Do People Recomend Dwarf Puffers?

[fish are friends....]

I was think of changing my 120L tank into a tank for Dwarf Puffers!

Good idea or completly stupid.

I'v not had much experience with these lil critters!

Would I have to get rid of the bristlenose or would he be alright with them? I'll be getting rid of the rest of the fish in there tho.

Recomendations on plants ect?

Cheers!​

 

[DarkEntity]

read the sticky, if you havent already.

Puffers as a general rule dont play well with others, there are exceptions but you take your chance

 

[iSnail]

I love my DPs to bits. They have so much character.

Some people find them too small to look at in a big tank especially when there is very limited choice to what other tank mates you can add. In a 120 L, you can easily put 6-8 DPs in there as long as it's fully cycled and heavily decorated (planted and/or decors). Real or fake plants will do. They like plants with a bit of foliage so that they can perch/rest on when they sleep during the night but some DPs like sitting on gravel or just sitting in little hidy holes. Java fern, Ludwigia, sword plants are quite good.

I'm not so sure about the BN though. Their bristles looks too vulnerable since they look like snail antennae and snails are DP's favourite food. Have a read on the pinned topics. Lots of info.

It is very important that your tank is fully cycled before getting the DPs since they are quite sensitive little things. Also, be prepared in case you need to separate them due to aggression. They are very aggressive and territorial for their size.

Picky eaters - make sure you have snails, bloodworms, daphnia, etc. No flakes or pellets I'm afraid.

 

[fish are friends....]

It is fully cycled but i will probably do a 50% water change 2 weeks before I get them to make sure its free of any nasties!

Cheers for the help.

what ratio to male and female would be best.. i'v heard 3 females to every male.. is this correct?

 

[connorsbala]

I have 3 DPs, one male and two females....one male to 3 females is even better

 

[jennybugs]

Good luck on trying to correctly sex any DPs you get if they're really small

I have 3 and they're all females. Just bought a new tank for them to give them more room. Great little fish indeed

With regard to the planting, you'll need lots of them to break up the lines of sight within the tank. They're pretty sociable when young but will get more aggressive with each other and territorial as they get older.

Personally, the only thing I'd ever consider putting with DPs would be otocinlcus, and even then you'd need to keep a good eye on them for a while, setting the otos up in the tank before adding the puffs

 

[fish are friends....]

Okay cheers for the info!!

 

[geo7x]

To be honest, my opinion is that most of the time (especially in tanks above 10g) DPs are a bit of a waste of tank space, and they just make it look like the tank's empty. They do perhaps have the most 'personality' of any other <1" fish but as a centerpiece fish (which they have to be) their appeal is limited in my eyes.