okay i have studied into them though i still need some help as i am a beginner and i know all of you are probably going to say hes a beginner he shouldnt have dps but you know i couldnt stand not to get them so i did. i curntely have them in my 5 gallon and they dont look very happy i want to put them in my 25 gal but im scared of fin nipping so i dont know what to do. they will not be in my 5 gal for very long as soon as i get some money im buying a ten gal and going to make them more happier so for now i just need help adivice and tips thanks.
i just got 2 new dwarf puffers
- Thread starter ftx9
- Start date
I'd get some blood worms for them, mine love those. You could try flakes until you get some food but don't count on it working, and if even if it does its not the best food for them. You will also need to feed them snails so their teeth stay worn down. Make sure you've got plants and caves so the puffers can set up territories or else they will start fighting with each other.
Have fun keeping your puffers!
Have fun keeping your puffers!
Rudy2860
Fish Fanatic
Try getting some brine shrimp (live if you can) as it isnt very good staple diet but it will jump start their appietite. Mine love small pest snails, you can normally get those from any lfs as they are unwanted for general little to no charge. I would really suggest heavily planting the tank with either fake or silk plants/ live plants(not sure on your take on live plants or knowledge) but either will do , you want to break up the puffers not your, line of sight to lower aggressiong between them.
About 2 caves per puffer is a standard as they will 'sleep' and pick territories with those.
Most puffers will only eat live food so you have to experiement, try frozen blood worms, live bloodworms ( if your lfs has them), snails ( a must for their constantly growing teeth!!! crunchy foods keeps it filled down much like a beaver) black worms , and ghost shrimp if they will eat it, in most cases they dont take an early liking to these but if they do make sure you 'gut load' ie feed the shrimps before you give them to your puffers , and because you have Dwarf puffs they will likely leave the body behind for you to clean which i woudl suggest you do to keep pollutatants from building up in the tank,
Now i know you just got a 10 g which is awsome but do you know about the cycling process? if you dont please , i beg you , please read the beginner threads on the cycling process as an uncycled tank is very bad for puffers.
About 2 caves per puffer is a standard as they will 'sleep' and pick territories with those.
Most puffers will only eat live food so you have to experiement, try frozen blood worms, live bloodworms ( if your lfs has them), snails ( a must for their constantly growing teeth!!! crunchy foods keeps it filled down much like a beaver) black worms , and ghost shrimp if they will eat it, in most cases they dont take an early liking to these but if they do make sure you 'gut load' ie feed the shrimps before you give them to your puffers , and because you have Dwarf puffs they will likely leave the body behind for you to clean which i woudl suggest you do to keep pollutatants from building up in the tank,
Now i know you just got a 10 g which is awsome but do you know about the cycling process? if you dont please , i beg you , please read the beginner threads on the cycling process as an uncycled tank is very bad for puffers.
dont worry i saved 5 gallons of cycled water from my other tank and then the other 5 gals were condition so its all good im going out to my lfs pretty soon so im gonna get some live blood worms and some snails okay thanks
bulldog188
Fish Fanatic
it's not the water that is cycled its the filter and the media contained within the filter so unless you are transferring an established filter from a tank that's up and running over to the new 10 gal then the tank will NOT be cycled.. please read the threads on cycling
myenigmaself
Fishaholic
A few things:
Cycling - it is not only the filter media but also the substrate that contains the bacteria needed to cycle. If you were to move one (or both) to your new tank it would jump-start the cycling process. bulldog is right, the water contains very little of the bacteria that process ammonia and nitrite. Also, if you add some live plants they will consume some of the nitrate reducing the number of water changes you will need to perform.
As for puffers, I've read many sources that say you need to feed your puffers snails to wear down their "teeth," but in watching my puffers eat snails I've noticed that they don't touch the shell. Rather, they just pull the snail directly out of the shell and pick 'em apart. My conclusion is that dwarf puffers don't need to wear down their teeth, but snails do provide a good source of nutrition for the puffers (and they seem to love to hunt them).
As was mentioned earlier, brine shrimp are a good way to jump start your puffer's appetites, but should not be their only source of nutrition. Think of the shrimp as a treat. Something you might want to do is set up your old 5g as a snail tank (that's what I did). Get a bunch of anacarus, or ask the lfs to give you some pest snails, and you'll have tons in no-time. Feed the snails anacarus, lettuce, spinach, or any other leafy green vedgie, and occasionaly throw in a piece of white chalk to promote shell growth.
