The Puffer Forum

Please bear with the long post.

I've been moderately looking into puffers for a while because they've always interested me. I currently have a 5 gallon Betta tank, a 10 gallon shrimp tank, and a 65 gallon tank that has African butterfly fish, Congo tetras, rope fish, and 3 Polypterus- Delhezi, Moke, and Polli. There are also two plecos.

We will be moving in about a year and after that I will be upgrading to a 180 or 200-ish gallon tank. The plan will be I think to put the Polys into that tank, add more including possible lower jaw species, and some 'less aggressive' cichlids including a Polleni.

From what I've read, it sounds like I don't really have a puffer option for my tanks and I would have to set up a separate one - likely brackish - for a puffer. I am nervous about tooth care and so have written off SAPs. I definitely want the large tank dedicated to a poly community, so one of the larger puffers is not an option.

But.... my LFS is wet spot. They have T. Schoutedeni available at times, and from the limited information I can find online, these are smaller freshwater puffers that can live with other fish.

If you've made it this far in my post, you know where I'm going with this. Do you think that I could keep this species in my 65 gallon tank? I think it would be too small for lower jaw Polys and Pollini. But I think it might be able to live happily for life in the 65 gallon with rope fish and other smaller fish, maybe upper jaws.

My tank is fairly heavily planted, and I know they like to explore plants. BUT I also have a lot of MTS snails to stir my substrate. I am pretty sure that these puffers eat whole snails and I'm worried that the MTS may hurt them because these guys are pointy and in a hard shell.

Input on any of this? Advice on any others that may be suitable for the set up? Or should I just scrap this plan and go for an eventual brackish tank?

Yes, the hard MTS shells have been known to break a puffer's teeth.
Be VERY careful who you put with the polys. They can eat fairly large fish. Nothing <2".
I'm sooo jealous you have Wetspot as your LFS! Out here in SC, I have to pay big-time shipping costs to order from them.

I know, I feel lucky! I always knew that they were awesome, but didn't realize how awesome until I started visiting forums.

I'm not sure what to do about the MTS. There is no way to get rid of them at this point. Argh!

My schoutedeni are in with other fish, and they don't show any aggression toward the other fish. I am really enjoying them, and I would definitely recommend them for anyone wanting a freshwater puffer. However, I don't have experience with the fish you have, so I can't really advise you about the combination. Since schoutedeni are pretty mild, I would fear having aggressive fish in with them.

I think if you took out as many MTS as you can, (put veggies on a dish overnight and remove the snails that gather there), the puffers would eat any snail eggs and small snails, and you'd eventually end up with a tank free of MTS. That is what happened to me with my DP's.

Good luck with your decision.

Thank you!

My other fish are not aggressive in general. They might be temped to eat a tiny puffer, but if I got it to probably 1.5 to 2 inches it would be fine.

The schoutedeni wouldn't work with my eventual upgrade plan (as i want a few cichlids), but could stay in the 65 for life with my rope fish, since my ropes won't likely be able to live with any lower jaw bichirs.

Thanks - I'll work on removing the MTS - good idea with veg on a dish. I do remove a bunch when I feed my pleco zucchini.

So that puffer species won't even nip at the ropefish or birchirs, even though they are fairly sedentary?

My experience so far is with the schoutedeni sharing a tank with sterbai cories and a red pleco. The schoutedeni ignore the other fish. They look at them and just move on, continuing their search for snails or hanging about in the plants.

lobowind wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2017 2:38 am My experience so far is with the schoutedeni sharing a tank with sterbai cories and a red pleco. The schoutedeni ignore the other fish. They look at them and just move on, continuing their search for snails or hanging about in the plants.

Thank you for the input. How many Schoutedeni do you have, and what size tank? What do you think about keeping one in a 65 gallon for life?

I have had 3 schoutedeni in a 40 gallon tank for a few months. It is serving as a quarantine tank for them. They will be moved into a 110 gallon tank when they are a little bigger. You could easily keep one in a 65 gallon tank. They are very curious and come out every time I walk into the room. They beg, will follow my finger if I place it on the glass, will investigate whatever I place in the tank like the siphon tube or the turkey baster I use to feed black worms, and have been peaceful with the sterbai cories, a pleco, and some white clouds in the tank. They had some territorial aggression with each other when I first got them, but they figured out the pecking order and are doing really well. For freshwater tanks, schoutedeni seem to be a super option.

@magpie, hey I just saw you here on the puffer forums! Welcome to the puffer club.

Hi DMD!