The Puffer Forum

Hello,

I was originally setting up a tank for shrimp but then came across dwarf puffers. I'm hoping that you'll confirm if this is ok for 1?

The tank is 50 litres in size but after displacement holds about 40 litres. It's now fully cycled after 57 days!
I'm not sure if the current filtration will be enough as I'm seeing guidelines on a turnover of anywhere up to 6 times the water volume. The filter I have does 150 litres per hour which is a turnover of just under 4x an hour. If it's not good enough what would you recommend? The media in the current filter is like a flossy type material so I'd need to be able to use that in the new filter else I'd be waiting for a cycle all over again! I understand that dwarf puffers need low flow so not sure how that equates when you stick a big filter on.

I was originally thinking of adding a group but from what I've read I'd be better off with 1.

This is what the tank looks like currently:

It's a little small but as long as you keep it to a single DP, I think he'll be happy in there. Nice decorating job!

I'm surprised by your reply saying it's on the small size for one. One site I was reading was suggesting 6 in a 10 gallon. On here I've seen recommendations for 1 or 2 for the same size tank which is why I was only looking at adding 1.

What's the recommended temperature for a dwarf? I'm reading anywhere from 70F to 82F

40 liters is just over 10 US gallons. You could probably get away with 2 pea puffers max but one would be happier for sure. As for the filter, I can't tell what kind of filter you have on the tank from the picture. If its a HOB you can make a simple baffle with a plastic water bottle for the return, I use this method in my 20gal and a large sponge filter in my 10gal.

The filter is a german in tank one. It's a Dennerle corner filter XL http://dennerle.com/en/products/nano-aq ... -filter-xl the flow from it is fine but I was concerned given what I've been reading that it might not be enough. If I need to change the filter then that isn't an issue, but finding one that I can put the existing filter media in might be. I do however have plants that should aid in filtration. The floating one is Salvinia Natans which will grow for eternity.

I decided to just go ahead and get a bigger filter. I've bought a Fluval U2 which is rated for 30 US Gal tanks, 105GPH. I've removed the thin poly/carbon combination pads and placed the filter media from my old filter in place of those. That still leaves the foam and bio max media that came with the new filter.