Puffers..... 10 Gal.....

[Scott MacAdam]

Fellow Fish keepers! I come to you with a question!

Should I set up a puffer tank, and it is 10gallons, what are all of my options here and what would you personally recommend?

I know that there are some smaller Puffers out there and I would love to get some, or one, depending on aggression/size that is.

Also I would like to make I REALLY nice set up for this fish, so what would that constitute! I feel a big project coming up, and I have made DIY 3D cave backgrounds before...

So what I need from you is!!!!

- What will Fit in a 10 gal....
- (in response to the first) any possible tank mates?...
- Your personal Preference...
- What kind of set up I should shoot for...

- IMPORTANTLY, what kind of LFS or online shop I could get it from for the best price.....
This is because all I have for fish at home is a local walmart which doesn NOT carry puffers at all... so I'm thinking shipping to Canada.....


Thanks A LOT!!! I know this may be a lot of work to write this all down for me but it will totally be worth it for me so I can get a great set up and maybe an online TFF journal of making it all.....

 

[stang1]

Hi Scott,
There's a pinned topic on fish that are suitable for a 10 gallon tank, so might be worth checking that out.
If you do decide to go for a Puffer tank, you could get Dwarf Puffers, very cute but also very nippy! You could probably get away with 3-4 Puffers in a 10 gallon but make sure it is heavily planted. I'd also provide a few hiding places as they can become aggressive towards each other.
I'm afraid there are very few tank mates suitable to keep with Puffers because they are aggressive. I believe some people have kept Ottos and Cories, so that might be worth considering.
As for personal preference and tank set up, it comes down to what you prefer. What sort of fish do you like and what sort of look are you aiming for?
I've no idea about online shops as I never use them, so hopefully someone else will help you out.
Good luck with whatever you decide and make sure you do a journal!

 

[dc3]

Scott
I have a couple of puffers - problem is they won't tolerate any tankmates - and the even bigger problem is the fish were wrongly labelled. You've probably done some reading up and found there are a bunch of brackish puffers - the Green Spot (GSP) is one of those - get to be a whopping 6", need near marine conditions as they get older and will turn a dalmation molly into sashimi on a whim...
there's a puffer-specific forum & a pufferpedia where you probably should get first-hand advice in picking the right kind of puffer... As for places that carry them - try phoning smaller LFS in your area or Halifax - someone's bound to carry them there...
Good Luck

 

[Maximus]

Yup, just as for the post above i reccomend www.#### VERY good on there.

 

[Scott MacAdam]

umm....... Great info..... but "www.####"??? lol whats that about? is there any websites for this.... I don't know when I'll be going to Halifax again.... how much is shipping anyway? you think I could get a decent puffer, on time, in good condition for relatively cheap? paying shipping is defenatley going to be cheaper then gas money to drive somewhere to get one.... Keep in mind I am in Canada...

 

[Maximus]

Oh sorry lol Must be braking the rules, sorry

Type in puffer fish forum in google

Oh and I'm not in Canada, so carn't help there

 

[bymauldin]

If you're wanting puffers for a 10 gal. I would definitely go with the Dwarf Puffer. I have to disagree with Stang. I think only 2 DP should be kept in a 10 gal. You may could keep 3, but that would be the absolute max. DP need 3-5 gal each. As stated, the tank would need to be heavily planted with lots of hiding places. You might be able to keep 1 South American Puffer in a 10 gal, but that's seems a little cruel to me. I guess it just all depends on your stand point of animal cruelty. As stated, most other puffers get entirely too large for a 10 gal.

 

[Scott MacAdam]

lol! well I don't want to be cruel at all..... hahahaha! OK new question....

should I keep 1 slightly larger puffer (maybe 2-3inches long)

or

2 Dwarf puffers (1 inch each)

 

[Killi]

i have a 10g tank and i wouldnt dream of putting a 2-3" fish in there after its been heavily planted. i've recently set up a 7g tank for 1 dwarf puffer, so my personal opinion would be to go for 2 in a 10g

 

[Scott MacAdam]

hmm.... ok cool... well I'm not sure I will plant it heavily, as I have not done that before or the resources to do so right now.... Walmart would be the only plant/fish carrier and their plants are brutal and half dead by the time they get to the tanks there.....

 

[JackoUK]

I have a 15Gal tank setup with a pair of Dwarf Puffers and 1 Otto. It did have four in but they are no longer. Nothing to do with the Puffers, I just struggled acclimitizing them. I have it well planted with 3 different hideouts for the Puffers and even though at the beginning they were a bit aggressive towards each other they now seem to have settled down. The only thing is it may be a little big for just two DP's. I'm thinking of getting them a 9Gal that i've got my eye on and re-stocking the 15, they do seem a bit lost in all that space.

 

[Tommo]

Despite most people recommending two or three dwarf puffers for a tank of that size, if the tank is heavily planted i would go for 6, and practical fishkeeping magazine recommend 8 individuals for a tank that size.

An alternative would be to go for a couple red eye red tail puffers, carinotetraodon irrubesco, which grow to two inches and are relatively peacefull. for a pufferfish.

 

[bymauldin]

hmm.... ok cool... well I'm not sure I will plant it heavily, as I have not done that before or the resources to do so right now.... Walmart would be the only plant/fish carrier and their plants are brutal and half dead by the time they get to the tanks there.....

You wouldn't neccessarily have to use live plants to "heavily plant" a tank. I have all artificial plants in my tank, but I have lots of them. I also have 3 tunnels and some tiny terra cotta pots in my 10 gallon. (I have 2 Dwarfs-sorry. Should have said that earlier.) I don't think 6 would work in a 10 gal, honestly. As I said, I only have two in my tank and there is a good bit of aggression between the two now as juvi's. Dwarfs are very aggressive fish to be so small.
As tommo said though, you could consider the Red Eye Red Tail Puffer-they don't get that big. You just have to be careful that you don't get a Red Tail Puffer (C. lorteti) by mistake as they are awfully aggressive fish.

 

[fishboy619]

i have 3 dwarf puffers in as 15 gallon, i did have 4, but one was aggressive and lives lone in a 5gallon. my 3 in the 15g are very pieceful, the tank is well planted with lots of caves. it also have 3 ottos, a apple snail thats bigger then the puffers, and 1 ghost shrimp. although i wouldnt recomend added any of these unless you can remove then and place in another tank if anything happens.
the alone puffer in a 5g, also has a well planted tank with caves, but will attack anything, including, snails, ottos and even my hand, lol.
in a 10 gallon, have it really well planted, with "bushy" plants. wisteria is good.and a few floating plants if possable. i use frogbit. and lots of caves, more the better. and only add 2, 3 if you want to take risks.if fights do break out, you could devide the tank into 2 5g sides and have a puffer on each side.

 

[Scott MacAdam]

well, honestly I am all for setting up a species tank for DPs but I think 6-8 may be a bit excessive for my first time keeping and also for a possible re-homing problem should anything go wrong. it was mentioned before a red tail red eye puffer may be a good choice.... Would keeping a pair of these be ok aggression and size wise? also, would these fish be more hospitable to tank mates, Possibly a few otos to clean up..... and again, about the shipping, can anyone link me up with a reliable fish site that ships to Canada? then I can start browsing to find the closest alternative and best prices.....