Dwarf Puffer - Which Tank?

[laura120381]

hi there,

i am thinking of buying a new tank just after christmas. after cycling, i would like to keep 1 dwarf puffer. space in my house is very limited so i would like the smallest tank possible (up to 25l). what tank do you recommend i buy for this purpose?

thanks in advance for the info.

L

 

[pkppv]

hi there,

i am thinking of buying a new tank just after christmas. after cycling, i would like to keep 1 dwarf puffer. space in my house is very limited so i would like the smallest tank possible (up to 25l). what tank do you recommend i buy for this purpose?

thanks in advance for the info.

L

In my opinion, you should really go atleast 40L

 

[thereverendturtle]

As long as it has a filter and heater, any one will do. They are extremely small so imo you could keep two maybe three in a tank of 25ltrs. Just my opinion though.

 

[onidrase]

As long as it has a filter and heater, any one will do. They are extremely small so imo you could keep two maybe three in a tank of 25ltrs. Just my opinion though.

I'm thinking more 1 per 5 gallons. 3 in that size is asking for trouble.


I'd aim for 10 gallons for 1 or 2 DP's, tbh. They tend to be messy and get bored rather easily. The extra room will help with both keeping them occupied and keeping the water clean.

 

[laura120381]

hi there and thanks for the replies.

i really do not have room for another tank any larger than 25l. i only intend to keep one dwarf puffer. i am quite scrupulous about water changes and know that smaller tanks are harder to keep stable. should i abandon the dwarf puffer idea altogether or would 1 be ok in a 25l tank.

thanks again,

L

 

[Liquid skills]

hi legally (depending what country ur in) if the animal can spin around 360' fully stretched out then you are ok but it is always better to have a bigger tank for fish rather then having like a betta box for a giant puffer lol

 

[pkppv]

hi there and thanks for the replies.

i really do not have room for another tank any larger than 25l. i only intend to keep one dwarf puffer. i am quite scrupulous about water changes and know that smaller tanks are harder to keep stable. should i abandon the dwarf puffer idea altogether or would 1 be ok in a 25l tank.

thanks again,

L

If I were you, id do it....but I dont recommend it...get my point?

 

[laura120381]

thanks liquid skills!! think i will attempt to provide a bit more space than is needed for a 360 degree turn!! legal...perhaps...viable...perhaps not!!! might just go for a wee shrimp tank instead!...and maybe keep the puffer in a thimble!!

thanks for all the replies! i will have a good think about what furniture i can get rid of to fit in a 45l and if its not going to work, i will abandon the idea!!

 

[minnnt]

LOL! What a load of codswallop! hahaha!! Sorry.

If you plan on giving it a fully planted 25 litre setup then it should be fine. Make sure you include plenty of variation though as they just end up pointlessly swimming up and down the glass in a nurotic fashion which is just as distressing for the owner as it is for the puffer.

 

[laura120381]

thanks minnnt! i was beginning to think i had gone really worng somewhere with my research and it was getting to the stage i was thinking of putting 1 dwarf puffer in a 200l tank!!

i had read that the absolute minimum tank size was 19l so i thought providing a few extra litres would be better. i intend on planting a 25l heavily, providing lots of hiding spots and changing the layout every so often to keep the little guy amused!!
i will also be carrying out a fish less cycle and water changes x3 weekly once the tank has cycled and the puffer is in there. most of these smaller tanks have internal filters and i have read that puffers are messy little critters!! which would be the best tank to buy filter wise and would it be wise to install a second filter to the tank?

thanks again, L

 

[MBOU]

I kept 2 Dwarf Puffers in a 4ft 240L tank with all my angels and discus LOL.

Was awful! Neighbour turned up and said "here, you keep fish... have free ones!" adn shoved one of those really thin sandwich badswith water but no air, a double knot and two very cold and very unhappy puffers!!

I Couldnt put fish from my smaller tanks in with bigger fish in the bigger tanks so after i found the little devil puffers hanging off my discus fins (adult huge discus big enough to swallow 'the peas' were all hiding in the corner). Logical answer.... move all the discus and angels into my other tank and hope they all got on together (they did!) and left 'the peas' in the 4ft.

They lived in there for a month on their own LOL i got seriously bored of them nasty aggressive little fish... id rather cuddle my stingrays, far friendlier!

But in all honesty, the only reason i actually moved them was because in a big tank, i seriously couldnt keep weight on them! I turned flow down, they ate from a worm feeder and got loads off food... but with too much space, they burn off too much energy and fat.. oh and they had been wormed btw...

Rehomed them to someone with a 30L tank. The pair of them did everything together and were just fine.

I think one puffer in a 25L tank with plenty to do is going to be more than fine!!

The trick will be finding a good enough small filter to cope with a fish that just isnt just really messy but its food is really high protein and manky! Hang on Back filters are great because you can put whatever you want in the filter to help

 

[laura120381]

thanks MBOU! i will have a look at 25l tanks and also buy a hang on the back filter for extra filtration. don't think i can have too much from what you are saying!!

thanks again for the advice!

L

 

[minnnt]

I would have thought the supplied filter would be adequate to deal with a dwarf puffer. Their mess isn't that much. I feed mine once every other day (sometimes every 2 days) and the water is perfectly fine. The thing you need to ensure is that you don't chuck too much food in the tank as this will lead to bigger problems.

 

[laura120381]

thanks minnnt. even better!! now i can spend more on the tank and plants!!

 

[minnnt]

Good! I found that they like to hide amongst plants rather than rocks/wood etc.