Complete Newbie help please

[Pearlescent]

Hi, This is my first post here and I'm wondering if any of you good people could take a moment or two to help me with a few queries?

I have a 2' x 12" x 18" (or possibly a 3' x 12" x 18" I haven't decided wholly just yet) tank which I would like to use to house Dwarf Puffers but I have a few questions.

1) How many Puffers would you suggest in a tank of the above sizes?
2) Do they need any kind of specialized filtration? I've read that they are totally intolerant of even slightly bad water conditions. Or indeed any specialized anything?
3) I've also read they can successfully be housed with Ottos (Otos?) and Ghost Shrimp? I would prefer Ottos as I already have 3 and am familiar with their needs etc.
4) I believe the correct ratio to keep is 1 male and 2 females, is this correct?
5) What kind of substrate do they prefer? I was considering Eco Complete as I want a heavily planted tank, would this be a huge no-no for any reason?
6) How aggressive are they to their own kind? Is it only the males which are aggressive?

... I think that's all for now, I just want to have all the research and fact before I even think about buying some of these sweet little critters.

Many thanks

[crazedpuffer]

Welcome to the forum!
The basic rule of thumb is 3 gallons per dp. The first tank is about 22 USG Which could house 6 dps. The other one would be about 33 USG which could house 11.

They don't need any special filters but I use sponge filter so they don't get caught in the filter. (I have had them die from that)

They can be housed with otos but that is entirley dependent on your puff.
That ratio is correct.
Eco complete would be fine.
The aggression varies with puffers. They need a heavily planted tank to help minimize aggression though.

[Hilly]

3-5 gallons per Dwarf puffer.

the 2ft long tank could house 4 comfortably, the 3ft tank 6 cmfortably.
A good filter rated above the tank size should do the trick.
Puffers need to be intorduced into a fully cycled tank, they do not do well with any ammonia or nitrite readings which will then give you problems early on. A 50% weekly water change should keep your nitrates at an acceptable level.

1 to 2 females is the ratio however this may be almost impossible to determine until they reach maturity.

Should do ok with sand or gravel based substrates, your choice and preference really.

Aggression will determine on individual specimens.

Welcome to the site

[Pearlescent]

That's great, thankyou so much!

Another question I forgot to ask is, how well do they cope with having say 3 in the tank than a couple of months later another 3 introduced? Is it much better to get them all at once?

[Boxermom]

They should be added all at once if possible, before any are able to mark out their territory. The more you have, the more space you need, IMO. If you're only going to have 2 or 3, then 3 gallons each might suffice. But if you have more, I would recommend going by the 5 gallon each guideline. The 3 gallon guideline also doesn't take into consideration any tankmates such as otos.

[Myaj]

Ideally, you should get the tank set up, plant the heck out of it, and get it cycled.

Then stock it with a good amount of pond and/or ramshorn snails, and if you can, red cherry shrimp. Let those inverts get breeding while the plants get established.

Then introduce all your dwarf puffers at once. The more dense the planting is, the less likely they'll harass each other or the otos. And with the snails and shrimp, they'll spend most of their time hunting and exploring, instead of causing trouble or hiding or pacing the glass.

Substrate doesn't matter to them one bit, they aren't burrowers. Ecocomplete is what I use for all my planted tanks now.

If you can get them older, try to get one male to every 2 females. If you aren't sure how to tell them apart, there's an article in the library.