Pea Puffer Questions!

[alykat]

I really think it depends on the puffers. I kept pea puffers for years. I had 6 in a 20 gallon long. Granted I had two males and four females in a HEAVILY planted tank so the aggression was spread out. I even had them spawn a few times for me- but at the time I was not prepared to rear fry.

These are great fish. By far my favorite when it comes to interaction. They will explore any new object you put in the tank and play with it like a toy.

Be careful with snails that are from outside sources - but sounds like you are raising them yourself. And deworm as soon as you get them. Unfortunately my puffers picked up a callamanus worm infection from some of the snails I fed them, and it’s a truly devastating parasite.

 

[bubblaroo]

I just want to make sure there's no confusion between a 20L as in 20 liters and 20L as in 20 gallon long, because that's a 400% difference in tank size!
If you mean 20G long, Alyssa, I agree that's just fine.
If you mean 20 liters, then you must have had some mad luck with your fish' temperament.

 

[bubblaroo]

Very informative part about the callamanus worm, by the way, I didn't know that! Did it kill any of your puffers?

 

[alykat]

I just want to make sure there's no confusion between a 20L as in 20 liters and 20L as in 20 gallon long, because that's a 400% difference in tank size!
If you mean 20G long, Alyssa, I agree that's just fine.
If you mean 20 liters, then you must have had some mad luck with your fish' temperament.

20 gallon long! Sorry for the confusion.

And yes unfortunately because I had already dewormed them when I first purchased them I didn’t even consider callamanus as a possibility. I realized too late that it can be passed thru infected snails. I lost three during the initial infection. Over the course of the next year I lost the rest I think due to internal damage caused by the worms

 

[Blitzar]

(I meant 20 long, too)

 

[kimsch1005]

I have a 15 gallon tank I set up specifically to house pea puffers. Ive never kept Pea puffers before, but I've done extensive research. The tank is densly planted and has been running for over a month now, and has been cycled for a week. Originally I planned on adding 3 puffers, but I was advised against it due to potentially not enough space for each to have their own territory. Im trying to set myself up for success. Im pretty confident that there is enough room for 2 puffers to establish their own territories, but I'm unsure if that ratio is a good idea or not. Is it a way different scenario having 2 females versus 2 males? Would a male and a female create too much stress for the female due to male harassment?

Ive made plenty of google searches but none of them yield exactly the info I'm looking for. If 2 is going to be a problem I still want a puffer, so i will be going with one, which brings me to my last question which is: can pea puffers get lonely? I understand they are territorial, but does this mean they do not enjoy the company of other pea puffers?

Pea puffers are absolutely adorable and Im so excited to get some/one, but I want to create the best possible environment for them.

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[Newbie1234]

Um I can answer your first question.Yes 15 should be enough space for two now idk about the gender though

 

[carloz209]

I can only advice you from my experience with a single puffer. They are stubborn eaters and most will only ever eat live food. They will literally starve themselves if not fed live food so be ready to buy lots of worms, snails, and other feeder fish. My puffer idk why died after a week my parameters were ideal and had lots of snails in the tank which it was hunting. i would suggest only 1 male dont put multiples males.

 

[kimsch1005]

I can only advice you from my experience with a single puffer. They are stubborn eaters and most will only ever eat live food. They will literally starve themselves if not fed live food so be ready to buy lots of worms, snails, and other feeder fish. My puffer idk why died after a week my parameters were ideal and had lots of snails in the tank which it was hunting. i would suggest only 1 male dont put multiples males.

Did you quarantine him when you got it?

I can only advice you from my experience with a single puffer. They are stubborn eaters and most will only ever eat live food. They will literally starve themselves if not fed live food so be ready to buy lots of worms, snails, and other feeder fish. My puffer idk why died after a week my parameters were ideal and had lots of snails in the tank which it was hunting. i would suggest only 1 male dont put multiples males.

The place where I am gonna get mine feed them frozen foods along with pest snails, so I dont think that should be an issue for me.

 

[carloz209]

The place where I am gonna get mine feed them frozen foods along with pest snails, so I dont think that should be an issue for me.

thats better the place i got mine had worms in there so they could fed off them. and Yes i quarantine him.
i just went yesterday to another store and was shocked and interested looking at the puffer they had like 20 just massacring a minnow he had half his body left trying to swim away. then a porcupine puffer was eating a minnow trying to swallow it whole but couldnt so he would just spit less of him out each time it was brutal but interesting.

 

[kimsch1005]

thats better the place i got mine had worms in there so they could fed off them. and Yes i quarantine him.
i just went yesterday to another store and was shocked and interested looking at the puffer they had like 20 just massacring a minnow he had half his body left trying to swim away. then a porcupine puffer was eating a minnow trying to swallow it whole but couldnt so he would just spit less of him out each time it was brutal but interesting.

Hmmm, kinda weird. I imagine they are not feeding them enough snails/worms?

 

[carloz209]

Hmmm, kinda weird. I imagine they are not feeding them enough snails/worms?

