puffer fish

[kissez_61]

hey guys i was a t walmart the other day and i saw the tinyest puffer fish in the tank with some neons. i was tempted to get it but i know nothing about them. soooooo wat do you guys know about them? tank temp tank mats , how many gals, ph, ect.

 

[a1wonder]

puffer fish with neons oh dear god walmarts done it again Do you happen to know what kinda of puffer it is? I'm guessing it's a figure eight. You might want to look at the pinned topics in the odd ball section of the forums

 

[heyimeugene]

Here's a quote and the linke where I got the info from . I've always been looking for these and saw them only once at the LFS... can't find them anywhere anymore .

http/www.myfishtank.net/freshwaterprofiles.php?profile=144

The figure eight puffer is one of the more common puffers to see at your LFS. It is one of the more peacefull freshwater puffers as far as puffers go. The figure eight puffer is called out as a freshwater puffer but is prefers light brackish water. If you are looking for a freshwater puffer to put in a comunity tank this is a better choice than the common green puffer or the spotted puffer but remember to plan you tank around the puffer don't thow him in your comunity tank that has a bunch of long finned fish in it because the fish will not have long fins for long. Feed you figure eight puffer live foods like brine shrimp bloodworms and a must snails. You have to feed your puffer snails to keep his beek trim or else it will grow to long and you puffer will die because it can't eat.

 

[handsomeboy]

i bought a tank just so i could get puffers and im amazed that wal mart has them. they r so cool and they kill snails, which is why i got them. even though they dont deal with the snail infestation in my community tank, i now just enjoy snails being eaten by snail-eating fish

HB

 

[Dwarfs]

Put this in the oddball section, you'll get more replies from people who know a lot about puffers

 

[schzaam]

they like salty which may hurt ur other fish in thetank they like ph7.0 they have to eat snails every so often because they need to look after there beaks they are farly hard work

 

[Pufferpack]

I've noticed that Walmart regularly get Dwarf Puffers in stock (same as the end pics in my sig.). Dwarfs are strictly FW but don't usually work long term in a community tank. As a rule puffers should be set up in a species only tank, but there is sometimes success mixing them with other tankmates. If you try to add tankmates I find it best to have a spare tank ready to relocate the fish in the event the puffer takes a dislike to them.
Check out some of the posts here in the "Oddball" section, there is a lot of good info on puffers from other posters.

 

[Ruby Shark]

Hi Pufferpack!

I am also considering starting up a puffer tank. I have never owned any before and right now I am trying to gather as much information as I can so I know what I'm getting into.
I know that they become quite aggressive with age...even to eachother. I was looking at something small because because of lack of space...maybe a six or a twelve gallon. I was thinking about two puffers with maybe two ottos to clean the algae. What do you think? Is two too many for such a small tank? I would also get each of them a little cave and keep live plants in the tank.

Also, I know that they "need" to eat snails for their teeth. How often do feed them the snails? And what do you keep the snails in...I don't want to have them in my community tank.
Thanks.

 

[Ruby Shark]

Anyone?

 

[Pufferpack]

Hi Ruby Shark, Sorry about the slow reply , been away for a couple days.

I would recomend going with the 12 gal. You could comfortably house 4-6 Dwarf puffers and 3-4 ottos. Get a filter that turns your water over about 10 times per hour (aquaclear 150 would do well) and add lots of plants and caves(more overhangs and swimthroughs than actual caves) and the dwarves should be happy. You could also keep a pair (maybe even 3) South American puffers(Colomesus asellus) instead of the Dwarves, the S/A's get a bit bigger (about 3 inches max) and are higher maintenence (teeth need to be trimmed about every 6 months) but are a less aggressive and more active fish.
For the Dwarves I feed them about 25 snails every couple weeks (I have 10). I keep a 10 gal tank with Farlowella cats and White cheeked Gobies that is infested with pond snails, so I always have a fresh supply. Before I managed to get the snail colony established I would just get the staff at the lfs dig the snails out of their plant tanks or sump.
If you decide to go with the S/A's you can help to avoid having to trim their teeth by feeding them a diet of 99% snails, with the occasional treat of other foods.
If you are going with live plants you might want to get a bit of Java moss and position it in front of a cave, I have read that the Dwarves like to spawn in this type of setting.

Good luck, looking foreward to pics when you get things set up.

 

[Ruby Shark]

Hi Pufferpack!

Wow! Thanks so much for the information...I appreciate it.

Now if I do decide to go with the dwarfs do I still need to trim their teeth if I feed them a diet mainly consisting of snails? Maybe three snails a day? I know that you said that would work with the S/A's. And if I still have to trim them how do I do this?

Thanks again. I look forward to showing you the pictures once I get it set up.

 

[Pufferpack]

Any time Ruby.

With Dwarves you shouldn't have to worry about trimming their teeth, they don't have the prolific growth that the South American puffers do and will be fine with a treat of snails every week or two.

Here is an excerpt you may find handy:

Trimming Puffers Teeth

Sometimes it will be necessary to trim your puffers teeth, when the teeth are preventing your fish from eating or food is getting stuck in their teeth on a regular basis. South American puffers in general seem to require this procedure on a regular basis (sometimes every 6 months) but most other puffers, if fed shell food regularly, shouldn't need their teeth trimmed. The following excerpt was posted by a long time puffer owner and is the simplest and least stressful (for the puffer as well as the keeper) of any I have found:

" I filled 2 Coolwhip containers w/tank water. Put 3 drops of clove oil (next time I'll try 1 drop) in 1 container. Added the fish. Within 1 minute the fish was laying on it's back. It looked dead. I took the fish out with a net, (as to not harm it's skin with the oils of my hand) & held it through the net. I clipped it's teeth with cuticle nippers being careful not to cut it's mouth. I placed the puffer in the container of fresh tank water. I could see it breathing. After 1 minute it had righted itself, 2 minutes it was swimming around, 3 minutes it was back in the tank swimming like nothing had happened. Repeated with other puffer & all is fine with them today. This all needs to be done as quickly as possible, as clove oil can also be used for painless euthanasia. That's why I will try 1 drop next time

 

[Ruby Shark]

Thanks again for taking the time to write back.

 

[appleblossom]

I'm so afraid of trying to trim my puffers beak that I keep a small tank with fry and collect snails from my lfs to breed in there. The puffer has a plentiful supply of snails to keep his teeth worn down and stop the stress of trimming for me!!

 

[GP]

If I have a tank with just dwarfs will I need to trim? or do Dwarfs need any trimming at all?