The Puffer Forum

I am looking to start a small puffer tank in my 15 gallon. What puffer would you suggest, I am lookin at a Figure 8 Puffer. What would you guys suggest?

I have also heard that I should keep a snail breeding tank going too, how can I do this? Should d 5 gallon be big enough for that? Could I keep my betta in the snail tank? What else should I feed the puffer?

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

For a first puffer, I'd recommend dwarf puffers. In a 15g, you could have 5. DPs are a little hardier than the other types so their good for beginners, and are totally freshwater. Fun, too!

ok...well then I will look into that (just ta let u know Im Bear from FishForums.com)

Do you think there would be a problem with the Figure 8?

Although the dwarfs might be more interesting because there could be 5...

thanks!

Oh, hi Bear. Welcome!

You could have one F8 in the 15g, with the understanding that they require low end brackish water. Having not had one (and desperately wanting one - LFS has a few in now and, of course, I'm out of room/tanks), I can't speak for how hardy they are but they are quite cute and active.

F8s are one of the prettiest puffers. Just have to decide if you want to go BW or not.

I guess I am leaning towards the dwarf puffers now...but I would love to see some good pics of em. Can ne one help in that department?

What would u suggest feeding them?

http://www.thepufferforum.info/forum/vi ... php?t=3181
http://www.thepufferforum.info/forum/vi ... php?t=4159
http://www.thepufferforum.info/forum/vi ... php?t=2195

There's a ton on dwarfpuffers.com too

90% of their diet is usually bloodworms (frozen for me - they attract their attention much better than freeze-dried). My Dp's don't really like much else except some occasional snails.

Mine get frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis shrimp, snails, and live blackworms.

awsome news...now I just have to get it all set up, the 5 gal for the betta and snails and the 15 g for the 4 or 5 little dp's...i guess if there is ne thing else you guys could tell me, like if there is a helpful book, It would be really cool too.

Aqualog: The Puffers of Fresh and Brackish Waters by Klaus Ebert is a good read, although not really vital. Tons of pictures of puffers, lots of good information. There's always dwarfpuffers.com, although to be totally honest, there's nothing really they can answer that someone here doesn't also know. Pufferlist.com is a good place to start.

I would make sure read all of the stickied threads here, especially the ones in the hospital forum. I'd recommend having some kind of medication for intestinal parasites, as DPs (and many, if not most, other puffers as well) tend to come with IPs and need to be treated as soon as possible if there's any doubt whatsoever.

I wouldn't house the snails and betta in the same tank... My snail tank can get pretty polluted and couldn't imagine putting my betta in there... Honest, he'd be better off in the largest water glass or vase you can find in your house until you can get him his own tank/bowl...

Just once snails start breeding, they literally overrun the tank... way too dirty to house a betta in there too...

He wouldn't even be able to lay down to sleep without being overrun with snails... They'd literally crawl all over him.

Got snails in both my betta tanks with no problem. I just fish them out as needed for the puffs.

hard hard would it be to make snails breed in a tank, do they need a certain temperature to live in, what do they eat and such

Check the library here for a snail breeding article. It is dead easy with the two common speies used, common pond and common ramhorns (not Comobian ramshorns).

My DPs are fed snails and California blackworms. No more bloodworms for me, I have become allergic to them.