They eat other feeder fish its normal for puffer thats what makes them so interesting. I look forward to hearing about your puffer let us know how it goes and what you end up getting? Fyi they will literally eat anything that fits in their mouth and are really sensitive to water parameters for some reason i don't recall at the moment

 

[kimsch1005]

They eat other feeder fish its normal for puffer thats what makes them so interesting. I look forward to hearing about your puffer let us know how it goes and what you end up getting? Fyi they will literally eat anything that fits in their mouth and are really sensitive to water parameters for some reason i don't recall at the moment

I will post pictures when i get it/them, but wont be for a couple weeks!

 

[carloz209]

I will post pictures when i get it/them, but wont be for a couple weeks!

Aw. Look forward to it. I also started a 40 planted tank for dwarf puffer myself but then my mollies started breeding like crazy so had to postpone getting them . Otherwise they would of eaten all the babies. Good luck with the puffer

 

[DoraCory]

There's seems to be a few rules of thumb out there with regards to dwarf puffers - 1 puffer per 10 litres is one, another is 5g for the 1 puffer and 3g per puffer after that. The general consensus in the DP community is that they're a shoaling species and do better in larger groups of 6+.

I have 5 in a 15g. I started with 3 after some possibly wrong advice, but my puffers got busy and made some tank mates.

 

[kimsch1005]

There's seems to be a few rules of thumb out there with regards to dwarf puffers - 1 puffer per 10 litres is one, another is 5g for the 1 puffer and 3g per puffer after that. The general consensus in the DP community is that they're a shoaling species and do better in larger groups of 6+.

I have 5 in a 15g. I started with 3 after some possibly wrong advice, but my puffers got busy and made some tank mates.

Hmm, they bred?? Wow thats awesome! Any way you could share your setup? I'd love to see how densely planted it is. How many would you suggest I get in a 15 then? Any concerning aggression going on in your tank?

 

[Kathryn Crook]

With a heavily planted 10g tank, 3 puffers is considered “acceptable,” by most keepers. Of course, sex is very important when determining how well they get along. The thing is, until the peas are adults, no one can really tell the sexes. So...when buying puffers young, nothing is set in stone in how many or how well they will get along...isn’t that exciting! I have a tank I’ve prepped for weeks and live food I’ve prepped for years! My peas are on order, and I can hardly wait to see what I get. (What I do know is, for sure, they will need deworming).

 

[kimsch1005]

With a heavily planted 10g tank, 3 puffers is considered “acceptable,” by most keepers. Of course, sex is very important when determining how well they get along. The thing is, until the peas are adults, no one can really tell the sexes. So...when buying puffers young, nothing is set in stone in how many or how well they will get along...isn’t that exciting! I have a tank I’ve prepped for weeks and live food I’ve prepped for years! My peas are on order, and I can hardly wait to see what I get. (What I do know is, for sure, they will need deworming).

I ended up getting three tinyyyy puffers from Aqua Imports. I reached out to the business and they told me they are tank bred and shouldnt need to be medicated unless any sickness is observed, but obviously with puffers it is the best idea to just assume they have everything and treat them as a preventative measure. Im currently doing it. They are absolutely adorable!

Theyre only about 1/2" right now.

 

[aquachris]

I ended up getting three tinyyyy puffers from Aqua Imports.

How was your experience overall with Aqua Imports?

 

[carloz209]

I ended up getting three tinyyyy puffers from Aqua Imports. I reached out to the business and they told me they are tank bred and shouldnt need to be medicated unless any sickness is observed, but obviously with puffers it is the best idea to just assume they have everything and treat them as a preventative measure. Im currently doing it. They are absolutely adorable!

Theyre only about 1/2" right now.

Awesome good luck with them. they look so cool

 

[kimsch1005]

How was your experience overall with Aqua Imports?

Really awesome! They do have a minimum order amount, and overnight shipping is expensive of course, but it was really worth it. Customer service is awesome and the fish came super healthy and packaged extremely well.

 

[DoraCory]

Hmm, they bred?? Wow thats awesome! Any way you could share your setup? I'd love to see how densely planted it is. How many would you suggest I get in a 15 then? Any concerning aggression going on in your tank?

I'm so sorry, I missed this post somehow. Here is a photo, it's from February of this year. The tank has changed a bit but is still densely planted. I'll a get an up to date photo later today.

 

[Kathryn Crook]

Lovely tank. How are the peas doing? This is the kind of growth I expect would make these little guys more passive, lol.

 

[kimsch1005]

Lovely tank. How are the peas doing? This is the kind of growth I expect would make these little guys more passive, lol.

