My dwarfs just won't get along

[WheelmanCA19]

My dwarf puffers school together sometimes. Its was the funniest thing I ever saw when I moved them from my 20 community to their 10 gallon tank. I thought they'd be busy fighting over terrorioty, but no, the all explore it together. Everyonce in a while they will want some space, but usually, they're swimming around togehter.

 

[LittlePuff]

I keep dwarf puffers. If you don't get too many males 2.5gal per pff is fine. I've kept mine like that and so do others.
visit The dwarf puffers
GSP's need about 30gal each.
visit the puffer forum.

Kim

 

[GP]

We'll have to agree to disagree on this..

As I actually keep Dwarf Puffers, I know from experience that they need lots of room and 5g for two is not enough.

6g for one GSP isn't enough either, but you're a betta keeper and are used to keeping fish in tiny prisons anyway... but that's another argument for another day.

Sorry if now I'm being rude, but so many people seem to think more about how the fish can be kept and not enough about how they should be kept.

*prepares himself for flaming*

He's the size of a DP right now, and is moving into a 29-35 gallon within 2 months.

I'm not going to flame, what will it prove? All I know is that males are more aggressive, especially when nearing and during spawn season.

 

[SirMinion]

All I know is that males are more aggressive, especially when nearing and during spawn season.

Where are you getting this info?

I'm getting mine from personal experience, and from a book by Dr Klaus Ebert, a pufferish specialist who has been keeping puffers for 45 years.

Here's a direct quote:

When newly introduced to the aquarium dwarf puffers will swim in a loose shoal and investigate their new suroundings together.
After a few days their behaviour changes: as they become increasingly familiar with their surroundings the group spilts up and the invividual fishes begin to chase each other...However, this intraspecies aggresion is not related to sex.

Dr Ebert then goes on to cite the fish's husbandry requirements:
Temperature: 22-25c
pH: 6.5 - 7.2
Light: Bright
Decor: Planted aquarium with rocks & wood.
Minimum tank size: 40 -80 litres (10.5 - 21 USG) per fish

Here's a picture of the genders to help TorPeteO

2.5gal per pff is fine. I've kept mine like that and so do others[/i]

I'll repeat myself then: Just because they can be kept like that, doesn't mean that they should.
I'm guilty of this myself, our fearsome foursome are in a 20g tank, not the 40g that Dr Ebert recommends.

 

[GP]

http/www.rr.iij4u.or.jp/~kohda/en/en-dwarfpuffer.htm

Male's Behaviors in Spawning Season
Doing Serious Fight With Another Male

I saw such a fight once, then I worried that if the two males would being together as they are, they would doing fight to death, so I moved the one male and two bride candidates to the other tank. Because of this, I'm not sure whether they do fights to death or not if they were in a same tank for a long period in a spawning season. But I can say it should be considered that separating males in the season. The fight is as follows:

Two males started pecking each other (that is a little fight as usual). A few second later, they two males transformed flatly as if his body was pressed from the side. (this photo had been taken when he started such a transformation and would fight with the other one on the other side of the partition. this was taken at another day.) They ran on the same circle about five rounds. Then they clashed. One bit left side of belly of the other very hard and they gone down behind a mass of willow moss. A few seconds later, they got out of the moss and gone away. After that, I looked at left side of belly of one was bitten, there is something like a wound or wrinkle.

 

[SirMinion]

http/www.rr.iij4u.or.jp/~kohda/en/en-dwarfpuffer.htm

Fair enough, we're both getting our info from seemingly valid places, people's experiences differ I guess.

.. but 5g is still too small for two dwarf puffers.

 

[GP]

http/www.rr.iij4u.or.jp/~kohda/en/en-dwarfpuffer.htm

Fair enough, we're both getting our info from seemingly valid places, people's experiences differ I guess.

.. but 5g is still too small for two dwarf puffers.

We'll just have to see if 2 DP can live happily in my 6 gallon.

 

[SirMinion]

We'll just have to see if 2 DP can live happily in my 6 gallon.

And again a third time:
people think too much about whether they can and not about whether they should

 

[TorPeteO]

Well, I moved Greep into a hospital tent in the 15 gallon community tank on August 31. She looked like he was getting better at first, and was eating a bit, but never ate enough. She didn't gain any of her former weight, and continued to look emaciated. Today she died, after a long struggle. I was considering putting her out of her misery several times, but when I would she just wouldn't let me give up hope. I, personally, will never try to put two DPs in a five gallon tank again.

But when I get that 15 gallon, I'll have a few. Poor little bugger.

 

[SirMinion]

Poor Greep, but she's in a better place now.

Sorry mate.