boff

Hi,ive seen in my local paper 2 dwarf puffer fish for sale ,it says that they are allmost fully grown ,and they are 1cm long ,is this true or a typing error any help any body.

Boxermom

DPs get to be about 1.5 inches long. Not sure what that is in cms, but they're tiny. They are freshwater puffers and do not require, nor do they like, any salt in their water. They are carnivores and extremely aggressive for their size and should be in a species-only tank, definitely not in a community tank. If you have further questions, feel free to ask here or PM me.

boff

Wow thats small ,i was thinking of putting them in my community tank but that sounds like a NO then ,so i might get a small tank and buy a pair ,what size tank would you advise cheers .

Boxermom

No, definitely not in the community tank. DPs require 3 gallons each, so a 6 gallon would be good for a pair. Just make sure it is VERY heavily planted. Fake or real plants, they don't care, as long as there are tons of them.

boff

Hi is it true that they nip each others fins ,if so can they be stoped from doing that,the DP that i said about are also on a local site a bit like Ebay so have attached the picture ,can you confurm that they are DP cheers boff.

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Boxermom

Yes, that is a DP. And yes, they will not just nip but shred the fins of fish MUCH larger than themselves. And no, they cannot be stopped other than to home them in a tank by themselves. They will often shred each other's fins as well, depending on their individual personalities. They are extremely aggressive for their tiny size.

boff

Sorry to kept going on ,but will DPS live with any thing else at all or will they just be in a tank by them selves .I got in touch with the bloke selling them and he said they bit his small guppies back ends off and killed his shrimps ,i read some where that they love eating snails so how do you keep the algae down cheers boff

Boxermom

No problem, ask away. The only thing most DPs can live with are otos and sometimes not even that. They are very, very aggressive for their size and can and will shred the fins of most other fish, including fish 100 larger than themselves (if they don't get eaten first, which will poison the fish that eats it). Some of us have had some success with nerite snails and DPs, as the nerites have a very small foot and the DPs can't seem to get at it. Mine chewed up a much larger mystery snail but they seem to leave the nerites alone. And yes, they'll eat live shrimp.

atmmachine816

Everything boxermom has said is true and I don't want to start an argument here but if you do reseach other places they will tell you that dwarf puffers can be kept in 2.5-5 gallons as a minimum, just to warn you so you don't start freaking out. Do what you want and listen to boxermom and you should be good.

Boxermom

Thanks atm. On www.dwarfpuffers.com, we recommend a minimum of 3 gallons per fish. Of course the more room you can provide them the better, but that's our minimum recommended.

atmmachine816

Yup I'v read anywhere from 2.5-5 gallons but can't personally say anything since my mom says no more tanks so I can't keep any.

Miss Mouse

I've got 2 in an 8 gallon - they definitely need to be on thier own though! I used to have a pair with an otocinclus who was good with them but thats because it was planted enough for him to hide! They do love plants- they're great little fish to watch and have big personality for something so little. I would definitely advise to anyone to get them!

Tom

http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=2631
Tom

boff

Good site Tomh ,i did find that one myself the other day ,loads of good advice

Toddnbecka

I just added a single DP to my 10 gallon cherry shrimp tank. It's become overrun with ramshorn snails, so I figured I'd try a DP to control the snail population. Considering the number of snails, some of which are actually as big as the DP, I'm hoping it won't be too interested in the shrimp. The tank is loaded with java moss, duckweed, a few stem plants, and several small java ferns. It also houses a pair of orange dwarf crayfish. Time will tell, but I don't expect a slow-moving fish that loves snails to pass up an easy meal in favor of harder-to-catch shrimp.

boff

But what happens when your DP has eaten all the snails??

Toddnbecka

The snails are so numerous that it will be a long time, if ever, before the single DP catches up with production of new snails. If/when that happens, I'll simply move it to the 30 that also has ramshorns, as well as spixi's, for the DP to chow on until the population of snails in the 10 rebounds.

atmmachine816

You can also breed snails and ask your lfs for some.