Dwarf Puffers

[gggooo]

Dwarf puffers are they hard to look after
if i wanted 2 what size tank would i need
can they live on there own

 

[piper]

From what I have seen on this forum of late you will need:

5 Gal per puffer
I believe you can only feed them snails etc (not flake food)
They can live on there own
They are aggresive fish remember that

Serach the forum , Loads of info on them

 

[penguinpimp1990]

try posting in the oddballs section..... but aside from needing a regular supply of snails they are not hard to care for.... for 2 a ten gallon will do. and yes they can live on their own

 

[bogwood]

I'm setting up a 5 gallon for one dwarf... have a look here:

http/www.####/

 

[gggooo]

are they trop or reef
i think they are reef but can you get trop ones

 

[pica_nuttalli]

are they trop or reef
i think they are reef but can you get trop ones

erm, dwarf puffers are FRESHWATER-- no reefs involved, period. really, read up on them a bit more. this thread is an excellent place to start looking.

 

[Lexie3787]

Dwarfs need to get fed tiny snails once every 2 weeks. Otherwise they enjoy live or frozen bloodworms brineshrimp and blackworms as the occasional treat. If you do not feed them small snails every two weeks, their teeth will grow too much and it will cause them to starve to death. They are completely freshwater-no salt needed at all. Species only fish but some dwarfs can get along with corys. Etc etc etc. Im getting a dwarf so this is most of the info I looked up on this site.

 

[Fella]

Dwarfs need to get fed tiny snails once every 2 weeks. Otherwise they enjoy live or frozen bloodworms brineshrimp and blackworms as the occasional treat. If you do not feed them small snails every two weeks, their teeth will grow too much and it will cause them to starve to death. They are completely freshwater-no salt needed at all. Species only fish but some dwarfs can get along with corys. Etc etc etc. Im getting a dwarf so this is most of the info I looked up on this site.

I'd debate these factors. The growth of a dwarf puffers teeth is slower than the species most associated with snail diets, such as the Colomesus asellus, and while I feed mine snails, I certainly wouldn't say it was an absolute necessity, I feed on the basis it's tricky to get them to feed on much that isnt live, and the snails mimic part of their diet in the wild (or at least I'd like to think so).

With regards to tankmates, the most frequent tankmates I've heard of with dwarf puffers are Otos, Bumblebee gobys and live shrimp that they have decided not to eat. Corys are one of the tankmates I would have thought would have been picked on in particular, and I know I have seen other puffer owners having difficulty in keeping any bottom dwelling species with their fish.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

cory cats are reported to suffer more than most other puffer tankmates, probably due to their relatively slow movement and habit of twitching along the bottom looking for food. the little swish-swish of that dorsal fin is probably irresistable for a notorious fin-biting species like the dwarf puffer.

 

[Rocker]

I'd debate these factors. The growth of a dwarf puffers teeth is slower than the species most associated with snail diets, such as the Colomesus asellus, and while I feed mine snails, I certainly wouldn't say it was an absolute necessity, I feed on the basis it's tricky to get them to feed on much that isnt live, and the snails mimic part of their diet in the wild (or at least I'd like to think so).

With regards to tankmates, the most frequent tankmates I've heard of with dwarf puffers are Otos, Bumblebee gobys and live shrimp that they have decided not to eat. Corys are one of the tankmates I would have thought would have been picked on in particular, and I know I have seen other puffer owners having difficulty in keeping any bottom dwelling species with their fish.
[/quote]


Bubble bee gobys are actually BW fish and shouldn't be with dwarf puffers. Sorry

 

[Lexie3787]

I guess if the topic of dwarf puffers teeth is going to be debated, then we should edit the fish index on them because it says that exact thing on our forums-fish index-dwarf puffers.

BTW jus tlike Rocker said, they can not be kept with bumblebee gobies as these fish are brackish and dwarf puffers are completely freshwater.

 

[Fella]

Bumblebee Gobies are debated whether they are true freshwater or not. Please have a read of this link -

http/www.fishforums.net/lofiversion/index.php/t110035.html

"In the new Aqualog brackish water book by Frank Schaefer, the author spends a fair number of words stating his case that things like glassfish, wrestling halfbeaks, and bumblebee gobies are not brackish water fish. According to the author (who collects fish from the wild), glassfish are never found in brackish water but only in soft, acidic conditions similar to those inhabited by discus! The hobby, of course, generally recommends that these fish should be kept in brackish water.

Apparently, bumblebee gobies and wrestling halfbeaks also come from fresh, not brackish, water."

If the author has collected fish from the wild, in freshwater then I am certainly not opposed to keeping them in freshwater myself. I also thought that bumblee gobies were brackish water, and while there is argument for them being so in captivity (which I wouldn't argue), there is also capacity for them to be kept in freshwater in captivity. A more alkaline PH in hardwater is preferred, and being in a midlands area this is almost provided straight from my tap. Should I have any problems with them, I'll change them over to the spare tank I have should a problem arise.

 

[Lexie3787]

Well as I said in my first post, Im getting all this information from this site, mainly fish index.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i would say you could keep 2 puffers in a 5 gallon if you are experienced, and i dont think they need snails that often.

 

[Erised]

Being experienced has nothing to do with it. You having 10 years of experience with dwarf puffers does not mean that they'll look at you and go 'oh, I'll tolerate him in my territory, after all, the person that put him in my tank thinks we could be friends!'. The reason why dwarf puffers need 5G each is because of territorial dispute, not size or anything. Yes some people might pull off keeping 2 dps in a 5G, but that's simply luck, as much as it'd bad luck to not be able to pull off keeping 2 dwarf puffers in a 10G.