dwarf puffer

[jaarus]

Hello,
I want to keep dwarf puffers and you guys on this forum seem to know all about em!

so--
I have a 30 litre tank and was wondering how many I can pop in there?
Hoping for 2-3 ( is that ok?)

I know they like their space so I am reshuffling the tank to make little sections they can claim etc its quite heavily planted now with a small cave as well....should I add another cave (1 each) or would one be ok in the 'forest'?

Also, a list of what food they like and special treat munchies for them would be brilliant so I dont look like a muppet ordering snails too big at the LFS etc!

I really hope I can get 2 of em... they are fantastic little fish

 

[Erised]

Hey

First off, I recommend you read up on dwarf puffers, a search on this forum will get you far

Second, your 30L tank works out to about 8 Gallons, ... seeing as the thumb rule tends to be 5G a dwarf puffer, this would be slightly too small for 2 dps. This has to do with their aggression towards eachother ... when young they'll get along fine, but when maturing they'll start getting aggressive towards eachother. However, if you have another 5G laying around, or are willing to buy one if needed ... I'd say you can get away with trying to keep 2 in that tank. Keep a close eye on them though, chances are that in a couple of months they'll start nipping eachother, chasing eachother and if it comes to the worst, kill the weakest one if you dont get to it in time.

Dwarf puffers indeed want their own territories, so the loads of plants and caves will be a very good idea Can I also recommend a sand bottom? They like to rest on the bottom and some even burry themselfs ... so sand is best, because gravel might cause cuts.

Feeding I'd say ... live or frozen bloodworms for a main diet, snails (all cept for malasian trumpet snails, their shell is too hard for them and might break their teeth) twice a week (I tend to give them 3 snails the size of their eye or smaller, at that size they'll eat the shell as well, which will keep their teeth down). You can give them occasional treats in the form of dapnia, brine shrimp, shrimp or whatever you can find and they'll eat.

Last of all, dont keep anything in with them ... puffers are not community fish and are likely to hurt if not kill all else in their tank.

 

[jaarus]

great thanks!

are they ok on their own? would you suggest male or female (patterns etc) if I was to buy only one?

 

[jaarus]

great thanks!

are they ok on their own? would you suggest male or female (patterns etc) if I was to buy only one?

I read somewhere that they need 2-3 gallons per fish, 3-5 gallons per fish, 5 gallons per fish and an article in a magazine (that someone mentioned on these forums said) 1 per gallon was fine for dwarfs



Little lost now - want two, some people think its ok some dont

Assuming I can have only one fish for aggro reasons.... is there a type of puffer thats a bit bigger but not too large for my tank? -one 1" fish in there would look a bit silly!

 

[Erised]

No, sorry ... there is no other type of puffer suitable for a 30 litre tank. Personally, I'm one of the persons that goes with "5 gallons per puffer" ... simply because aggression is high in anything smaller. A puffer can be kept on its own and be perfectly happy

If you really want 2, you can give it a try ... just make sure you have an extra 5 gallon incase it doesnt work out and they start hurting eachother after a couple of months. You'll have to seperate them then.

If you would go for 2, I'd suggest either 2 females or 1f & 1m (males have black stripes on their belly and wrinkels behind their eyes). Just keep a very close eye on them for the first year at least though. If going for 1 ... it doesnt really matter. It really depends on personality then ... my female dp is soooo much more fun than my male, because she tries to get in contact with us way more (he hides) .... she's up front of the tank begging for food all the time. However, before I had a male that did the exact same ... so no difference there.