I was recently given five pea puffers as a gift from someone who is unfamiliar with care for them. I used to have two brackish water ones (update: was told they were actually green spotted box fish) when I was little in a similar size tank (4 gallons or so) but this is a higher number and a mini shoal which I haven't cared for before. My tank is 4 gallons and was home to my six amber tetras, now four, as we relocated the two we could catch to our outdoor pond. I feel woefully unprepared but I do want the best for the little guys. Just unsure where to begin.
My tank is home to some river shrimp (opai) which have grown very shy after I removed the duck weed. A small and possibly diminishing number of unknown snails, which I thought were too big to be eaten by the puffers just yet but alas they're kinda hiding now. And again, four amber tetras in addition to the five dwarf puffers. As for plants we have a pretty well developed greenery on the bottom which they like to hide and sleep in, as well as frogbit on the surface and a number of plants I forgot the name of.. I am well aware that this is inadequate and I am able and willing to improve their living conditions and there's a number of issues already (in the three days I've owned them) which I will outline below..
1st day went okay for adapting they schooled together for a bit but ignored the bloodworms I had on hand (I've switched to live Brine).
2nd and 3rd day there was one aggressor who would chase and nip at others after feeding. I isolated them during feeding (1 on 1 feeding in a container) and returned them after fed.
And now on the fourth day, they aren't taking it from anyone, the one scrappy guy is now one among many, and they're all kind of nippy.
I read another post about someone's dwarf puffers bullying one to death and I don't want it to get to that point. Even while writing this I had to take breaks to distract them with my hands as they kept going after one another. They've calmed down a bit now. So it seems feeding agitates them a bit but regardless I don't want them stressed.
I'm guessing that in addition to small living quarters, that there might be a disproportionate sex ratio. Today I've got a bit of a to-do list.
I'm getting a pump for a temporary container while I catch the tetras and clean the tank (might as well at this point) and I am not above looking for another tank while I'm out. I've read a bit online about ideals for them but there are conflicting sources.
Somethings I would like to know..- How would I condition them to eat frozen food? (For feed diversity outside of snails and brine shrimp.)
- What are ideal dimensions for them, by number and so on, for a tank?
- And any way to discern their sex? Conflicting images online when I did look it up.
- Also should I get more, (after reading article from puffer enthusiast) when I introduce them to a new tank?
Thank you for reading.
Mahalo nui noa.
![[welcome]](./images/smilies/welcome.gif "welcome")
So happy to hear you are getting a 15g for them! Be sure to move over the filter media to cycle the new tank.