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T. schoutedeni vs. C. irrubesco for 40 gallon breeder community tank?

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2022 3:35 pm
by Cowrie
Hello, all, I'm interested in getting a freshwater pufferfish - I love how smart and personable puffers seem - of some kind, but I'm not sure what, if any, species would be suitable for one of the tanks I have available.

I have a 40 gallon breeder tank that already houses a trio of peacock eels (Macrognathus siamensis), and a school each of espei rasboras (Trigonostigma espei) and drape fin barbs (Oreichthys crenuchoides). I know there are puffers that would fit in that tank in terms of bioload and swimming space, but I've gotten mixed information as to whether any of those species are compatible with the fish already in there.

If there aren't any puffers that would be compatible with the fish already in my 40 breeder, I also have a 10 gallon tank that hasn't got any livestock in it yet. Would that be big enough to house any of the smaller puffer species?

Re: Any puffers suitable for a 40-gallon community OR a 10-gallon tank?

Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2022 4:04 pm
by Pufferpunk

Re: Any puffers suitable for a 40-gallon community OR a 10-gallon tank?

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:54 pm
by Cowrie
Okay, so after doing some research, I've decided that, if I get a puffer, it will definitely go in the 40 gallon tank. I also have a 20 gallon tank that I can use as a back-up if the puffer ends up being too temperamental for the community. I've narrowed it down to two options, a Carinotetraodon irrubesco or a Tetraodon schoutedeni. I like how much cheaper the irrubesco would be, and also the fact that if it does begin to show aggression, the smaller fish would probably do less damage before I could move it to the 20 gallon, but I'm concerned that an irrubesco might be so small as to "get lost" in the bustle of a 40 gallon community. Anyone got thoughts on irrubesco vs. schoutedeni for a 40 gallon breeder community? In addition to the species I already mentioned, I'm also thinking of adding a small school of reticulated hillstream loaches, so the greater bioload of a schoutedeni is also a concern.