New Puffer Tank - advice please :)

[KarlosFandango]

Hello all,

OK, over the last few weeks I have been transfering all my community fish into a 75 UK gallon tank. They are all in happy and settled, so that just leaves me with a 20 UK gallon tank, with Eheim 2324 (Pro Thermofilter?) external filter, empty.

I am hoping to use this tank for dwarf puffers, species only. I have a few questions though:

1) The water in the tank is cycled, apart from the water change I did yesterday. Ammonia & Nitrite are both 0, and pH is 7.4 - water hardness is around 7-8 level. What pH do dwarf puffers like, and also hardness - I have a buffer, so advise as to suitable levels please.

2) What temperature do they like?

3) Could you please recommend as to types/makes of foods they like - I am hoping they will eat frozen bloodworm, etc, but do they like pellets too - if so what sort?

4) Should I supply anything in the tank for them to keep their beaks short? What food does help with this?

5) How many DP's could I have in my 20 UK gallon tank?

6) Any recommendations as to places to buy DP's, as I don't want to get fobbed off with a baby Fahaka - somewhere reputable with healthy specimens in East Anglia would be great.


I have been reading lots of the threads on here, regarding puffers, but couldn't see any particular answers to my questions - hope you guys can help .

 

[SirMinion]

Dwarf Puffers are pretty adaptable to any water parameters as long as it's clean.
Temperature sould be the same as for a community tank.

I very much doubt that they would eat pelleted foods, but will happy feed on frozen bloodworm, although you may have to acclimatise them first with live blood worm.

They will also take adult brine shrimp & dapnnia.

Ours have never eaten any dried foods.

For their teeth, it is important to give them a stady supply of snail hatchlings, ones that are small enough to be crunched up.

Large snails can also be offered, but these will be sucked out of the shell instead of crunched up.

I would say four puffers should be fine in a 20g tank, and still leaves room for a couple of bristlenose plecs for algae duty and clean up crew.

And finaly, where to get them from. Therein lies a problem.

We also live in East Anglia, and we have not seen dwarf puffers for over a year now. It went from everyone having them to no-one almost overnight.

Some stores have taken to buying in juvenille greenspotted puffers and selling them as dwarfs. Be carefull what you buy!

 

[jflowers]

Hi

The wyvale garden center in crowland near peterborough has a maidenhead aquatics center inside and they have three types of FW dwarf puffer. Not sure of all the names but one is colosomus a. that grows to about 15cm. the others are all smaller. If you can do brackish, then the waterzoo in peterborough has a few too.

Jon

p.s. the wyvale and waterzoo are worth a visit just to see thier display tanks

 

[Puffer_freak]

I think you mean collemesus assellus (sp?) and they are not a dwarf puffer.
They are South American Puffers (SAPuffers) and you are right, they do grow to about 15cm.

Dwarf Puffers only grow to about 2.5cm (1").

HTH!

 

[jflowers]

Yes, there the ones, meant to say that they were not dwarf, the others were though and can now say that the brackish ones i mentioned are figure 8.

Jon

 

[ingo_1978]

I would put a figure 8 in with some bumblebee gobies and then gradually add salt until you reach an sg of 1.005.