The Puffer Forum

Hey, I'm new to this site, to puffers, and actually fish in general. I've been doing alot of reading and searching on this site and its really helped but its also made what I thought would be an easy decision and set up not so easy. The tank will be for my room at school and I've got a budget of around $250-$300. So I was hoping for suggestions on a set up. What I had been thinking about was a 20gal tank, possibly planted, with 5 dwarf puffers, 2-3 otto's, and some ghost shrimp. So that was my idea but I'm very open to suggestions or comments. I was hoping to have a somewhat active or lively tank so your suggestions are very welcome. Thanks

Great info here: library/puffers-in-focus/dwarfpuffercare/

With that many DP's, Otos id up the size to at least a 30g to give them more room to swim.

The ghosts will be nothing more then a snack for the DPs at some point also

I agree that you would want more room. You could possibly get by with a 20g if there are a lot of plants and hiding places. But, there would be a lot of fights when they see each other. 30g would give them more physical space to spread out, so less fights should be the result. The ghost shrimp are good tankmates ... until one of the puffers discovers how tasty they are. You could also consider a small pleco, such as a bristlenose or clown pleco. I love otos, but they die for no apparent reason. I keep a couple with my puffers, but I have to replace them about every 6 months or so. The bristlesnose never outgrows the tank and can live upwards of 12+ years. They don't require wood like some plecos. I give mine some blanched cucumber a couple times a week. Just some food for thought. There are so many ways to set up a DP tank. But, IMO the most important thing is that you only have 1 male (look for a brown line going down the belly).

To me, the perfect setup for a DP tank in that price range would be a 40g setup with about 6-8 DPs. You should be able to find a 40g setup kit for about $200 or less. Perhaps even a 55G setup. the extra 6" of space might not seem like that much, but when you are only 1", it's like adding another block to your street. Or, you could just go with a 30L to save some money. Puffers don't need height as much as length from my observations.
As a general rule, 1 DP per 5g seems to be a good ratio.

You absolutely need to read the article Pufferpunk gave you. After that I'd say you could go with a 20 gallon, but don't get everything you have listed. Puffers, all on their own are very lively and keep the tank active. There are several members on the site who have 2 Dwarves in a twenty gallon and say they couldn't imagine having more because their's are so personal and lively. When owning puffers the less you have is more really because the more chance you have of them connecting with you.

Yes, lots of hiding places and broken eye-lines are very important.

I'd say get the 20 gallon, and a stand. Buy the substrate you want, an aquaclear filter, loads of decor, and use Prime conditioner for you water. Then get 2-3 Dwarves (make sure you only get one boy) and then you will see how lively and personal they are.

Also make sure you're dedicated to their care because they're not easy. You may have to treat for IPs (internal parasites) and you need to do 50% water changes, weekly. Also, be sure you can afford their food and everything else they need for care.

Here's a quick list of everything you'll need: tank, stand, hood and light, substrate, decorations, water conditioner (Prime), IP medication (Jungle brand is recommended), filtration (Extra is always better), heater, gravel vac, water testing kit (This is a must, not a choice), lots of food choices (they don't eat flakes), time and patience.

Best of luck and have fun!

Great post, N-G!

As stated above with dps less is more. I'm one of the members with 2 in a 20 g and they love it. So much space to swim and explore. Even with 2 i've had the occasional scrap (not serious) over a stray snail. I'd say tall leafy plants are your friends, and mine love the drift wood i have in the tank. They have so much personality, they really are great little fish.

Maybe you could try and set up a biotope in your tank, i think dps are an indian/ sri lankan biotope. If you look on the dwarf puffer forum they tell you which plants are good to have that match the natural environment of the puffers, makes them feel more at home i guess. Plus live plants are fun to arrange.

Thanks for the reply's so far, The article was was very informative. I think I'm leaning toward reducing the number of fish because I'd rather not get a larger tank since it will be more difficult to transport. So I guess I'll look into 3-4 puffers in a 20gal. I know that the tank has to be heavily decorated so do DP prefer rocks or wood in addition to plants?

i can only say mine like the wood, i don't have rocks in my tank. My skinny puffer sleeps on the driftwood sometimes, it's pretty cute.

Doesnt matter really which you use, as long as there are hiding spots/caves for them to go to when they wanna hide.

I have 3 DPs in a 29 gallon. They love having the space. With 2 females and 1 male, there's no fighting at all.

Mine have a long sunken pirate ship with numerous holes and caves in it for hiding. They love it! When you add caves and hidey-spots for your DPs, make sure you have enough for each puffer to claim at least one (so, 3 puffs need at least 3 caves/hiding spots, preferably more).

also when your looking at the holes/spots for them to hide, make sure they are big enough that even if they puff inside the spot they wont get stuck.

Mine have a sand/gravel combo substrate, sword plants, java moss, lots of natural, home cured driftwood, 2 Hob filters, each one rated for the full tank size. They like the heater to be in the upper 70s and their diet consists of: bloodworms (not freeze dried, frozen) baby brine shrimp (again, frozen, avoid dry foods for puffers unless you soak it first), and snails which I breed in a 2.5g tank.

Thanks for all the suggestions, my LFS is having a big sale this coming weekend so I'll let you know and post pictures of the tank as it comes along.

Theres how I set up the combo substrate. They love it!