Nano Tank Ideas

[noobfish]

Our member @Boundava keeps puffers, maybe she'll pop in with some advice

Hopefully so. I'd like to know a little of what I would be getting into first. You can read online all day, but hands on experience seems more valuable!

 

[Essjay]

Apparently I need to work on my cm->in conversions

Don't forget we have a calculator section on here which converts all sorts of things:
cm/inches
litres/US gallons
deg C/deg F
ppm/dH (though it calls it mg/l CaCO3 instead of ppm)

Calculator

 

[FF_Member146894]

That said, does anyone have one? Where do you get your snails for feeding? I assume common pond snails would be the way to go. I imagine otherwise it would get rather expensive.

i don't think dwarf puffers crush the shells like other species, so feeding snails isn't a priority, but it's still good for them.
you can just keep a breeding tank with LOTS of pest snails in it
how are you going to manage sneaking snails into work though?

 

[thrujenseyes]

Still not sure if the shrimp will be enough "action" for me. This is going in my office so it needs to draw my attention away from the actual work I should be doing.

They’re more active than most fish.
They’re the busiest little creatures and when they have eggs, it’s really fun to watch them turn into the tiniest babies ever.
The only fish I’ve been able to keep with them completely peacefully have been ember tetras. They completely ignore each other.
And the colors of the shrimp mixed with the color in the tetras really make a fun little viewing experience when you have plants and such in there.

 

[noobfish]

i don't think dwarf puffers crush the shells like other species, so feeding snails isn't a priority, but it's still good for them.
you can just keep a breeding tank with LOTS of pest snails in it
how are you going to manage sneaking snails into work though?

Now I'd have to get another tank for snails?!?

I'll just let em hitchhick in my lunch box

 

[FF_Member146894]

dwarf puffers enjoy a good group, but you can't fit more than one in a 5g
i wouldn't get the puffer because they would only be stressed when alone

 

[noobfish]

That's why I don't like the internet and don't believe what I read on most sites, you never know who wrote it. SF says they can be kept alone and don't do too well in community tanks

 

[Circus]

I have a duo of dwarf puffers in my 15 gallon column tank. I think the biggest problem with keeping them alone is that they get bored, I ended up drawing different suff on the outside of the tank every day, like some people do with betta fish. My two females only actually interact with one another when it comes to feeding time, one always wants the others bloodworm or shrimp or snail. The problem with a group, though, is that males can get fed up with each other and fight. My two males ended up killing each other once they were full grown.
I kept a single female in a 10 gallon for a couple of months and she acts just the same as with her current companion. They will both follow me around the tank, and are very inquisitive of their surroundings.

As far as feeding them goes, mine get fed M/W/F, from a variety of frozen or rehydrated bloodworm, brine shrimp, chopped krill, or live snails. Rams horn, baby mystery snails, or common pond snails. They actually kind of slurp or pull them out of the shells, rather than crushing. I tried feeding them some baby cherry shrimp, but they never even tried to eat them. So now I have four cherry shrimp living with them, going on two months now.

*Edit
I also have several larger snails into their tank. Nerite snail, black devil spike snail, trumpet snails. Any of the larger variants are left alone, but they will eat the baby trumpet snails if they catch them extended out of the shell.

 

[noobfish]

I think the biggest problem with keeping them alone is that they get bored, I ended up drawing different suff on the outside of the tank every day, like some people do with betta fish.

That's awesome, never heard of that. Just use dry erase markers?

As far as feeding them goes, mine get fed M/W/F, from a variety of frozen or rehydrated bloodworm, brine shrimp, chopped krill, or live snails. Rams horn, baby mystery snails, or common pond snails. They actually kind of slurp or pull them out of the shells, rather than crushing. I tried feeding them some baby cherry shrimp, but they never even tried to eat them. So now I have four cherry shrimp living with them, going on two months now.

I've read conflicting information on them needing snails to sharpen their teeth. If their not crushing shells than this apparently is not the case, though it seems snails are still good to feed occasionally for stimulation and variety of diet. Would that be correct? I've also read that if you dump 10 pond snails in at once they will immediately eat them all rather than pace themselves. Is this true as well?

 

[NannaLou]

Now I'd have to get another tank for snails?!?

I'll just let em hitchhick in my lunch box

And so the MTS raises its head again…for yet another very valid reason

 

[noobfish]

WOOHOO! Looks like I'll be doing a little shopping for plants this weekend.

 

[noobfish]

And so the MTS raises its head again…for yet another very valid reason

So I know a lot of nothing about snails, but it would seem that MTS is not a favorite. What makes them worse than a nerite or any other?

 

[Slaphppy7]

So I know a lot of nothing about snails, but it would seem that MTS is not a favorite. What makes them worse than a nerite or any other?

I think @NannaLou was referring to
Multiple
Tank
Syndrome

 

[Slaphppy7]

So I know a lot of nothing about snails, but it would seem that MTS is not a favorite. What makes them worse than a nerite or any other?

They aren't harmful, and they benefit the substrate/plants by tilling through the substrate...the problem is they breed out of control, quickly, and you'll have hundreds before you know it....unsightly.

Many say don't overfeed, and they won't overbreed....that's not always true...I have a 10G, well planted tank with ember tetras and WCMMs, they gets fed a small amount every two or three days...and the MTS in that tank are everywhere....hundreds of them

 

[noobfish]

I think @NannaLou was referring to
Multiple
Tank
Syndrome

Too many similar acronyms