Pea puffers with mollies???

[carligraceee]

Hey all!

PSA: If you follow my threads you know I have a water issue right now so know I am NOT getting new fish until this gets sorted out.

However, for when I can introduce new fish to my tank, I want to know which would go well with my remaining two mollies and a platy.

I looked up Pea Puffers and fell in love. They are the CUTEST things I have ever seen.

However, I am not sure if they will go well with my mollies and platy (I also have two Platy babies growing right now and I am guessing it'll be another month before they are able to be introduced into my tank because I am being safe).

So, do Pea Puffers go well with mollies and platys?

If not, is there any fish like them that will go well with my current fish?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

No, pea puffers should only be kept with pea puffers. Sorry... I know they are really cute.

 

[carligraceee]

Thank you for letting me know. That is so sad!!! Any species that look a lot like them that are good with the fish I have?

 

[WarmAris]

Found this article. I hope it helps you out! Scroll down to the dwarf pea puffer tank mates.

Pea Puffer (Dwarf Pufferfish) Care & Species Profile

The pea puffer is a small and intelligent freshwater fish that is sure to make a great addition to any tank. Native to India, the pea puffer is one of the smallest, most unique pufferfish

www.fishkeepingworld.com

Thank you for letting me know. That is so sad!!! Any species that look a lot like them that are good with the fish I have?

 

[Colin_T]

All puffer fish are fin nippers and should be kept on their own for that reason and the following reason. When puffer fish get stressed out they can release a poison into the water and that will kill everything in the tank.

---------------------
What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.
Tetras, barbs, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm).

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies) occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

 

[WarmAris]

I would trust what Colin_T is saying.

 

[carligraceee]

All puffer fish are fin nippers and should be kept on their own for that reason and the following reason. When puffer fish get stressed out they can release a poison into the water and that will kill everything in the tank.

---------------------
What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.
Tetras, barbs, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm).

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies) occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

Oh wow this is so informative. I have hard water.

I am currently keeping two mollies and a platy but I want to get different fish soon. If I have to just keep mollies then that is fine since they are so pretty. But I love the look of pea puffers and would love to know of any other fish species that will get along with mollies that look a lot like pea puffers.

 

[Fishiemang]

Man....

Ok. This is something I have quite a bit of experience in.

We don't need this kind of negativity in our lives.

Ignore those.who are naysayers. They have not done it, because they have read something somewhere or for whatever reason.....

I am here to tell you the truth!

Currently, I have a 30 gallon aquarium. It has pea puffers in it. Had them in there for a couple years. Also......wait for it........a julie cory and.......an albino bristlenose pleco........and......wait for it......MOLLIES.

YES! You can indeed have pea puffers in with mollies, and whatever other smaller fish you like. They will indeed cohabitate peacefully. Pea puffers are actually very peaceful, timid fish. They won't attack anything that can swim away, or is bigger. They LOVE snails, and bloodworms as treats. They are pretty cool fish to have actually.

You see....I.read all over online.....oh they are this and that....NOPE. I dunno what those people had issues with, but it weren't dem dere puffers fault. I just, like most things I do, tried it.

I believe in at least 5 impossible things before breakfast!

You can mix these little.fellas with other fish. Puffer only is a myth with these guys. Feed them plenty of "pest snails" from your local petsmart (I get them free by the bag full) and they will be happy little fish. They won't bother anyone else in the tank. Or each other for that matter. Make sure you have plenty of decorations/plants ect so you break sight lines cause they will chase each other once in a while at first, but after 2 years, they all hang out together and party. They go on snail patrol together when I drop a bunch in. It's fun to watch.

 

[Kyle E.]

So there are many fish like this. Ex: They say it is a bad idea to put betta splendens (especially males) in a community aquarium. I currently have a male betta in my 30 gallon community aquarium and he gets along perfectly with the other fish.

However it depends on several factors. If your tank is bigger then there is less risk of problems because the tank is big enough that the fish can spread out and not bother each other. Your tank is 10g which is much smaller than @Fishiemang 30g. A lot also depends on your fish's personalities. Some fish that are supposed to be peaceful can sometimes just have a really nasty personality and bully every fish in the tank, or supposedly aggressive species can sometimes be very nice to all the other fish.