Hope this helps, and best of luck with your puffers
Cycling - it is not only the filter media but also the substrate that contains the bacteria needed to cycle. If you were to move one (or both) to your new tank it would jump-start the cycling process. bulldog is right, the water contains very little of the bacteria that process ammonia and nitrite. Also, if you add some live plants they will consume some of the nitrate reducing the number of water changes you will need to perform.
As for puffers, I've read many sources that say you need to feed your puffers snails to wear down their "teeth," but in watching my puffers eat snails I've noticed that they don't touch the shell. Rather, they just pull the snail directly out of the shell and pick 'em apart. My conclusion is that dwarf puffers don't need to wear down their teeth, but snails do provide a good source of nutrition for the puffers (and they seem to love to hunt them).
As was mentioned earlier, brine shrimp are a good way to jump start your puffer's appetites, but should not be their only source of nutrition. Think of the shrimp as a treat. Something you might want to do is set up your old 5g as a snail tank (that's what I did). Get a bunch of anacarus, or ask the lfs to give you some pest snails, and you'll have tons in no-time. Feed the snails anacarus, lettuce, spinach, or any other leafy green vedgie, and occasionaly throw in a piece of white chalk to promote shell growth.
Hope this helps, and best of luck with your puffers
Pufferpack
Fish Herder
Although their teeth don't grow as quickly as some of the other puffer species, Dwarves do still need crunchy bits to keep them worn down. Even though they do usually pull the meat out of the larger snail shells, they will still get some crunchiness (anyone who has eaten Escargot can tell you about finding crunchy bits, especially if they are not cleaned properly), and they will crunch the shells of the smaller snails (about the size of their eye). You can also try adding a larger trapdoor snail for then to chew on. Mine usually chew through the shell and finally kill off the snail in about 5 months.
I started a colony of pond snails in a 10 gal tank, and after about 3 months it provides enough snails to keep all my puffers happy. Before that I would get the lfs to dig snails out of the plant tanks or the sump, just watch out for Malaysian Trumpet snails (shaped like icecream cones) as their shells are pretty hard and may break your puffers teeth. With your spare 5 gal you could get a handfull of pond snails from the lfs and dump them in to start your own colony. Use a little of the tubiflex every couple days to feed them (it will eventually end up on the bottom where they will clean it up) and put a small piece of lettuce or cucumber in the tank once a week to give them some variety.
Stryker
Fishaholic
From sainsbury's you can get a selection pack of seafood.... cockles, mussles, strimp, squid etc etc.
Some of those are really really tough, I figure adding those to the diet of my puffers helps with their beaks.
Some of those are really really tough, I figure adding those to the diet of my puffers helps with their beaks.
Rudy2860
Fish Fanatic
Most of those above mentioned strike me as being rather big so the dwarves might have some trouble or even be scared of something of that size, snails the size of their eye normally are chrunched. bigger sized snails tend to be picked out of the shells i find
most LFS will give or sell you pest snails for a very cheap price. You can also try breeding your own its very easy
most LFS will give or sell you pest snails for a very cheap price. You can also try breeding your own its very easy
crazywolf
Fish Fanatic
What kinda setup is needed to raise the snails? I mean can I buy a 2.5g or something and put in some gravel and call it a day? Do they need filtration? If you have a nice link that would be helpful.
Rudy2860
Fish Fanatic
a 2.5 g would be perfect (even a smaller container could be used ) for snail breeding and gravel is optional i woudl say no gravel because its easier to clean a bare bottom tank IMO
a steady temp. would be kept by a heater so that would be needed
you can do it with out filtration but you must do water changes pretty often( 2 days depending on the amount of food added) to keep wastes down as the organics that the snails feed on can degrade water quality fairly quickly
snails will readily breed in the abundance of food so that shouldnt be an issue
depending on the type of snail you plan to breed, pest snails being the best for DP's due to their small size would be ideal!
here are some links to snail breeding , i hope they work it seems most of the links i try to post to help are blocked
http/www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/snailsf...orpuffers.shtml
http/www.pufferfish.co.uk/aquaria/foods/snails.htm
i hope this helps!
a steady temp. would be kept by a heater so that would be needed
you can do it with out filtration but you must do water changes pretty often( 2 days depending on the amount of food added) to keep wastes down as the organics that the snails feed on can degrade water quality fairly quickly
snails will readily breed in the abundance of food so that shouldnt be an issue
depending on the type of snail you plan to breed, pest snails being the best for DP's due to their small size would be ideal!
here are some links to snail breeding , i hope they work it seems most of the links i try to post to help are blocked
http
/www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/snailsf...orpuffers.shtmlhttp
/www.pufferfish.co.uk/aquaria/foods/snails.htmi hope this helps!
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