The Puffer Forum

Hello! I'm new to puffers and think a dwarf puffer would be the perfect little buddy for me! I have a 10 Gallon tank with three fake silk plants and a hiding cave. It has a filter and a heater! First off I wondering how many dwarf puffers would live comfortably in my little set up and if they eat anything besides snails? I have some snails on order all ready but I need to know where I could find some dwarf puffers to buy! Thanks! Any other tips of the trade would be greatly appreciated as well!

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Im new to dwarf puffers as well, hoping to get my tank cycled and my DPs in a few weeks. Ive been reading as much as I can about them, and generally you would figure 5 gallons for the first DP and 3 gallons for each after that. So for your 10 gallon 2 would be okay, but at the same time generally they say its best to have 1 male 2 to females so the female doesnt get harrassed all the time.. one of the more experienced members here may be able to advise if its better to keep 1 in a 10 gallon or get multiple. I have read that having just 1 is the best way to see their full personality blossom.

As for the plants, it should be heavily planted. Either fake or live, but they thrive best in live plants. I am a little overwhelmed by the idea of live plants in my tank, so Im starting with what Ive read are 'easy' plants. Ill either start with java moss or christmas moss and maybe something else that easy to plant and hardy. Im also going to get mosimo moss balls. They also need hiding placed to claim as their own territory, especially if you get multiple.

They eat not only smaller snails (as DPs cant crack the shells of the bigger snails), but theyll eat frozen or live blackwork, bloodworm, or brine shrimp. Brine shrimp should only be as an occassional 'snack' as it doesnt hold much nutritional value. Im still trying to figure out how much and how often to feed them.

All females would actually be best.

Yeah out of the group that I got a lot of them matured into males and are very aggresive. I have had to move them into other tanks until their new larger aqua scape home is ready.

Im very nervous about getting DPs and too many of them being male (as theyre going to be you g juveniles when I get them). I know I could swap them out at my LFS for more juveniles, but then I run into a couple more problems. 1) If I have at least 1 or more female that i can keep, would they be okay with the introduction of juveniles into their tank? 2) I will not have a quarantine tank, I would be very nervous about introducing ich or velvet into the tank by adding new fish.

I have a male & female in a 10 gallon that is heavily decorated with live & fake plants, driftwood, rocks & terra cotta pots. It is necessary because my male is quite agro when he isn't obnoxiously courting the female. The scaping helps alleviate the male's testosterone by 1) breaks line of sight, and 2) encourages exploration. I wouldn't go more than 2 DPs in a 10 gallon, 1 being most ideal. DPs do not need friends, IMO, esp in a smaller tank. That is anthropomorphizing them. It is more important providing a stimulating environment. I would definitely add more plants and decor to your tank.

Another tip is over-filtration. I have a HOB rated for 30 gallons, and modded it to improve mechanical & biological filtration.

One more thing is keep up on water changes and invest in a gravel vac. Weekly 50% water changes is recommended.

Also, +1 to the fishless cycling article provided by PufferPunk.

Good luck.

As I've said in a different post. 1DP has more than enough personality to fill an entire 10g tank. I personally had 2 in a 10, both were male but I had them in what could be described as an aquatic jungle (heavy, heavy planting). They were fine. If I were to do it again, I'd keep 1 per 10g.