darkwolf29a

My girlfriend wants 2 new tanks for her bettas. She has a 2.5 and a 5 gallon hex. She wants two 5 gallon rectangulars.

So....I would like to set up the 5 gallon hex for 1 dwarf pufferfish.

I'm not a huge betta fan, and it's her thing, honestly. But, I have always found pufferfish to be very cool and fun to watch. So...I would like to a dwarf, since they stay small.

I'm thinking that 5 is big enough, but would like other opinions, since I don't have any .

They only get to be 1 inch maximum size.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fish/malebopuffer.php

Here is the information on what I want to buy.

Thanks

Amnagrla

The site you sent me to, about the malebo puffer, isn't a dwarf puffer. They get to be 3.5". If you got one of those, you could only keep 1 in your 5 gallon tank.

You asked about getting a dwarf puffer... here is a site for you. http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/intro1.htm
They get to be only 1".. but need 2-3 gallons per inch. So in a 5 gallon tank, I'd say you could have 2.

Someone else that actually has dwarf puffers might be able to give you better information.

Good luck!

darkwolf29a

Doh!!!!



Thanks for the correction. It is the dwarf I want, not the other. I guess I have to decide if I want more than one. I'm leaning towards one only though.

Thanks again.

Amnagrla

lol you're welcome!! hahah just kidding

Bonochick

I am NOT a dwarf puffer expert, for the record, but http://www.dwarfpuffers.com says 3 gallons per fish. Maybe 2 would be all right, but I'd wait to get advice from somebody with a bit more knowledge/experience.

Amnagrla

yeah, I said that that website said 2-3 inches.

And I agree... someone that actually HAS puffers would be better suited.

My instinct though tells me you could have 2...... but it does say that they get aggressive with each other if they don't have enough space.

You could do 1 puffer and 2 otos if not.

Bonochick

That's what makes me nervous. You could get lucky and get two dwarf puffers who are fine...but if you get the opposite...yikes. I guess, speaking from NO puffer experience, my thought would be that if you wanted to try two in a five gallon, make sure you'd be able to return one if they didn't get along all right.

Still hoping someone with more puffer experience will come help you out though!

Radcliffe

Hmm, well I have 2 dwarf puffers, and two bumblebee gobies in a ten gallon tank and they are all fine together. When I enter the room the two little puffers meet me at the glass. They have plenty of hiding places, and while they do "charge" at each other, they never actually hit the other fish- it is more of a territory thing. All 4 fish in there play the boundary game all the time with no ill effects, not a ripped fin.

--R

griffin

from having puffers, i would say that you'd be better off with just one puffer in that tank.

you could do two, but depending on the puffer, that might just be asking for trouble.

if you still want more than just 1 puffer, you might be able to do an oto or two?

armadillo

Mmmh, puffers need 3G per fish, even the small types. They're meant to be very messy eaters. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. They also need tank mates that they can't bully. Fish that are too quick to be caught would be a good criteria.

darkwolf29a

Actually, that's not bad news to me. I've decided to only get one fish. It'll have a couple of extra gallons of water to swim around in...I think it'll survive that. LOL

Besides, I am going to HEAVILY plant the tank, add some rocks in...It'll be a very busy tank. LOL

Messy doesn't worry me, honestly. My Oscar is a messy fish, but he's still my bud. I put my hand in the tank and he's all over it. So...it's all good. I need another water dog. LMAO

Thanks for the help all.

armadillo

That's cool that you're only getting the one fish. Will you let us know how that goes? I suspect he'll be way more attached to you than ours are, a bit like bettas (our puffers are just buddying up together as there's the 3 of them).

darkwolf29a

Of course.

I'm going to take a bunch of pictures too. I owe, like 3 web sites, various pictures. LOL I'm going to take the camera and kill a bunch of batteries. hehe

armadillo

And we expect nothing less!!!

Amnagrla

personally, I think you should bump us to the top of the list!

Amorinthe

Mine is happy and thriving solo in a 4 gallon. I've got it nicely planted, and can't imagine how you could allow enough space for 2 puffers in a 5 gal hex. I think it's one of those borderline issues that always strikes me as selfish. It's more interesting to us, the fish addicts, but not fair to the little guys.