The Puffer Forum

Have an empty, planted 10 gallon tank (betta fish sadly passed away from a fungal infection, even after treating within a few hours of the first signs ) and I'm thinking about putting dwarf puffer in there. Just going to focus on the plants for now, but I I'll add some fish in the new year.

The tank is heavily planted, nice piece of driftwood, lots of broken lines of sight. I've read the dwarf puffer article but here's my questions:

-How many? The article says 5g for the first and 3g for any additional. Was initially thinking a pair but 3 would technically need 11 gallons, so would 3 be too many in a 10 or could I get away with that (I'm assuming I couldn't but I just wanted to check)?

-Should I get M/F or F/F (or M/F/F if I did three). I know if there aren't enough females then the male can harass a particular female too much, so I would assume one male and one female is a no go? Would there be any issues with two females?

-I know they're fin nippers, but do people usually have success keeping them with any other species? I have a nerite snail in there presently (well, I took it out for the fungal treatment), I assume they would stress it to death even though they couldn't eat it, correct?

Thanks!

5g for first puffer and then subsequent 3g for the next one is a general guide to adhere to but you could still bend it slightly. Perhaps havily planting the tank might allow you to slip in one or two more. But it really depends on the individual puffers, some are less territorial and might not mind more company while some are just plain nasty. The one male two or more female rule is generally consistent in reducing aggression in the tank but like I said, it depends on the individual puffer. I have females which are nastier than the males. In my tank I have an "alpha male" and even he does not dare enter my biggest female's territory cause she is plain grumpy. But generally females are less nippy so I guess if you are getting only two, try to get both females and similar size if possible.

Personally I'd say keep one and save yourself the potential trouble of having to rehouse the others. That's the route I took, I didn't fancy the stress of having to deal with multiple puffers. One puffer on it's own and you're guaranteed not to have problems

I would say 2 max, or one for ultimate puffer happiness. They are not very compatible with other fish but ottos and large amano shrimp would make good tankmates. Yes they will harass a nerite snail to death but you might be able to get away with it for a little while if your puffers are really small when you first get them.