I have new dwarf puffers!!!

[Elisabeth]

I guess this is one for Pufferpack but if anyone else has any ideas...

Yesterday I was given 4 dwarf puffers which I'm keeping in a 10 gallon species tank. I've rearranged the things in the tank for them to give themsome caves and to break up their eyeline to stop them being aggressive. Is there anything else i need to do about the decor? Would they do better with sand rather than a fine gravel? Are plastic plants ok for them or do they need real ones?

Also their stomachs look a bit shrunken. Do they just need feeding up or do you think they have they got internal parasites? Should I wait and see before I try and medicate them, and if it is parasites, what medication should I use?
I've put a load of snails in for them and I've tried them on a few frozen foods and have put some live aphids in for them but the only thing that has got their interest so far is frozen bloodworm which they slurp up like spaghetti My lf gets live food in on Thurs so I'll be able to get some dapnia and brineshrimp for them then.

 

[Elisabeth]

Oh and another thing..

I'm not sure how to tell if they are male or female. I've heard that males have a black line or their belly which none of mine have so it could be that I have all females. But then I think I read somewhere that stress can change their colouring and as I've only had them for a day they'll still be stressed by the move. Is there any other way of sexing them?

 

[Tanked]

congrats on the new puffers, I have never had them, like you said question probably best for Pufferpack. lets see some pics!!!

 

[Phreaxer]

I have a puffer... lost one of the pair yesterday... but I can help you a little... about male/female. the males have a stripe along their belly.... vertical, and dark brown... stress gets this line to fade. So you may just have to give them some time to adjust to their new home... mine like froozen brine shrimp and snails... flake food gets ignored, and so does algae.... Good luck! they are some of the most personable fish I have ever seen... enjoy

 

[Elisabeth]

Thanks Tanked
They are gorgeous I'm going to see my folks house this weekend so I'll borrow my Dads camera and hopefuly put some pics of the puffers up next week.

 

[Pufferpack]

Hi Elisabeth...welcome to the wonderful world of puffer keeping

I've rearranged the things in the tank for them to give themsome caves and to break up their eyeline to stop them being aggressive. Is there anything else i need to do about the decor? Would they do better with sand rather than a fine gravel? Are plastic plants ok for them or do they need real ones?

Sounds like you have set up the tank to their liking . Puffers are fine with plastic plants as they use them to hide/sleep in, the only advantage live plants have that I know of is the snails usually hang out in the leaves and the puffers will spend all day hunting in the plants. Otherwise it makes no difference to the puffers.

Also their stomachs look a bit shrunken. Do they just need feeding up or do you think they have they got internal parasites? Should I wait and see before I try and medicate them, and if it is parasites, what medication should I use?

They probably just need feeding, I find the Dwarfs have a higher metabolism than some of the other species and therefore need to be fed a little more often. I feed mine a good breakfast and a small dinner and they seem to be chubby all the time. A couple of things to watch for when feeding: puffers will eat constantly if allowed, so keep an eye on their stomaches, they should look chubby before supper (not fat, but not shrunkin). If fed too much puffers can develop constipation which is known to be fatal for puffers.
Puffers also leave a lot of uneaten food on the bottom of the tank, they will pick at it some, but for the most part they only go after the free floating food, so you have to keep the bottom cleaned on a regular basis if you don't have any bottom feeders in the tank. Otocinclus are supposed to work well as tankmates and do a good job of cleaning the bottom. You could also look at some shrimp for a clean up crew, but you would have to constantly replace the ones eaten by the puffers
If they do have parasites (which I doubt as they are eating their bloodworms)
the best meds to use would be Discomed, by Aquatronics

I've put a load of snails in for them and I've tried them on a few frozen foods and have put some live aphids in for them but the only thing that has got their interest so far is frozen bloodworm which they slurp up like spaghetti

My little pack of Dwarfs would eat Bloodworms, Brine shrimp, and Mysis shrimp at first, but lately they ignore the frozen shrimps and mostly just eat the frozen bloodworms. am trying to introduse them to frozen Daphnia, but they haven't taken to it yet. I have read that they like blackworm as well (possibly even induces spawning) but haven't found any myself yet. I saw some frozen squid at the lfs the other day that I'm thinking of trying out, I'll let you know how that works out.

I'm not sure how to tell if they are male or female

Males do have a dark line running down the length of their bellies, but mine didn't develop this stripe until they were mature. 2 of my males displayed the same coloration as the females until maturity. A couple ways of telling them apart are the slope of the forehead (females have a flatter forehead while males are a little more streamlined) and males will usually have a little yellow tinge around their white bellies. You can see the differences in the mature puffers in these pics. My Dwarf Puffers