Dwarf Puffer Pricing?

[gordi]

been looking at getting some dwarf puffer fish and around here ive only seen them in one place for sale! they are £30 for 2. is that expensive? because im sure ive seen them for sale privatly for like £5 or something

any help appreciated! ALSO: which are likely to go for more money! D.puffers or Fig of 8 puffers?

 

[iSnail]

Are you sure the ones you saw were Dwarf Puffers ? I saw them at Maidenhead Aquatics over the weekend selling at £2 each. Even full grown ones shouldn't cost that much since they grow very fast. I would say Dwarf Puffers are the cheapest of all puffers sold. I might be wrong

 

[treelo]

i paid about £11 for 6

and i also have 2 spare if you can get to Liverpool

 

[connorsbala]

At my lfs(where i work) they go for £4.95 but i got the DP, 4 balloon mollies(4 for 8.00) and 3 female guppies(1.75 each) all coming to £16.00 something and i got it all for £5.00

 

[Feral123]

at my lfs they sell dp for $1.69 each

 

[gordi]

they were red eyes puffas. i bought one! any advice on keeping these? also can you mix 2types of puffer in one tank!!

he only about 3cm now! how big will it grow?

 

[kpintheshed]

£4.00 at mine

 

[Maximus]

You should really research your fish before buying them

Red eyed puffers only get to about 2", and should NEVER be kept with other puffers,

Or other fish for that matter, with only small exeptions, dependant on your puffers personality.

Like all puffers they need pristine water conditions, so excellent filtration is a must, regular feeding of hard shelled foods and
a complex environment to keep them busy.


Again, puffers are very sensative fish and need a fully muture tank to thrive/survive.

How long has your tank been setup?
What do you have to feed him?
What tank setup does he have?
Are you keeping it with anything else?
Size, filtration, water stats are also good to know.


Please don't buy a puffer (or any fish for that matter) without knowing it's requirements and needs.



Maximus

 

[gordi]

its ok! i have been doing research! just the pricing i wasnt sure on tbh, my tank has been set up for a few weeks now! well planted tank with filter heater and all the needed water requirements, the tank was cycled with a few glowlight tetras so their still in there but they have been ok so far! any trouble n they will come out! as the tank was purely just for puffers! will eventually be getting another but will just get a redeye as uve said that i shudnt mix types!


feeding it on f.bloodworns n snails atm!

any more advice appreciated

 

[Maximus]

You say you've been doing research, but you didn't even know what type of puffer it was

Anyways, back on track.

A few weeks is a really short amount of time to be introducing a puffer, but theres nothing we can do about that now.

I'd take out the tetras right away, to save them the stress.

Redeyes can be kept together, with a large tank and only one male to about 4 females.

I tried to introduce a female to my tank, but she was shredded overnight.

Snails and bloodworm are a good option for food


What size tank is it?
What are the water stats?



Maximus

 

[gordi]

i wasnt unsure about the type just couldnt remember what they were at the petstore n thought if they were Dwarfs £15 each was expensive! how come the red eyes cost more? i spoke to the guy in the shop and he seemed to know abit about them n ensured me they were similar to care for to the dwarf. my tank is a 60cmx30cmx30cm i think! sand substrate base with plenty of live plants and rocks for hiding ! what else a i to be feeding him! might get some other frozen foods as i dont have the space for any live food in the house other than snails!

how do i establish wether its male or female?

 

[Maximus]

Sorry about that, I clicked to reply, and the forum crashed

Right, where was I?!

Oh, sexing is simple with there guys, males are dark grey/black with a strong pattern.

The male is on the left and female on the right:

http/puffernet.tripod.com/lorteti.html

Going by your diamentions, your tank is 85.59 US gallons or 71.26 UK Gallons. Thats a huge tank for a 2-3" fish.

Are you sure you got the measurements right? Just get a tape measure, simple


It's probably best to keep him on bloodworm and snails for a while, till he gets big enough to eat something else.

Oh, and where are the pics?!



Maximus

 

[Maximus]

Right, I've just seen your edit about the tank size.

That works out at 14.27 US gallons or 11.88 UK gallons.

Unfortunatly, thats too small for this puffer

Theres three species that this "red eye" could be:

Carinotetraodon borneensis

Carinotetraodon salivator

Carinotetraodon irrubesco

The most commonly traded of the above is C. irrubesco.

All of the above need at least 20 gallons. Thats still a push, 30 gallons being perfect.


A 14 gallon tank with a puffer and tetras is going to get some serious amounts of nitrites and ammonia, which is fatal to puffer fish.


Your best bet would be to trade in the puffer for credit, keep the tetras, to keep the tank cycled. And then,
When your lfs gets in DP's, you could trade in your tetras, and in the same day get your DP's.

Your tank would be perfect for about 4-5 DP though



Maximus

 

[gordi]

will just keep him on that food then! he ate the snail i gave hime yesterday but left the shell!! what the largest that it will grow!! its a female as looks the same as the one in the photos? any idea why these puffers cost more then? sure the guy in the shop said that you can keep Fig8 puffers in fresh water n could get one to go with the red eye as long as the tanks well planted with hiding places.. (this crap>?)

will get some pics!! shes abit shy atm, hides when i go near n comes out when im across the room haha!

ps. going to remove the glowlights

 

[Maximus]

It doesn't matter if you remove the glowlights, It's still far too small for this puffer

BUT, you can still have puffers, so dont worry!
Your tank is perfect for about 4-5 DP's as said above.


This lfs guy was lying to you. Figure 8's are brackish water. fact.

And they shouldn't be mixed with red eyes, for the same reasons.



Save yourself the money, and the puffers life by taking him back to the lfs, and getting Dp's



Maximus