Puffer With Tropical Community

[supermonkey]

Is this an absolute no go?

I have dwarf gouramies, male and female. Dwarf Platy's. Guppys. Neon Tetras. Bloodfind Tetras. Bristlenose catfish.

Have been looking at the following:

http/www.directtropicals.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=333
http/www.directtropicals.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_20&products_id=483
http/www.directtropicals.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_20&products_id=482

Also, I've been told in the past to be careful mixing goruamies.
http/www.directtropicals.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_10&products_id=442
this indicates it would be happy with my existing pair?

Thanks!

 

[Carlovel1]

Yep its a no go. The only possible sollution would be:
1 South American Puffer (the only suitable community puffer)
Your Bloodfin Tetras
and your pleco.
But note even though the SA puffer is the only suitable community puffer, it is only fine with fast swimming shortfinned species and plecos and otos.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

As Carlove1 wrote, no chance with that mix of fish you have, without horrible consequences!

SAPs do much better in little groups of ~6+, albeit they don't school tightly together. They do need a long tank (4-foot at least) with plenty of intresting furniture to explore, an "open" long side plus a decent current (which also means that the tank temp can be as low as ~22C, a little lower that most fish). Another thing worth mentioning is the need to trim their beaks, which usually means sedating them using clove oil carefully, although a diet with plenty of snails and cockles can sometimes keep their beaks in check.

Sometimes a small Borneo puffer, Carinotetraodon irrubesco, can be housed in a community too (20 gallon tank for one, additional 10 gallons per extra puffer if I remember correctly). Again, tank needs to be heavily furnished, so that individual puffers can find safe areas from each other and non-puffers can escape from the puffers. This puffer does not need current so much, again if I recall rightly, but it needs slightly warmer water than SAPs (closer to the norm of ~25C).

With either puffer species, other fish need to be chosen with care and even then not all puffers follow the rules of being community friendly. Open water fish need to be fast swimmers and lack sizeable fins, while catfish are oftern (but not always) ignored.

 

[m00ms]

puffers must get the most attention out of all fish.

i have looked into keeping puffers before and they seam to be very high maintence which is a real shame its there looks and character that peaple are drawn by.