They're doing great. It appears as if they're already claiming their parts of the tank, however they may be too young and they each just have their own favorite spot. Right now I'm dealing with feeding; because they are so small I'm worried the frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms aren't getting eaten, however there are quite a few pest snails in the tank, so I'm assuming they are eating, just haven't actually seen it yet! I was getting worried they would starve, but then thought that was stupid because if they get hungry enough they will, plus they are natural predators! Just hoping I will get to see it soon

 

[carloz209]

They're doing great. It appears as if they're already claiming their parts of the tank, however they may be too young and they each just have their own favorite spot. Right now I'm dealing with feeding; because they are so small I'm worried the frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms aren't getting eaten, however there are quite a few pest snails in the tank, so I'm assuming they are eating, just haven't actually seen it yet! I was getting worried they would starve, but then thought that was stupid because if they get hungry enough they will, plus they are natural predators! Just hoping I will get to see it soon

seeing them hunting the snails is really awesome i remember i would see mine just hovering around the snails and once he had his chance would quickly finish him.

 

[MisterSnuffles]

Hey everyone. Im contemplating getting 2-3 pea puffers in a 10 gallon. My lfs sells them for 6.99 which isn’t bad. My dad doesn’t really care since he knows I’ll do every I can to take care of them. And my mom is umm.. the opposite lol. She thinks its dumb to get them because “its a 1 inch fish. Its not worth it!” Any interesting facts, pros, or funny experiences you guys have that I can share with my mom to show her that these little guys are just awesome?

 

[awilkinson871]

They will recognize you after some time. They will follow your finger on the glass. Downside- you need a well planted tank to keep aggression down, they have a pretty high bioload, and they are very picky eaters. Most will only do frozen and/or live food.

 

[MyFishAddiction]

Plus- they're adorable.

 

[MisterSnuffles]

Plus- they're adorable.
Lol very true

 

[Leeman75]

I'm contemplating the same thing and I'm a little bit on your Mom's side. The reason that I haven't pulled the trigger is because it's so small of a fish and I couldn't get anything else in the tank.

They do seem pretty cute though.

 

[MisterSnuffles]

I'm contemplating the same thing and I'm a little bit on your Mom's side. The reason that I haven't pulled the trigger is because it's so small of a fish and I couldn't get anything else in the tank.

They do seem pretty cute though.

Yeah i get you. Im not 100% on board either because of their size but either way i gotta defend the little guys lol. I have cherry shrimp as an idea too but my mom also thinks its a bit weird. Mostly because you can have 50 of em in a ten. Im not sure what else i can do tho. In terms of stocking that is.

 

[Rose of Sharon]

They eat pest snails....that's a plus for most people. And, come on, who wouldn't want to own a puffer fish?

And yes, they are absolutely adorable!

 

[MisterSnuffles]

They eat pest snails....that's a plus for most people. And, come on, who wouldn't want to own a puffer fish?

And yes, they are absolutely adorable!

Exactly what I think lol. Thanks for the tip!

 

[jmaldo]

Puffer in your title caught my eye.
Want to try something different.
About 7 weeks into my new 20 long planted puffer build. Still undecided on how many and what type. Have time while the plants are growing, got snails right now,. May add some shrimp in another month or so.

Good Luck!

 

[ProudPapa]

I have two of them in my heavily planted 40 gallon long community tank, and really enjoy watching them (along with shrimp). Once your mom watches them for 5 minutes she'll probably be hooked.

Yeah i get you. Im not 100% on board either because of their size but either way i gotta defend the little guys lol. I have cherry shrimp as an idea too but my mom also thinks its a bit weird. Mostly because you can have 50 of em in a ten. Im not sure what else i can do tho. In terms of stocking that is.

50? Really? It might interest you to know that I took 75 shrimp out of a 10 gallon tank a couple weeks ago. It wasn't anywhere near full, but there are probably at least that many left. It wouldn't be crowded with 300 shrimp.

 

[jmaldo]

JettsPapa
What type do you have?
Got pics?

 

[ProudPapa]

JettsPapa
What type do you have?
Got pics?

What type of what? Shrimp? If yes, I have blues, reds, and red rilis, and I just started a colony of yellows.

 

[jmaldo]

I have two of them in my heavily planted 40 gallon long community tank

What type of what? Shrimp? If yes, I have blues, reds, and red rilis, and I just started a colony of yellows.

Puffers?

 

[ProudPapa]

Puffers?

Pea puffers.

 

[Fisch]

Pea puffers.

Just to clarify, Pea Puffers in a community tank? Just with shrimp or what other fish do you have in that tank?

 

[ProudPapa]

Just to clarify, Pea Puffers in a community tank? Just with shrimp or what other fish do you have in that tank?

Yes, it's a community tank, with serpae tetras, pristella tetras, pearl gouramis, and Corydoras trilineatus, along with six or so amano shrimp, a colony of cull neocaradina shrimp, and an assortment ofsnails. It's also heavily planted.

 

[Basil]

I only keep one pea puffer in a 5 g so I’m not sure about 3 in a 10.
They are absolutely adorable and as personable as my betta.
I purchased the tank already set up with just the one puffer and 6 shrimp. I had no idea there were shrimp until I picked up the tank.
I’m a horrible shrimp keeper so now it only has the puffer. After the tanks settles after its rescape, I’ll probably try again with shrimp.
And yes, picky eater. She ate frozen daphnia…..once; won’t touch frozen shrimp. So she only eats small bladder and ramshorn snails and frozen bloodworms.