Dwarf Puffs Your Stories

[Lhutch]

any1 have any fun/cute dwarf puffs stories,can anyone explain their behaviour, im leaning towards to getting some
i have a 40gal tank
i plan to get about 8
+ im getting a tiger plec
any1 know if i can get more???
umm overfiltered 55gal filter in a 40(i hope they dont get sucked in?)
will plant it,How much should the ration of plants to openness in the water be? 70/30 70 being plants
cycling now(going on vaca and when i come back if my starts are good i should be ready)

 

[Bufo Bill]

Hi, here's The Story Of Sanjay and Gupta (not coming to a cinema near you).

I bought my DP's a year and a half ago. I was initially told by the shop that as I had a 6 UK Gallon tank I could eventually fit 6 into my set up. It's amazing how little even respected fish shops know about their stock. After searching the web I decided two would be fine in my tank, and for a while everything was. The plants grew well and I introduced five little (2cm) amano shrimps to the set up. Several of you may have sucked in your breath and the more sensitive of you may have actually fainted, but despite my naivity and more bad advice the shrimps survived and prospered, even stealing bloodworms from under the puffers noses without even a nibbled antennae to show for it.
Then about 4 months ago things went all Night of the Living Dead on me. The little fellows had always had the odd scrap but things were getting out of control. Gupta had two really bad bites on him. I had another tank on the go (a ten UK Gallon) with some snails in, and the last of the big apple snails I had in there had died recently, so I decided to swap over the livestock. I planted up the ten Gallon, and medicated Gupta's bites. I got most of the Malayan Trumpet Snails out, but one or two met a some what grizzly end.
Fast forward to the present, and both fish are healthy and doing well. I have very little open water, perhaps six cubic inches and a narrow channel along the front, and for fish as aggressive as my pair ( some groups get along fine ), I think the more plants the better really.
As for behaviour, I think that it is important to look out for the fish side by side, flattening themselves into almost a tennis racket shape which is ended by one chasing the other off. If this happens often keep a look out for bite marks as this is often a prelude to fighting.
Whatever you do, don't be put off by my story as they are really great fish to keep, with real character and intellegence.
All the best from Bill

 

[treelo]

yeah, i agree

i currently have 6 in a 15gallon tank and have a 10 gallon cycling(STILL), but i will be moving 2 of them over once the cycling is complete

mine have also lived very happily with shrimp and ottos

 

[Lhutch]

Ya,can any1 answer my question tho, thanks!,keep the stories commin these fish are so cool,i just cant wait till im cycled

 

[treelo]

i wouldnt put a tiger plec in with a dwarf puffer, its just food once the puffer settles in

throw a few shrimp in there as well as 4 ottos and youll be ok

deffo no plecs though unless they are armoured

 

[Lhutch]

what about like african leaf fish i always see dp's in with them at my lfs, and what kinda of armor plec?

 

[sswm]

Generally I have heard that there is a 3-5 Gallon rule per puffer. MOST people learn towards the 5 gallon per puffer though, so I think that 8 will be good in a 40 Gallon tank.

Otto's seem to be a good companion for DP's. When I had shrimp in with mine, Every morning I would find another dead shrimp. But when I had otto's in with them, they were fine. It will all depend on the DP's personality. On that note, they have probably been the most interesting fish that I have kept. Once they figure out who you are, and that you are the one that feeds them, they will always come out to the glass to greet you. They are really inquisitive and are great fish

 

[treelo]

what about like african leaf fish i always see dp's in with them at my lfs, and what kinda of armor plec?

i wouldnt put anything in other than Amano Shrimp or Ottos

my dps have had no problems with either and dont nip at each other

 

[iSnail]

Cute fun puff stories ??? Don't know where to start It's better to let you find out yourself

Behaviour...... well..... you can't really generalise their behaviour... every single puff has it's own personality just like human. Some are very moody too. They are very responsive to their owners for obvious reasons - food. The little beggars will swim up and down up and down in front of the tank to attract your attention when you are near. Other times, they like to explore every nook and cranny in the tank. Very nosy things

Bed time - they defintely have some of the funniest sleeping positions and postures e.g. vertically with stomach attached to filter, bogwood, intake tube, vertically "inserted" into Java fern bush, resting on a plant leaf, etc, etc..... I have posted some sleepy puffer pics in the Fish picture section. Also, they are little sleepy heads and need time to warm up in the morning.

They get hyper when they see their favourite food. Mine love snails and live daphnia. They simply go into "attack" mode.

Regards to tank mates, I only have them with Amano shrimps. Any fast swimmers will simply harass and irritate them too much. Feeding would be a nightmare too. I've never kept plecs so no idea if any are compatible.

 

[treelo]

isnail, grab a few ottos, they are prefect in a DP tank

 

[iSnail]

Yeah, I have looked around for them but never seem to find any whenever I wanted to buy some but will definite give them a try

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

I had one in a 10 gallon. It wouldn't eat, and ended up dying. I think this was due to over grown teeth. Bought him for 10 dollars and in a week he was gone.

 

[iSnail]

I had one in a 10 gallon. It wouldn't eat, and ended up dying. I think this was due to over grown teeth. Bought him for 10 dollars and in a week he was gone.

I'm sorry to hear about your puff It's uncommon for DPs to have overgrown teeth but it does happen I heard Thought I would add a little joy to the DP story board Baby puffs about a week old

 

[syntax_error]

I'm sorry to hear about your puff It's uncommon for DPs to have overgrown teeth but it does happen I heard Thought I would add a little joy to the DP story board Baby puffs about a week old

WOW nice!!!

 

[treelo]

I had one in a 10 gallon. It wouldn't eat, and ended up dying. I think this was due to over grown teeth. Bought him for 10 dollars and in a week he was gone.

I'm sorry to hear about your puff It's uncommon for DPs to have overgrown teeth but it does happen I heard Thought I would add a little joy to the DP story board Baby puffs about a week old

superb that is mate

what are you feeding the babies?