platy ben

Ok everyone, ive been thinking, and im really tempted to get a 15G and get some dwarf puffers.
I just need to be educated about them first cue PFP

Im thinking of a sand or fine gravel substrate with some bogwood and maybe small live plants.

So the first question, how many dwarf puffers can i keep in a 15G?

All other information is greatly appreciated!


P.S. If anyone beats PFP to reply to this thread, u get a virtual pat on the back lol

pinkfloydpuffer

I'm here!

I'd say 3-4, maybe 5 if you set things up right and they decide to behave.

platy ben

Not bad PFP. only 1 minute to post

Il try 4 if i go ahead with this.
Would i be right saying that they are a freshwater puffer and they cant have many (if any at all) tank mates?

pinkfloydpuffer

You'll want to get one male and 3 females... but it is hard to sex them when they're young.
They are freshwater.
Otos are pretty much guaranteed to work. Other fish are a gamble.

MissMTS

Oh my, Platy ben....has all of the puffer talk this morning been getting you motivated to set up another tank? lol!

To answer your question, people say that you shouldn't put them in with other fish. I had mine with a couple of otos and he did fine, but I don't know if he was just well behaved or what.

platy ben

MissMTS yes, the puffer talks making me want some Maybe i could try them with otos.

I do have an empty 50G cycling at the moment so theres a thought, hmmmmm . We might not be looking at dwarf puffers soon, maybe something bigger

Thanks for your help guys

pinkfloydpuffer

Oooh, 50g eh?

MissMTS

Hmmmm, maybe some GSP's? *Hint Hint*

platy ben

Yep, 50 whole Gallons of water

The word "Mbu" or "figure 8" come to mind but im not sure what tank sizes either of them need

pinkfloydpuffer

Hahaha
Mbu need 1000 gallons
Figure 8s only need 15

platy ben

Youve got to be kidding me
Your just trying to sway my mind

Are there any larger puffers that arent brackish, i want to start out with a freshwater one and then maybe try brackish.

MissMTS

I may be wrong, but I think that Pink has her two GSP's in a freshwater tank. Check with her to be sure though

pinkfloydpuffer

They get over 3 feet long and maybe 2 feet wide, and are very very sensitive to ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. So yeah, they really do need 1000 gallons. And surprisingly there are quite a few people who keep them....

In a 50 g?.... Lemme think.....
What'd be really cool is a Monotrete palembangensis. They are sometimes called the Dragon Puffer. Or a Tetraodon miurus.
Any bigger than those guys and you're looking at 125+g tanks.

pinkfloydpuffer

Actually, I have my two GSPs in an 80g at 1.014 SG

MissMTS

Nevermind........lol.

platy ben

I was just looking through her pics of that tank, its really beautiful, i love the pleco

pinkfloydpuffer

Hehe, I love little Danno. He's a hilarious little guy.

MissMTS

Pink, you have the cutest names for your fish! I am going to ask for your help next time I need to name one of mine

pinkfloydpuffer

Haha thanks. I get most of them from bands, songs, or movies

platy ben

Hmmm, ive never seen a dragon puffer in the UK.

Would a ceylon puffer need over 50G?

My LFS has some of these and i really like them

pinkfloydpuffer

They need about 40gs, so you'd be perfect right there.
They are almost identical in care to GSPs, so they will need high brackish or even marine eventually.

platy ben

Hmm

So now weve narrowed it down its got to be either,

1 Ceylon puffer

or

some South American puffers.

If i was to go with south american puffers, how many could i keep in the 50G?

Thanks for all your help so far

pinkfloydpuffer

I'd say maybe 4 or 5.

platy ben

PFP how does this sound.

Substrate: Sand
Decoration: Lots of bogwood and alot of thick planted areas (probably will end up being silk and plastic because im useless with live plants)
Tank inhabitants: 4 South American puffers, 1 pleco (not sure on species but no bigger than 6" full grown) or instead of a pleco, maybe some corys, but im not sure how they would do with puffers.

Thanks for all your help

pinkfloydpuffer

Sounds great!
I'd get a pleco over cories, because a pleco is aggressive enough to not let the puffs nip his fins.

platy ben

That sounds logical

One more thing, should i add all of the puffers at the same time, and maybe the pleco before?

pinkfloydpuffer

Yeah, that sounds good. I don't think they're territorial at all, but it'd be better to be safe

platy ben

Great, now weve just got to hope my LFS has some

pinkfloydpuffer

I wish mine ever had some! I've only seen 6 species of puffers at any stores, and SAPs are not one of them
My puffs are sending their 'puffer luck' your way

platy ben

I just went and tested my water and heres the results,

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0.10

I will hopefully pick up a pleco on sunday, hopefully a rubber lip or bristle nose