The Puffer Forum

So, Hi, I'm new. I stumbled across your site when I was looking for information about puffers. I am completely new to the fish tank world but for the past couple weeks I have been amassing information on the subject. What got me into puffers was a visit to a local pet store when I was deciding what to fill my tank with. I came across a tank with 10-12 apparently healthy puffers. Two different types, labeled "spotted" and "golddust".

At first I had a 30 gallon tank to work with, I ended up breaking it while trying to clean it (good job me) so I bought a bigger and better 55 gallon. What the fish guy at the store told me about the puffers was more than what I knew but not as much as I know now after finding your forums. He actually told me when I got the 55 gallon that I could put ALL of the (10-12) puffers in there. I now know that many GSP's/F8's in fresh water would live very short and unhappy lives.

I'm kind of scared to try brackish/marine when I dont even know how I am going to manage a lot of things on the freshwater side. I started leaning towards straight freshwater puffers then. I thought 3 SAP's all alone in such a big tank doesnt seem very lively so then I thought maybe 8-10 DP's? Male-female ratio considered of course. After seeing them at a pet store (I dont think I would get the ones I got, they looked kind of sickly) I realized how TINY they are and wondered if they would give me what I was looking for. For some reason I am drawn to these puffers but I also desire a little variety in the tank and apparently puffers dont play nice with other colorful species. I read about BBG's but some sites say they arent suited for fresh. So I'm kind of at a loss here.

I guess my first question is with my 55 gallon what is the best puffer setup I could do, freshwater, variety and color considered while still maintaining the happyness of the fish? I'm not cruel, I want them to be happy I just want a...festive tank I guess, lol. Please feel free to shoot down my hopes, I'm trying to be educated about this.

Welcome. Well, to start, take a look at this: http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/vie ... php?t=7453

That makes sense, and good job to you for not impulse buying the fish and thinking about it first.

A 55 would hold one very happy GSP, and marine water isn't all that tough when you are just dealing with fish. Its corals that make it so tricky and delicate. Since a GSP would eat corals, you don't have to worry about them! So a single GSP would be an option, and raising it to marine would be a ways down the road.

Figure 8's you could have 3, probably some gobies if you give them rocks and territories. Brackish isnt' that hard either, once you get used to measuring the salt. Stay away from brackish tankmates such as archer fish, scats, etc, they won't be happy in a 55.

Dwarf puffers are adorable, but they are tiny and to me, they don't have the appeal that the other species do. They do their own thing and don't follow you around hehe.

There are other species out there, but they can be harder to find in stores and many have aggression issues, meaning you could only have one. South Americans are freshwater and get along okay usually, but they need their teeth trimmed on a regular basis, so that's a consideration. Many of the freshwater species that would love your tank are lurkers, which means they aren't very active, so they might not be what you are looking for.

What are you looking for.. a lot of fish, only one fish, a couple fish.. aggressive hunter type fish, community type fish that all get along... any ideas?