The Puffer Forum

Got my tank up and running again and doing a so called "silent" cycle. Though there are 4 galaxy rasbora zooming around due to me cleaning out the breeder tanks so I can start breeding snails, microcrabs & shrimps again. They will go back if I can catch them or if not, can be considered snacks .

The 30 gallon tank in question:
http://i45.tinypic.com/t6qgkw.jpg (forum does not display the entire picture even at 1920x1080 so a link it is.)



It will be at least another month before buying a fish, that leaves the plants some time to grow and cover all the gravel .

The biggest question is, what puffer or puffers would be suitable? I don't mind going brackish at some point but preferably not for another 6-12months, currently the tank contains freshwater. I think my preference goes out to a puffer that doesnt just lay in wait for prey .

Nice job, hmm so you will be best sticking to freshwater. Maybe a member of the target group? But please consider that tank will hold no where near 30g with the background etc you are probably around 20g.

bertie 83 wrote:Nice job, hmm so you will be best sticking to freshwater. Maybe a member of the target group? But please consider that tank will hold no where near 30g with the background etc you are probably around 20g.

The background isnt that thick, but the space for the fish is probably closer to 20g, aye. The space behind the background is just more water, but not accessible to the fish.


I have dwarf puffers on my list, but any other suggestions would be nice .

+1 to bertie 83 comments. As a general rule what ever the tank volume is, we subtract 30% of that for substrate, and decor (tank volume x .70) . In this case it seems to be more. Most likely under 20 gals... closer to 15 ~ 17?

Just to put it into perspective, a tank is 12" front to back, you put in a 2" thick background 1/6 of the volume is gone. I know you know what you are doing tho dude, it's far too easy to sail close to the line tho. Not having a dig just putting my point accross lol

Whilst I appreciate the feedback on actual gallons, it would also be nice if I could also get some puffer options based on your own estimation of the usable space , Though I will most likely stick 3-5 DPs in there depending on how the plants will grow, it would be nice to know what other options there are as I am not that familiar with freshwater puffer availability.

your choices are large. It depends on what your LFS can get.

viewforum.php?f=38

Find out what you can obtain first, and then research the care requirements.

That would make an amazing dp tank. Or one of the red eyed species. Sorry for going off on a tangent there lol

That would be a nice tank for a C. salivator.

But if you're willing to push your brackish timeline a bit earlier than planned, you just can't go wrong with a Figure 8, in my not-so-humble opinion.

How come nobody ever vote for A. Modestus? They are amazing IMO.

+1 to bertie & J-P's cpmments on working tank volumes - but with the caveat that our reduction of tank nominal tank volume is for North American tanks. It may or may not apply to tanks manufactured elsewhere. Here tanks are nominally sized by the measurement of the external dimensions of an imaginary solid based on the exterior dimensions of that solid, rounded down to the nearest inch, That imaginary solid gives the nominal volume, but the tank's interior dimensions are significantly less than volume. Plus all materials added (substrate, decor, rockwork, etc.) do displace water. Nominal and actual working volumes are quite different.

I have no information on manufacturing practices elsewhere in the world. Much of tyhe world works with liters, while we still us our own gallon scale (smaller than Imperial gallons). I understand that some countries do have quite different measures of nominal volume, so the approximate working volume would be different from ours.

I don't change my set-ups often, so I do actual volume measures of my tanks at set-up. But I am neurotic and a bit compulsive. MY thirties rarely hold 21 gallons of water unless they are fry grow-out tanks and rather bare.

Puffer availability tends to be seasonal here. If you do not have access to the importer's and distributor's lists it can be hard to tell what comes in at which time of year.