The Puffer Forum

I have an 8 gallon biocube and I really really want dwarf puffer fish. I was thinking about getting four dwarf puffer fish. With pool filter sand as a substrate and lots of fake plants. I have some questions:
1) Where can I buy the dwarf puffer fish? Walmart sells them cheap but they may be unhealthy and my local pet stores sell them really healthy but there really expensive.
2) Is Leslie's Pool Filter brand sand good for a substrate? Are there any other sandy substrates that are good other than pool filter sand?
3) What will I feed my dwarf puffers? I heard about feeding frozen bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp and blackworms. Are freeze-dried blood worms good too? And also do I need to feed my DPS snails to trim their beaks?
4) Is the 8 gallon biocube even big enough to house 4 DPS?
5) How can you tell the difference between a male and a female? Is it true that the young DPS pick their gender? I am really aiming for one male and three females, is that good?
6) How much do the DPS usually cost?

Thx,
Megan Marcelo

You could have 1 dwarf puffer in an 8 gallon tank..

I doubt walmart sells them, they are probably selling Green spotted puffers as dwarf puffers and you need a 30 gallon for those..

How much is expensive...you should be able to get a dwarf for $8 to $16, but make sure it is a dwarf and not a green spotted puffer and really make sure it is not a fahaka..

since you are saying the pet store has them for expensive..I am wondering if they are fahakas. How big are they?

Freeze dried foods are ok, but most people prefer frozen, and in most cases so does the puffer..

Yes, they will need small snails ramshorns or pond (no bigger their eye)

Please read these

Info on Dwarf puffers
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/C_Travancoricus/

library/puffer-care/dwarfpuffercare/

How to sex a dwarf puffer, I do not think they choose..
library/puffers-in-focus/sexing-carinot ... rf-puffer/

How to cycle your tank so that your puffer will live
library/water-filtration/fishless-cycling/

How to breed snails
library/feeding/basic-snail-breeding/

An 8-gallon tank isn't very big and it's going to be difficult getting things balanced .... any chance you could upgrade to a bigger tank?

2 females might do well in an 8g but they are puffers, so they may not get along in a small tank. I agree, Walmart only sells green spotted puffers, not DPs. DPs here, go for around $3.

I wonder....

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... p?t=348909

Yep, same poster.

How can one contemplate a "community tank" in an 8-gallon tank?

LOL! Some of us cannot contemplate a community tank at any size.

Are you sure this is the same person as in the MFK thread? This person can spell and has decent grammar. Also, she does not have a ridiculous smiley at the end of her post.

She has missed some very good information out there, but I understand the frustration. There ARE all sorts of ridiculous sites and opinions out there and it's hard to know which one is right and which is wrong. Especially when some very advanced keepers will sometimes do some things that a new one should not in any situation.

Ms. Marcelo, they gave you some very good information above and this site has some VERY trustworthy literature.

As far as gender, they don't choose it. However, occasionally a male dwarf puffer feels like a female dwarf puffer in the wrong body and vice versa. Some prefer not to identify any gender. Make sure you're ready to support this sort of thing.

Okay, that last paragraph was complete bull****. I just couldn't help it.

I love a good sense of humour!

pufferpuggirl wrote:I love a good sense of humour!

But you'll put up with mine?

I honestly thought what you said was funny ... keep in mind I'm married to an English man, and their sense of humour is VERY unusual!

pufferpuggirl wrote:I honestly thought what you said was funny ... keep in mind I'm married to an English man, and their sense of humour is VERY unusual!

That explains a lot.

Actually, I have a friend in England and we love picking on each other. And we do love the same comedians. George Carlin, Briain O'Dara (the man's a genius), and Tim Minchin, for instance.

Has your husband ever complained about feeling uncomfortable talking to Americans because they take him way too seriously when they shouldn't?

Mainly he says that we Americans tend to speak in a saracastic tone more often than we admit. But I don't think that's true. If anyone is sarcastic, it's the Brits! (I think they invented sarcasm)

Well, the reason they're so good about it is because they don't usually have a tone. It rolls out with the rest of the conversation and you have to know the humor to get it. At least, that's my experience and probably why he said that.