Puffer Species

[MAM]

dwarfs would eat live shrimp. would this include ghost shrimps? considering a dwarf puffer down the road. have seen ghost shrimps sold very cheap in large numbers as a food source, wondered if a puffer would eat them. what kinds of snails would i look for as a food source?

 

[dixaisy930]

I would say the puffer would most likely try to eat the ghost shrimp, even if they are bigger than the puffer. It seems most dwarf puffers don't know what "dwarf" means...lol . My dwarf will take down snails three times her size...

As for snails...I just go to lfs and they give me the little "inconvient" snails that plague their tanks. My puffer prefers the "circular" snails instead of the ones that have cone shaped shells.

 

[Nallen]

I have those small snails in my tanks, about 2 mm (~0,7 inches) in size. There are usually 5-10 of them visible to me.
If I get my puffers some day, is there some way I can boost the number of snails in one of the tanks (the fry tank, or some "snail-box") ?
Or are the ones I've got enough to satisfy some dwarf puffers' dental care ?

Is there any frozen food that is just as good for their teeth? mysis?

 

[Pufferpack]

My Dwarfs do eat the Ghost shrimp if they see them, 6 in the tank will usually last a week before I can't find any more. As for snails I do the same thing, get the lfs to dig the pond snails out of the plant tanks or the sump, my pack of 8 gets about 20 a week and they make short work of them. You may be able to supply all your snails to the puffer from your other tank, it would depend on how many puffers you had. Your own snails would be safer because you know they are disease free, and you could keep the snails fed with high nutrition foods to help pass the goodness on to your puffers (you are what you eat)

edit: I haven't found anything that will substitute for snails with the dwarfs, the bigger puffers will eat clams and muscles nicely as well.

 

[Lithril]

PP, the lfs doesn't have any dwarfs in today when I went in so are going to order some in for monday, thing is if they're going to order them in they could actually order any type in Any ideas, shall I stick with the dwarfs to go with the colomesus or do you have any other ideas of ones that I could ask for to go in the tank???

 

[Pufferpack]

Sorry for the late reply.

I find the Dwarfs a hardy "starter" puffer, although they are more aggressive than the South Americans they are a bit lower maintenence (South Americans have the fastest growing teeth of any puffer) and due to their small size are more suited to smaller aquariums (taking into account their territorial natures) under the proper conditions.

 

[Pufferpack]

Sorry for the late reply.

I find the Dwarfs a hardy "starter" puffer, although they are more ag

 

[MAM]

pufferpack
anyway you can append the listing at the top and include max. length for each type? or pm me the list along with max lengths (for both bw and fw?)

 

[Figure-8]

I was wondering since figure-8s are brackish. Mine has been in freshwater since it was realy young i dont even think its been in brackish water before. Do u think i will be able to keep him in my freshwater tank or would i have to change him in to a tank that is brackish when he gets older or would he be fine left in the freshwater tank.

 

[Pufferpack]

Sorry for the late reply, have't been on the net for a while.

Fig 8's were first identified as a FW species, due to the collection team finding them in FW streams in Asia, but since that time the general consensus is that they are a BW fish that is usually found closer to the river mouths where the FW and SW mix, but are known to frequent the FW areas further upstream.
If kept in FW they usually have a shorter lifespan (around 5 years as opposed to 15 years if kept in BW) and start to lose their bright coloration after a couple years. They will be more suceptable to disease and infection if left in FW for their entire lives.
IMO your best bet is to try and acclimatize them to BW as soon as practicable, slowly adding marine mix (not plain aquarium salt) and bring the Sg (specific gravity) up .001 every couple days until it is stable between 1.005 and 1.010 (as measured with a hydrometer). I think you will find that once the puffer is acclimatized to BW it will become brighter and more active (not counting a short stress period while it adapts) and be less succeptable to illness and infection.

 

[xautomaticflowersx]

Hi there! I'm doing an animal care and aquatics course at my college and for my course I have to do 8 weeks of work experience. I'm doing my work experience at my local aquatics center and am interested in getting a twin-spot puffer/Tetradon leiurus. I have a brand new tank that I can keep him in on his own... it's a 26 US Gallon tank but I have a couple of questions before I set up the tank and get him.
The twin-spots at the aquatics center I'm working at seem somewhat 'inactive'. There are 3 of them and they all just huddle at the bottom corner of the tank and I don't think I've ever seen them swimming about! They ARE awake because I can see their little eyes moving about and watching me when I go to see them. They SEEM otherwise in perfect health and are nice and rounded like they should be, so I don't think it's because they are diseased. Plus, I know that the people who run the store would never have ill fish for sale. Could this behaviour be due to lack of stimulation? They have a completely bare tank with nowhere for them to hide away and I was wondering if this might be the reason why they just huddle together and stay in the corner not moving? Maybe they don't feel safe with nowhere to hide. The tank I would set up for one would be far more interesting with all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore and plants. Would a stimulating environment change his behaviour? Because I don't want to just go ahead and buy him... I'd hate to have a fish that did nothing all day! The only reason I have asked on the forum and not asked the people who I'm working with is because I've only been there a couple of weeks and don't want them to take advantage of my lack of knowledge and lie to me !!!
Sorry for the somewhat lengthy post, any helpful comments at ALL would be very much appreciated
Rach x

 

[Pufferpack]

Sounds like the puffers are stressed out to me, I'm surprised they aren't chewing on each other.
Tetraodon leiurus are active predators and will do well in a medium planted tank with room to swim. They are definately more active with some stimulation like a fast dither fish to chase around (some fast tetras or barbs, but they eventually will get caught and killed) maybe some quick little shrimp to hunt, or snails to stalk.
They are a very personable and addictive fish so be warned, buying just one puffer can get you addicted and the next thing you know you are selling the furnature to make room for more puffer tanks.....anyone want to buy a couch?

 

[xautomaticflowersx]

Thanks a lot for your swift reply. I think you've confirmed my suspicions. I'm aware that puffers are usually very full of character (all the other puffer species in the store seem confident and playful), so it's obvious that something is wrong with the twin spots. I think you've probably hit the nail on the head by suggesting that stress is the cause of their lethargy. I think I'd be stressed out too if I'd been shipped all the way from Singapore and then put in a tank with absolutely no cover to hide me away from all the faces that come and peer in.

 

[linzbob]

Hello all,

I am wanting to get a/some puffer fishes.
I have just transfered all the tropicals into my new tank apart from the plec named Joe. He really is sweet but he will destroy the newly planted tank!
What I was wondering is :Can i keep puffers with a plec? He is approx 8" long, and is in on his own at the moment
I know puffers like lots of hiding places and plants but if i could conjure up some rocks and plantpots so they can hide in them will this work?
Sorry for being so vaigue but all other sites say only 1 puffer per tank full stop!

Please help

Thanks

Linz

 

[diVer]

I keep 3 puffers with a pleco and don't have any problems. The pleco will probably be too lazy to draw the puffers attention.