The Puffer Forum

Hey,

I'm considering getting one or a couple of freshwater puffers, however i don't really know anything about them! so some insight would be highly appreciated, few of my questions are below, any more info will be a big help.

1.) Are there any true freshwater dwarf puffers or do they all eventually go brackish?

2.) What species of freshwater dwarfs are there (latin name and common name preferably) and how big do they get?

3.) What is the mortality rate of DP? are they easy to keep?

4.) Can you keep more than one together in a planted tank or is it risky?

5.) Do you provide the same setup as you would general tropical fish? ie. Temp, parameters etc?

I already have a tropical tank set up you see, its been going 2 years, but we are now considering packing it in, however i've always been interested in freshwater puffers and dwarfs in particular as i used to work with some, my trops tank has spot-on water quality and parameters, fully mature, already planted up and houses just a few tetras, danios and a gourami. I don't mind getting rid of the inhabitants as thats what we were going to do anyway, but if the tank is suitable, then i will keep them until puffer/s can be sourced and then swap them over

Thanks in advance!

heres a link to DP info

ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/C_Travancoricus/

also there are many other FW puffers so try clicking on the learn tab at the top and scroll down to FW puffers to see other FW puffer options.

What size tank is it you plan to use??

Thank you i shall have a read through that!

The tank i think is about 17 UK gallons, which i believe is about 20 US gallons

well you could squeeze 4 DPs in there maybe 5 tops with good filtration on the tank.

Thats great, though i understand you shouldn't keep more than one male per group.

My LFS says he can get them in, but they will be tiny babies only about 1cm in size, can you tell their sex at this age or only as adults?

Here the article about sexing dwarf puffers and group specifications.

ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/C_Travancoricus/

With a tank as big as yours, you should be fine, even if you do end up with some males together. I've got about 8 or 10 in a 30-gallon and they all get along nicely. They eventually get a pecking order, and as long as you've got lots of plants and/or ornaments to break up line of sight, you should be fine. At least that's my experience with them.

Dwarf puffers are a great puffer to start out with because they have all the personality of a "big" puffer only in a little package, and they are fairly hardy as well. Your tank is cycled, so you don't have to worry about that at all. Some people have had problems with DP's, but my group do quite well together and I've just added 3 more to the tank. The key really is keeping the tank "busy" with plants and ornaments. They like to have places to hide and it's good to give them things they can swim in through and over and around. Keep it interesting for them. Idle minds can cause trouble.

Thank you very much for your reply, they sound wonderful.

I only have experience with marine puffers, i have 4 of them and love them to bits.
I was at my LFS yesterday admiring the puffers in there and i suddenly remembered the dwarfs i used to work with, they were wonderful as i remember but looking back i now see they didn't really have a very good setup and wish i'd been into puffers at the time to make them more comfortable!

My tank already has well established plants in there, i could probably do with adding a couple more, as there tends to be a lot up one side and fairly bare at the other, theres a java moss covered rock in there too, and i will be sure to add some hiding places for them

My partner is going to speak to the shop owner who is a good friend of ours when he next goes and see when he can get hold of some DP's and we'll take it from there! quite exciting really, i'll be sure to keep you all updated when we begin, but first i need to gather as much info as a can!

Sounds like you're doing things the right way, which is excellent. I wish you all the best in getting your dwarf puffers, and I do hope that you will take some pictures and let us see when you get them.

I have five semi-adolescent (about half-grown) DPs in a 29 gallon tank, and now that they're older I've discovered that I have 3 males and 2 females. So far, so good, though, and I'm hoping that I have as much success as pufferpuggirl with them continuing to get along.

i will be sure to add some hiding places for them

Great! Mine seem enjoy the hidey-spots (little caves, a shipwreck ornament, etc.) mainly for sleeping in at night, but I'm sure it helps them to know that they can get away from one another easily if needed.

You're going to enjoy having DPs -- they're a ton of personality in a small package! Enjoy!

If you want you could also get one of the redeye species, lorteti and irrubesco seem to be the most common.

Might as well check out irrubescos I think you'd be able to fit a pair in there as long as it's nice and busy.

I've had good luck keeping irrubesco with the dwarf puffers, in fact, they would all hang out in the same end of the tank.