The Puffer Forum

Hiya all! I'm a noob to this forum, but I am an avid fishkeeper. I've currently got six tanks running, two of which are empty, and one will soon be home to a pair of dwarf puffers!

Years ago, I got a dwarf puffer from Walmart. It was literally the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Unfortunately, the person at Walmart told me I could put it in a tropical tank... it didn't end well. The little bugger killed EVERYTHING IN THE TANK over the space of a weekend, including three 3" bala sharks (it was kind of hilarious-- when I found those ones, they were literally skeletons on the bottom of the tank). Because I only had the one tank, I wanted tropicals, so I ended up giving the puffer to a friend... but I've wanted them ever since.

This place is an amazing source of information. I'd also like to meet other local (or semi-local) fishgeeks.

So, hi! Looking forward to meeting you all!

If you got a puffer from walmart, it was probably a Green Spotted Puffer.
Yellow neon with black spots?
I 've never heard of walmart carrying dwarf puffers.

sevenyearnight wrote:
If you got a puffer from walmart, it was probably a Green Spotted Puffer.
Yellow neon with black spots?
I 've never heard of walmart carrying dwarf puffers.

It WAS pretty bright, but the label on the tank clearly said "Pea Puffer". It could very well be that they were just stupid. :p This was a good ten years ago, though.

Killerbunny wrote:it was kind of hilarious--

Yeah, sounds like they had it mislabeled, pea puffers aren't very brightly colored, and very tiny.
So tell us more about your tank you have for them.

I fully realize that finding bala shark skeletons to be hilarious is rather odd, but at that point, I could either laugh or cry about it. I chose the more pleasant option.

I currently have two tanks that are fully cycled but empty. I'm still debating between which to use. I know I would like to have dwarf puffers for certain, though.

One is a traditional 10g with sand substrate. I would obviously only get one or two little guys for that one, and I need to plant it further-- it was initially going to be used as a guppy fry tank.

The other is a 33gal tall Eclipse tank. I'm not entirely sure whether or not it would be ideal for puffers, simply because it offers more height than width/depth.

I'm also looking into how to start breeding snails for the babies. I have a couple of snails in my 75gal guppy tank, but I'd likely buy pond/ramshorns specifically for this purpose. I wish the PufferPedia and Puffer Library were working

Yeah, me too, but the pufferpedia and library will be back at some point, hopefully soon.

You were correct that assuming tall tanks are not appropriate for puffers; they're better suited for biotopes IMO. Seven was right in sayin that it was most likely a GSP which you had! No fret, they're both great fish. When you do stock your 10G with DP's be sure to get at the maximum only ONE male. They will fight to the death, especially in such a small tank. You could go one male and two females if you're sure that's what they are! Please, make sure it is heavily planted with plenty broken lines of sight. IPT

Off Topic: Seven had no idea you lived in SC, mind mentioning where at?

I.Puff.Too wrote:You were correct that assuming tall tanks are not appropriate for puffers; they're better suited for biotopes IMO. Seven was right in sayin that it was most likely a GSP which you had! No fret, they're both great fish. When you do stock your 10G with DP's be sure to get at the maximum only ONE male. They will fight to the death, especially in such a small tank. You could go one male and two females if you're sure that's what they are! Please, make sure it is heavily planted with plenty broken lines of sight. IPT

Yeah, I was reading about M/F ratios... but also, isn't it best to keep just one DP per five gallons? I don't wanna overcrowd them! Sexing them should be fun; most places I've seen only sell juveniles.

Thanks for the tips though, I really appreciate it! And good to meet you, too!

You read correct, as strange as it sounds. But factors weigh in more so with DP's than other types of puffers. As long as your tank is heavily planted and there is a max of one male, you can stock one male and two females. Keep up with your water changes and overall tank maintenance and the bioload they produce should present no problems. Many people may find it odd to have a sump on such a small tank, but that is always an option if you're worried about the bioload. HTH

EDIT: Despite their small size, DP's can be one of the most aggressive puffer species!

Killerbunny wrote: I currently have two tanks that are fully cycled but empty. (

If it's empty, how are you keeping it cycled? Are you using an ammonia source?

Old filter media from another tank, and up until recently, there were fish in there.

Keep feeding as if there are fish in there, so your bacteria won't die off.

Yeppers, crushing up fish flake really tiny and setting a bit in there each day. I've gotta go pick up a few test kits tomorrow or the next day, but I don't plan on getting my DPs for a little bit yet. Ideally, I'd like to have a snail colony going so that I can count on having enough of them for food.

Be sure you clean the substrate well & do an 80% WC, before adding new fish.