The Puffer Forum

I just got 5 new amazon puffers that are now in my 20g quarantine tank.
I have a forty that has been running for over a year with different fish that I have gotten rid of.
It is a heavily planted tank with tons of flow and the fish I have in there now are 3 flower shrimp, 7 otto cats, and 1 bristlenose pleco.
Would I be able to keep these fish with the puffers or are there any other fish I can keep with them?

Thanks

These puffers are pretty skittish as it is. I would just leave it as is and enjoy No guarantee that the shrimp aren't going to be lunch one day though

If you plan on adding all 5 fish into that tank, I's put Tetra's Safestart into the filter, to help support the extra added bioload.

Was the QT cycled?

THe QT has been running for a few months with some fish already in it and they have been fine

What would the best clean up crew be for the SAP's be in the forty?

You removed those fish prior to QTing the puffers?

SAPs are generally nicer than most other puffers. If you have multiple tanks, you can experiment with different "maids" & see what works.

I had short term success with cories and a female BN pleco. They'd harasses the pleco but she would turn on them and fight back. After a week they left her alone. I know that many people have not had success with cories so if you try them you need to be able to remove them very quickly.

The quarantine tank had a few mollies and guppies in it that were only in there to keep it cycled.
I have removed the mollies and there are still 4 perfectly healthy guppies living with the puffers is this ok?

I'd remove the guppies. Long term they don't stand a chance.

Bioload of the "cycling fish" must match the bioload of the new inhabitants.

Huge +1 to PP's last post!

That concept is basic,but too often missed.

Way too many folks seem to overlook this important fact.

I can't resist throwing in another comment - folks have a hard time believing that a 4" fish is at least 4 x the mass and bioload of a 2" fish. It is not easy to try to think in mass rather than length and puffers are high mass and higher bioload fish due to their messy eating habits.