Pea Puffers!

[djbrandon199]

i have a 10 gal tank and i thought of getting pea puffers
i did my research and found out...

.they like lots of plants and hiding spaces
.they don't eat flakes or pellets
.they are aggresive and prefer 3 gal per fish
.having a 2:1 female male ratio eases aggresion
.temp- 72-82f
.PH- 7-8.3
.they grow to about 1in

is there anything else i need to know?

/) /)

(")(")

 

[Shovelman]

*5gallons per puffer.

so in your 10g you could have 2. They are nasty little buggers and harder to sex unless fully mature


Edit: id highly recommend looking into over-filtering your tank

 

[djbrandon199]

thanks, should i only have 1 if i dont want them to breed

 

[Shovelman]

thanks, should i only have 1 if i dont want them to breed

umm well i haven't heard many reports of them doing so....as its not common...so no its fine to have 2 together... but be warned there still can be aggression even if its one male one female...

also its quite common for these guys to wither away when put into a tank due to internal parasites since most stores get wild caught specimens

 

[djbrandon199]

i also thought it would be cool to keep a freshwater crab to help with debris and algae
are there any that can live in the same conditions as the puffers (that means no land or salt)
i think not because im doing some research

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Nope. No crabs. I had pea puffers. They are really mean. I had two fully grown ones and they toke out 2 large pond snails.

 

[djbrandon199]

yeah i heard that there very difficult to breed in captivity
and, that they like plants because it helps them hide from the other to defend its "teritory"

@crazyforcordoras yeah i read that they'll attack almost anything

 

[Shovelman]

besides the fact that the puffers will eat almost anything, the crabs commonly seen are not fully aquatic nor fully freshwater to begin with...the only true completely freshwater non land crab that i know of are the Thai microcrabs but as stated, the puffers would then have a tasty and expensive snack...

 

[iSnail]

.they grow to about 1in

Some of mine grow/grew to almost 2 inches tip to tip and they are "bulky" so not all that tiny in boby mass terms.

*5gallons per puffer.

so in your 10g you could have 2. They are nasty little buggers and harder to sex unless fully mature


Edit: id highly recommend looking into over-filtering your tank

Coudn't agree more And... hope we are talking imperial/uk gallons.

yeah i heard that there very difficult to breed in captivity
and, that they like plants because it helps them hide from the other to defend its "teritory"

They are not difficult to breed at all. It's raising the fry that's difficult. Fry need to be raised separately or they will be eaten just like many other fish fry. Unless you have a massive mature heavily planted tank, you are unlikely to find any babies survive even if they spawn.

And lastly... NO crabs. You can try a breeding colony of shrimps though.

 

[djbrandon199]

thanks, i was also thinking would it get lonley if it was by itself (no other dwarfs) and, could i have tank mates (danios, tetras etc)

 

[djbrandon199]

oh! u.s gallons sorry!

 

[Shovelman]

thanks, i was also thinking would it get lonley if it was by itself (no other dwarfs) and, could i have tank mates (danios, tetras etc)

specie only in your size tank, and no they wont get lonely... i know plenty of people who keep single dps in 7g tanks and such...plus any other fish would become samplers for a potential buffet

 

[lilacamy931]

5 U.s. gallons for the first and 3 gallons for each additional was the rule I learnt but it varies so much in fishkeeping. I would keep just 2 in there and introduce at the same time, ensuring the decorations break up a lot of line of sight as they can be pretty aggressive towards each other depending on their personalities. As to breeding it can happen as with any fish you get if cant sex them but the likelihood with these can be pretty low (if you really dont want the breeding even a small risk go for one - these guys have oodles of personality). As to inhabitants, snails, shrimp, crabs will be pestered to death even if bigger as will cories. I managed to keep a couple of mine in a small community and it worked but it was a risk I was willing to take and also as a lot will mention around here it may seem ok for months but they can turn. If you only keep 2 in the 10 gallon with good filtration and water changes you will not need a clean up crew

 

[Shovelman]

5 U.s. gallons for the first and 3 gallons for each additional was the rule I learnt but it varies so much in fishkeeping. I would keep just 2 in there and introduce at the same time, ensuring the decorations break up a lot of line of sight as they can be pretty aggressive towards each other depending on their personalities. As to breeding it can happen as with any fish you get if cant sex them but the likelihood with these can be pretty low (if you really dont want the breeding even a small risk go for one - these guys have oodles of personality). As to inhabitants, snails, shrimp, crabs will be pestered to death even if bigger as will cories. I managed to keep a couple of mine in a small community and it worked but it was a risk I was willing to take and also as a lot will mention around here it may seem ok for months but they can turn. If you only keep 2 in the 10 gallon with good filtration and water changes you will not need a clean up crew

Not pointing you out or anyone, but in general. You shouldn't NEED a cleanup crew. Its not necessary in freshwater if your keeping up with regular maintenance.

 

[lilacamy931]

that was definitely my ending point