Now I am not pea puffer expert by any means but if what @Colin_T said is true and they are fin nippers then mollies would be on the better end of the spectrum to keep them with. Something like a betta or gourami that are slow swimmers with large delicate fins are a big no no with fin nippers. A molly is a faster swimmer and doesn't have quite as delicate fins.

Like I said don't take my advice for fact but I would say it is quite a risk. It might work out or it might end up being very bad. If you did decide to go with it definitely have a back up plan. If it doesn't work then you need to find something to do with the puffers as you can't just leave them in there if they are going to be jerks.

I personally wouldn't risk it but it could work out. At least have a backup plan.

 

[Fishiemang]

I missed the 10 gallon part......

Yea....you need a.bigger tank for just the puffers. They like to roam.

 

[Colin_T]

Without knowing what the GH is in numbers (eg: 300ppm), I will not comment further about fish compatibility.

-------------------
I don't know what the tank dimensions are but if it's a standard US 10 gallon tank (I didn't see anything in the threads about the tank size), it is probably a bit small for mollies, depending on the type of molly.

What are the tank dimensions (Length x Width x Height)?

 

[carligraceee]

I missed the 10 gallon part......

Yea....you need a.bigger tank for just the puffers. They like to roam.

That is what I was thinking. I will one day have Pea puffers because they are just SO CUTE but for now I will stick with the smaller fish like mollies, guppies and I was thinking about some small bottom feeders!

 

[carligraceee]

Without knowing what the GH is in numbers (eg: 300ppm), I will not comment further about fish compatibility.

-------------------
I don't know what the tank dimensions are but if it's a standard US 10 gallon tank (I didn't see anything in the threads about the tank size), it is probably a bit small for mollies, depending on the type of molly.

What are the tank dimensions (Length x Width x Height)?

It is standard US gallon and my mollies aren't very big. They have been very happy with their 10 gallon tank since they came from a five gallon tank and were even happy in that one!

I have decided to work on getting small fish, but I would like two bottom feeders that do not grow into gigantic fish. Any suggestions?

 

[Fishiemang]

Are we talkin the same fish?

Pea puffers fully grown are about 1 inch. Give or take.

The issue isn't their size. They require more space. Minimum of 29 gallon. You could put 4-6 of them in a 29 gallon comfortable with plenty of decoration and plants.

Mollies get much larger. They can grow up to 4 inches. They require a larger tank as well.

You cannot put much into a 10 gallon and not have an endless litany of upkeep. You can heavily plant it, but still, you are limited to a handful of smaller breeds. Like some neon tetras, or a few glo fish. Maybe an invert tank. Bout it.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

It would be OK to do three in a 10g tank.

Man....

Ok. This is something I have quite a bit of experience in.

We don't need this kind of negativity in our lives.

Ignore those.who are naysayers. They have not done it, because they have read something somewhere or for whatever reason.....

I am here to tell you the truth!

Currently, I have a 30 gallon aquarium. It has pea puffers in it. Had them in there for a couple years. Also......wait for it........a julie cory and.......an albino bristlenose pleco........and......wait for it......MOLLIES.

YES! You can indeed have pea puffers in with mollies, and whatever other smaller fish you like. They will indeed cohabitate peacefully. Pea puffers are actually very peaceful, timid fish. They won't attack anything that can swim away, or is bigger. They LOVE snails, and bloodworms as treats. They are pretty cool fish to have actually.

You see....I.read all over online.....oh they are this and that....NOPE. I dunno what those people had issues with, but it weren't dem dere puffers fault. I just, like most things I do, tried it.

I believe in at least 5 impossible things before breakfast!

You can mix these little.fellas with other fish. Puffer only is a myth with these guys. Feed them plenty of "pest snails" from your local petsmart (I get them free by the bag full) and they will be happy little fish. They won't bother anyone else in the tank. Or each other for that matter. Make sure you have plenty of decorations/plants ect so you break sight lines cause they will chase each other once in a while at first, but after 2 years, they all hang out together and party. They go on snail patrol together when I drop a bunch in. It's fun to watch.

I’m sorry, but I respectfully disagree with your pea puffers notion. Your stock is not compatible, for the fish you have in your tank. What is the hardness of your water? (pH and GH)

As @Colin_T said, pea puffers are fin nippers and will nip just about everything that you put in the tank. They have very sharp beaks that will destroy a fishes fins. I actually didn’t know about the poison they released when stressed - that is cool and deadly at the same time.