from a dark brown to a pink - and that the water turns pink when I thaw them.. It's almost like they are dyed... but maybe it's due to their coloring being pulled out while frozen, I don't know. I'm not sure about your brand, but perhaps it has to do with the process they use to harvest.