The Puffer Forum

Hi All,
I have been considering getting a second schoutedeni as company for my wonderful schoutedeni that I already have. I think that I am ok with space, have a 55gal with 7 serpae tetra, 9 peppered corys, and 2 green dragon plecos that are fully grown and about 3 inches long, both 120gal rated canister filter and 150gal rated sponge filter, and I do weekly water changes.
I am mainly concerned about the new companion being aggressive with my current schoutedeni, who I completely adore and is absolutely the most gentle and shy puffer I have ever met. He gets intimidated by the corys if they are both trying to get to food on the tank bottom... He and I have bonded, and he gets so excited to see me that he swims to the front of the glass and fans his tail when I walk in the room! I really love my guy and don't want to do anything to harm him, that would be devastating, but I also think he seems lonely. It looks like he is trying to interact with his reflection in the glass for long stretches, although I could be misinterpreting what his actions mean. I apologize for the long post and appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
Astrid

So I’m not an expert on Tetraodon Schoutedeni, but I’ve heard that they act similarly to dwarf puffers when in a group. From what I know they should be alright as long as the tank is large enough and reasonably planted.

Would it be possible to redecorate the tank before adding another? That way the older puff will lose it's established territories.

Thanks for the idea! My only hesitation with doing that is that he gets stressed by the slightest change in the rock configuration. We had to take out some rocks on the right side to transfer a pleco to a different tank but knew that could be an issue so made sure to put them back like they were before, and he still won't go over to that side of the tank a month later.... I know this sounds silly, but he's a very sensitive puffer. That's why I'm concerned about a buddy for him. I don't want him to be lonely by himself or stressed and beat up on by a future tankmate. Don't know what to do! I know it's ridiculous, but I really love the little guy and would never forgive myself if I put another schoutedeni in there, and Copernicus got attacked or became sick from stress. But I also want him to be as happy as possible, and I don't know if that means a pal. I know I am overthinking this, just adore him.

Thanks, that totally makes sense, I wouldn't be considering it if he were any other species of puffer. Sorry for all of the questions. I was led to believe based on other t. schoutedeni keepers on the forum that schoutedeni were the exception to the solo rule? Is that not generally the case? Thanks again. Really appreciate this forum!

Mine definitely hung around together. SAPs like to be in groups, too.

Thanks to you and pufferjw for your replies. I truly appreciate it!

Absolutely, and good luck whether or not you decide to add a second puffer! And in terms of the reflection thing, I’ve seen the same behavior with all the puffers I’ve ever owned (including the most aggressive ones) so like the article said I doubt it’s loneliness

Thanks for that insight into the reflection behavior you've seen and for the well-wishes! I will post when I figure out what I'm going to do and will also post photos if I do decide to get a second! Thanks again!

Just to add I brought my two together and other then some usual bickering / chasing at feeding they hang out together. I absolutely adore both but they aren't that shy or stressed when moving bits in the tank. Just have a back up plan if it goes pot shaped.

That's great, best of luck!

So my husband decided to get me a second t. schoutedeni for my birthday as a surprise. I'm calling her a "she" for now, because that's what I am hoping she is, as I think my first is male. She is t-i-n-y, especially in comparison to him. I think she's probably only about 10-12 weeks old or so. She's eating like a champ and swimming around, fanning her tiny beautiful tail. However, my "firstborn son" , who is 5x her size, is not a fan. I have only seen some chasing and him nipping at her some (with no apparent hits), but even when they are not near one another, he seems stressed. She was tank raised, not wild caught, and is much more social and outgoing than he is. He doesn't seem to know how to handle her wanting to play and interact. She was also dewormed prior to shipping, so that is something at least. I am hoping that things even out over the weekend, as she just arrived last night. The tank is heavily planted and a 55g long, so there is plenty of room for them to be on opposite sides of the tank and opportunities for broken lines of sight, but I ordered some additional plants, anyway, and tomorrow am going to put in some driftwood that I already have handy at angles to further break up lines of sight. Now I'm stressed, because he's stressed, and she's probably stressed because she wants a buddy and he wants nothing to do with her and swims away from her as fast as he can whenever they come near one another. I hope neither gets sick from all of this stress. Thanks for reading!

astrid37 wrote: ↑Fri May 25, 2018 10:41 pm So my husband decided to get me a second t. schoutedeni for my birthday as a surprise. I'm calling her a "she" for now, because that's what I am hoping she is, as I think my first is male. She is t-i-n-y, especially in comparison to him. I think she's probably only about 10-12 weeks old or so. She's eating like a champ and swimming around, fanning her tiny beautiful tail. However, my "firstborn son" , who is 5x her size, is not a fan. I have only seen some chasing and him nipping at her some (with no apparent hits), but even when they are not near one another, he seems stressed. She was tank raised, not wild caught, and is much more social and outgoing than he is. He doesn't seem to know how to handle her wanting to play and interact. She was also dewormed prior to shipping, so that is something at least. I am hoping that things even out over the weekend, as she just arrived last night. The tank is heavily planted and a 55g long, so there is plenty of room for them to be on opposite sides of the tank and opportunities for broken lines of sight, but I ordered some additional plants, anyway, and tomorrow am going to put in some driftwood that I already have handy at angles to further break up lines of sight. Now I'm stressed, because he's stressed, and she's probably stressed because she wants a buddy and he wants nothing to do with her and swims away from her as fast as he can whenever they come near one another. I hope neither gets sick from all of this stress. Thanks for reading!

Thanks for posting.
Show off some photos~

Sorry to hear about the oddness.
I have some random info about our schoutedeni and the Pea puffs.

We have two schoutedeni so far that needed a separation, but I have a few more coming in the next couple of weeks.
I am determined to find out which schoutedeni will like each other in a larger tank project.
I've been lurking on tank websites scoping out a 5 or 6ft tank. 60x24x30 or 72x24x30 or 60x30x24. Not sure yet.

We used to have 2 pea puffers that went after each other after a while.
It was years ago, and don't remember much about them. They were at my folks place.
This season, we once again went full Pea.
We have one Pea puffer from a month ago, and added 7 more to total 8 now.
They look happy and float in a school now (arm-thing, cha'ching).

As for the schoutedeni, I would like to find out if they do the same as for liking the group harmony.
Most people would be a bit drawn back on getting 6 total schoutedeni, but I have to try.

If it does not work out, I will keep the schoutedeni that have the best personalities (which some do) and offer the others up for sale.

There is black-plastic-light-diffuser, which is a product that can house tons of plants and driftwood poked into it as well as act as a fence for a division of the puffers while still allowing flow.
Google search the light diffuser if you don't already have a sheet of it.
Black zip ties can hold odd organic shapes together and the creativity is endless.

Good luck! Keep us updated on the group project.
This is obviously a slightly rare niche fish and there is not much being posted about them, so keep it coming.