The Puffer Forum

Hello!

I have 3 pea puffers in my (I think) 5 gallon tank (it may be 10.. I forgot) that are super tiny. I was advised by three different fish "people" that this should be fine. The tank was cycled before adding them, there are tiny snails and I feed them blood worms 2 times a day. I have checked the ph level and it is 7. I do partial water changes every few days and a half water change once a week. I have a filter and there is water movement. I have lots of plants and two caves, but the babies only come up from the bottom 1/4 of the tank when I am feeding them. Why is this? They aren't resting on the rocks, but they don't swim around to the top, and when they do swim it looks more like floating. Their tails are often to the side. They sometimes hang out together, sometimes alone. They hang out in the one cave (they don't seem to like the other one) and behind plants. They do this when the light is on AND when it is off. The water gets conditioned with every water change.

Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? If so, what am I doing wrong?

Even if its a 10g. thats still small for three maybe a 20g. would be best. I'm not entirely sure what you are talking about with there swimming, but puffers appear to almost float or hover when swimming.

Absolutely everything I've read and heard is 2g per puffer. They are also tiny and not aggressive with each other.

They you're reading in the wrong places: library/puffers-in-focus/dwarfpuffercare/
If they are all females, IMO you can keep 3 in a 10g but no other tank mates.

I'm moving this to the Hospital forum, so you can answer ALL the Qs above, in red. I think it's time you figured out how big your tank is! If you aren't even sure of that, I'd be very curious how you cycled this tank???

With fish. You know what, Nevermind, I'll go to another forum because CLEARLY the people here think they are elite for knowing so much about puffers. I'll go to a forum where they actually help people.

IDK of any forum that could help you with puffers better than this one. Do you really think someone can help if you don't know the tank size?

You're such a rude person. Yeah, they could maybe help me figure it out. MY BAD when I bought it it was for one betta. JESUS. peace out.

No one was/is intending to be rude.

You need to understand that we are (collectively) a little more informed than your average sources.

When a person comes to us with limited information,...it makes it difficult to assist. The questions we ask are not meant to belittle you or berate you....just to determine where you are currently at with your set-up and where to go from here.

We can not assume that you have done things correctly...otherwise we could never really be of any assistance. We need to find out things like what size of tank, what size of filter, etc. When you say that you have cycled the tank, we need to know if it was done properly in order to proceed.

I appologize if anyone came off a little snarky....everyone does want to help...not everyone has great people skills. There was certainly no intended insult.

Please measure your tank for us and provide as much detail as possible regarding your water parameters (ie Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate readings, pH, etc) and we will try to assist as best we can.

I provided as much information as I have, it doesn't make me an idiot to not have realized the importance of tank size seeing as I never though I'd have more than a betta.. I do not have test kits for all of those other things, I only have PH and I gave the answer for that. I change the water and have a filter so I doubt it's ammonia. I own no measuring tape..

I thought I'd be given helpful suggestions not grilled and belittled. I don't have that information so, what, you can't give me some ideas out of experience as to what may be the cause of this? I just learned that their swimming pattern is normal so there we go, but why do they hang out downtown?

If their tails are tucked to the side often, and they kind of hover aimlessly, and seem lethargic, then this would not be considered normal. They should be alert and appear to be "on the hunt", but yes they do swim normally like a humming bird. If they are more like the first description, then they may not be feeling well. There are several reasons they may not feel well, could be illness, or some environmental stressor.

Since you don't have test kits right now, you can get your water tested at a fish store. It's great that you change the water frequently, that will certainly help keep their waste diluted, but there are too many variables involved in water quality to not have tests run frequently to make sure that the water is safe and consistent. For example, my city adds straight ammonia to the water periodically, I didn't know, but my tests caught it. Water parameters are too important not to know for sure, and it's the first thing to rule out as far as their behavior is concerned.

Since you don't have a tape measure, is there a website that sells that tank you could look up the size information?
Do you have a pre measured bucket or something that you could use to determine the volume during a water change?

Please understand that there are many reasons why your fish could be acting strangely. We ask the questions necessary to pin down possible causes.

It could be because the tank is too small...it is 5 gal per puffer for dwarfs if I remember correctly

Without being tested,...it could be a water quality issue. A filter needs to have a stable colony of good bacteria built up to convert the waste products from the fish in the tank. Even so,..if the tank is overstocked then the filtration may not be able to keep up. You also need a good bio-media in the filter that remains undisturbed.

It may also be linked to over-feeding as I believe twice a day feedings are too much. This can cause digestive problems and/or constipation which would affect thier swimming. As well over-feeding puts more stress on your bio-filter which can lead to poor water quality.

You also need to keep in mind that you came to us for help. The onus is on you to provide the info necessary for us to do that. You can hardly get mad at us when you have not provided us the details we would need.
We have no problem trying to help but it is your responsibity to do what's necessary for us to be able to help.

It is not worth our time and effort to speculate about the myriad possible causes of any certain behavior. If you are truly concerned then you should do your utmost to provide us with the info we were 'grilling' you for. We ask because it is necessary. If you are not willing to take the steps necessary to provide proper care for your fish...why should we waste our time.

Well no one thinks your dumb, miss informed maybe, but your intelligence is almost certainly better than mine. I'm only smart when it comes to things I'm obsessed with, puffers being one of those things. Also newts

Anyhow, 2g. per fish is usually great, but with puffers usually not, there waste load is very large. Dwarf puffers themselves are not usually aggressive, but any puffer can foul water quickly. You can maybe get away with a 10g. if thats what size your tank is. One way to tell is a 10g. is 20"L x 10"W x 12"H. Now if you keep them in a 10g. make sure you do at least a weekly 50% water change, but a 15g. or larger would be ideal. Though I think a 20g. would be awesome, because you would have room for a couple different fish also.

Dwarf puffers themselves are not usually aggressive

Don't let their tiny size fool you. Actually, they are quite aggressive, known to attack & nip at fish 20x their size. Also, 2 males will fight to the death, especially if overcrowded.

Pufferpunk wrote:

Dwarf puffers themselves are not usually aggressive

Don't let their tiny size fool you. Actually, they are quite aggressive, known to attack & nip at fish 20x their size. Also, 2 males will fight to the death, especially if overcrowded.

Well yah, but compared to other puffers they are not as aggressive. I have heard from many dwarf keepers that there certain fish that make good tank mates. Yah, I forgot about the males though. Makes sure that you don't more than 1 male. I believe there is a sexing article on site if some one could provide a link.

Look in the Library.