The Puffer Forum

Hey all,

I think i know the answer to this question already, but i need a confermation,

Other then SAPs, is there any other FW puffer i can add to a community tank?, that is my plan for my 90 Gal when we are all said and done with sophia's treatments?
I think that is what my major issue was, having such a large tank for only one or two fish?

Thanks

Don

not really(that i can think of), all others are aggressive to other fish. DP's will hassle and stress everyone else out. And other lurkers will eat smaller fish

xrayjeeper83 wrote:not really(that i can think of), all others are aggressive to other fish. DP's will hassle and stress everyone else out. And other lurkers will eat smaller fish

Thats what i thought, bummer, or well.

Don

id wait till a guru chimed in before throwing in the towel though LOL

Unfortunately there aren't. Some have had success with irrubescos but in my experience they can be pretty nasty

i love my puffs, but i am thinking of sophia, see loves watching fish, and other then samson, she really didnt show much interested in the other puffs i had, she loves a comm tank because of the variety of sizes and colours

Don

Well, SAPs are the only schoolers as adults commonly known and available to us for hobby-size tanks. I love a school of SAPs, and do not need other fish with them - but I had a pair of dwarf plecos (Panaque sp., likely macus) which were largely nocturnal in with my largest school of SAPs. But then, I am a puffer nut, and also a species tank person.

I really don't like keeping any predator in mixed tanks, even small ones.

Overall, I am poor choice for mixed- tank suggestions. I just do not like them - they make me itch. I know how much better the individual species look in larger numbers of their own kind with a few 'workers' in for good measure. Some of my personal favorite fish became so only after I set tanks just for them, but that is another long tale.

RTR wrote:Well, SAPs are the only schoolers as adults commonly known and available to us for hobby-size tanks. I love a school of SAPs, and do not need other fish with them - but I had a pair of dwarf plecos (Panaque sp., likely macus) which were largely nocturnal in with my largest school of SAPs. But then, I am a puffer nut, and also a species tank person.

I really don't like keeping any predator in mixed tanks, even small ones.

Overall, I am poor choice for mixed- tank suggestions. I just do not like them - they make me itch. I know how much better the individual species look in larger numbers of their own kind with a few 'workers' in for good measure. Some of my personal favorite fish became so only after I set tanks just for them, but that is another long tale.

So if i went with a couple GSPs and added say some diff species of mollies, would this be a decent setup, will i see much aggresion from the GSPs?

Don

That is unpredictable. They may co-exist,or the GSPs make nip or eat the mollies. Fry are likely to be eaten. The mollies can take the salt levels if adapted slowly.

Would nipping or eating of the mollies be an issue? A lot of kids don't see fish eating fish as "normal" even though it is in the wild. It makes "nature red in tooth and claw" a bit too graphically real for many folks of any age group..

ummm?

well then i may need to just go for the gusto and slowly collect what i need for a saltwater setup?. will take me a bit longer to get it together money being a huge barrier
but in the long i could have a PP and some clown fish?. she loves watching them at LFS.


don

PP? Pufferpunk won't fit in the tank well, but she would make a great mermaid with her tats and hair! If you meant a GSP and some clown fish, I don't think that they would be compatible.. The clowns tend to be smaller, but overall they are really quite feisty. Some are among the nastier fish we keep - the maroons and Eqihippiums and Tomatos are among the nippiest fish I have ever kept - they ca tear your hand up. The false percula and percula are not bad, nor are the skunks, but total of more than two per tank will give one adult female and one adult male and all others kept immature males indefinitely. No more than two is likely best. Those last are the 'cutest" clowns anyway.

SW is a good bit of work and expense. Why not stick w/FW? Your tank is good sized, how about a bunch of kuhli loaches (8 or more) - in numbers they are out more and fascinating critters which just might breed. Co-house those with some small Rainbows such as the Dwarf Neon Rainbow (6-8), and an equal group or a few more of say Pearl Danios? That would be an active, colorful, and easy to operate tank. A variety of flake and pelleted foods rotated are all that is really required, Either fake or real plants, and routine water changes and filter upkeep would be simple. Do you really need to load yourself with an expensive to operate high-labor tank? The dwarf Neon Rainbow breed every morning in any soft, bushy plants, the danios are always on the go, the loaches are far more visible than most folks realize when they are kept in any numbers - they get braver - and everybody loves them. Breeding is hit or miss, but an awful lot of folks have had babies "just appear" at a fraction o adult size when they are kept in numbers. It is still a mixed tank, and the Danios will eat the Rainbowfish eggs, but it would be colorfful and active and should run without conflicts - which is the issue with most mixed tanks.

RTR wrote:PP? Pufferpunk won't fit in the tank well, but she would make a great mermaid with her tats and hair! If you meant a GSP and some clown fish, I don't think that they would be compatible.. The clowns tend to be smaller, but overall they are really quite feisty. Some are among the nastier fish we keep - the maroons and Eqihippiums and Tomatos are among the nippiest fish I have ever kept - they ca tear your hand up. The false percula and percula are not bad, nor are the skunks, but total of more than two per tank will give one adult female and one adult male and all others kept immature males indefinitely. No more than two is likely best. Those last are the 'cutest" clowns anyway.

SW is a good bit of work and expense. Why not stick w/FW? Your tank is good sized, how about a bunch of kuhli loaches (8 or more) - in numbers they are out more and fascinating critters which just might breed. Co-house those with some small Rainbows such as the Dwarf Neon Rainbow (6-8), and an equal group or a few more of say Pearl Danios? That would be an active, colorful, and easy to operate tank. A variety of flake and pelleted foods rotated are all that is really required, Either fake or real plants, and routine water changes and filter upkeep would be simple. Do you really need to load yourself with an expensive to operate high-labor tank? The dwarf Neon Rainbow breed every morning in any soft, bushy plants, the danios are always on the go, the loaches are far more visible than most folks realize when they are kept in any numbers - they get braver - and everybody loves them. Breeding is hit or miss, but an awful lot of folks have had babies "just appear" at a fraction o adult size when they are kept in numbers. It is still a mixed tank, and the Danios will eat the Rainbowfish eggs, but it would be colorfful and active and should run without conflicts - which is the issue with most mixed tanks.

LOL thats to funny, i ment a porc puffer

And yes i have done some readin since i made this post and SW is a no go, its to pricy and time consuming, The loaches sound interesting, I will do some reading and looking around, I do want a mixed tank, my 20G comm tank i had for awhile
was awesome to watch, and the girls loved it to. So i am thinking i will prob go with a big comm tank, that way i can put schools of tetra's and cory's

Don

Sounds like a nice setup. Good luck!

Aquarist wrote:Sounds like a nice setup. Good luck!

yeah, i need to get my daughter well, my dogs home then i can gte my tank up and running, i will post some pics when i do

Don

Hey All

How many DPS, and otto's would you reccommand for my 90 gal tank?, I just can't imagine not having a puffer as a fish, i guess i'm hooked on them LOL!
The reason i am asking is the place i got my 6 from has more, and for a little leass then before, so i was thinking, if i got like 12 DPS, and a school of 6-8 ottos
that would be lots for the girls to look at?

what do you guys think?

Don

PS: it will be heavly planted/deco'd