I'm Going To Re-do The Popular Question

[Big_eyes]

I have a 150ltr tank with a bottom end containing- 5 clown loach (soon to be gone) 3 chain loach and 4 oto's.

Now here comes the question...................................................



wait for it...............................................













I fancy a puffer, would a dwarf/small ish one be ok with the fish I have in what is a lovely well planted with plenty of hiding places tank?

 

[nmonks]

The only puffers that would be options here are the South American puffer and the irrubesco puffer. Each has its pluses and minuses. SAPs are definitely nippy. Not the worst (my Ameca splendens nipped even the SAPs, making them very shy and unhappy). But they do nip. In a tank with lots of rocks and plants, loaches and Otocinclus should be fine.

As for irrubesco puffers, they're not easy to find, and many pet stores confused them with Carinotetraodon lorteti, a much more aggressive pufferfish. At least some of the "psycho irrubesco puffer" stories must surely come down to confusion between these species. Generally, most irrubesco puffers (if not, perhaps, all of them) are territorial but otherwise relatively placid fish that get along well with fast-moving tankmates. Mine live happily with cherry-fin loaches, glassfish, and various other brisk little fish.

Others may have different experiences. While puffers are generally predictable, sometimes they do act unusually, for reasons that aren't altogether clear but may have to do with aquarium size, decoration, tankmates, perhaps even the foods being offered.

Cheers, Neale

PS. 150 l is a bit small for SAPs, in my opinion.