Puffers?

[bsmall05]

Ok so my boyfriend has taken to my fish addiction and now wants a tank of his own. The problem: he has always loved puffer fish and would like a few of them. The LFS has dwarf puffers but these guys look kinda scrawny and just sit in the bottom of the tank. Im looking for something thats FW and dosnt get huge. Any suggestions? Also what could go in with them? I have read that they can be quite aggressive. Thanks!

 

[Mahamotorworks]

There are some FW puffers. You will more the ofter find a Brackish Puffer. They require some MARINE Salt. F8Fan know more about them. I would do some reasearch before you buy anything. Some are best in a Piffer only tank.

MAHA

 

[burtoncb47]

my friend has an avocado puffer and all it does is chill on the bottom most of the time i think thats what most little FW or Brackish puffers do?? not sure tho...

 

[MissFishy]

Puffers should be active and curious. If it is just chilling on the bottom, it may be sick...

 

[burtoncb47]

really cuz my friends is always on the bottom we went to our LFS to check out the others to see if there was anything wrong with his one but they all were then we asked the owner he said thats how they are he has an avocado puffer

 

[Limi310]

Here's a list of FW puffers: Freshwater Profiles

 

[Steph_D]

I went through a few dwarf puffers before I could finally keep one alive. The trick, at least for me, was the get the fat and active ones. Those were the ones that I was sure were eating foods other than snails. I had 2 dp's in a 10 gallon tank with 3 neon tetras and some ghost shrimp. The shrimp disappeared from time to time and I would just get some more. They helped to clean up the mess after the puffers would eat snails. When I didn't have shrimp, cyano (green slime algae/bacteria) would build up in the tank and it was nasty. I loved my puffers but they were higher maintenance than regular fish, requiring frozen or live food. Mine were also very active and I had to keep a lot of plants in the tank for them to explore and to add hiding places for the shrimp.

 

[bsmall05]

thanks for all of the input guys! i think we are up for the challenge. he is going to start cycling the tank before christmas break and hopefully it will be finished in time for the new semester. i think he is leaning towards dwarf puffers but im hesitant because i read that they are endangered and would feel bad putting one in a tank :-/

 

[f8fan]

Dwarf Puffers aren't endagered...here's a quote from Dwarf Puffers : About Dwarf Puffers

LinearChaos writes - "Over the past couple of years I noticed the price of this fish decrease from $4.99/fish to $1.99/fish and asked the manager what caused the decrease because it was so drastic and if they were breeding the puffer. He checked with the regional manager who informed me that indeed they are breeding dwarf puffers."

 

[MOsborne05]

What size tank would you be putting them in? Like Steph said, make sure the tank is heavily decorated with plants, rocks, driftwood, etc. Puffers like to explore and they get bored when there is nothing to explore. They also like to 'ride' on the bubbles from a bubble wall. Ghost shrimp make good tankmates for them because they are cheap, and they provide a nice crunchy snack if the puffers decide to eat them. They also help to clean up the mess from the puffers.

 

[bsmall05]

we already have a five gallon, we were thinking about putting two dwarf puffers and an oto. he also have me permission to start playing with live plants in this tank!!! :-D. i dont have any experience with anything other than fish, what care do the shrimp require? also, what is the least expensive way of getting lots of snails that they can munch on?

 

[geekrockgirl85]

most shrimp usually eat fallen food that the rest of the fish don't get to, and detritus. they're pretty low maintenance.

i don't know the exact procedure, but i know a few people on here keep a small snail-growing tank.

i think if you just make sure there is something in there for them to eat, though, you wont' have a problem (you know, most people have a hard time getting rid of snails, not trying to procreate them )if your lfs has a few pond snail hitchhikers hanging around, i'm sure they will be more than happy to give you some to start your colony.

 

[MOsborne05]

Yeah all you need for snails is a container, a heater and lots of food. They will multiply like crazy!

 

[bsmall05]

i heard that if i buy a snail from the bigger chains that it will most likely already be pregnant and have babies. could i buy one for my larger tank and put the babies in with the puffers? do i have to cycle the smaller tank before putting the snails in? and will my loaches eat the bigger snail? thanks everyone for their input, im getting really excited about this!