Puffers?

[Dweenus]

Hey all! I have some questions about Puffers. I dont know anything about them but they look so cute, so I had a few Q's about them!

1.) How many can live in a 20 gallon tank?
2.) Tropical or Coldwater?
3.) Any special requirements? (i.e heater, filter, etc)
4.)What do they eat?
5.) What kind of fish can they live with? Any specific names like.... hmmm I'm not saying that they can lives with Tangs but answer with a name like that.

Thanks!

 

[ScoutCarcer]

What kind of puffer?

 

[mattbeau]

you might want to check the FAQ,

also if you search through the forums there is LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of information

different species require different aquascapes

puffers are very sensitive to water conditions, so you will need a well established cycled tank with a filter, heater and lots of space for them (dwarf puffers need 5g per fish

you can have four dwarfs in a 20g if it is heavily planted( though you may still have problems as males can be agressive to each other

puffers should be species only tanks as they are agressive and if eaten (if the other fish is so lucky) will be killed by a tetradotoxin (10,000 times more lethal then cyanide) within minutes some species are more friendlier then others. though some have had luck with otocinclids(sp?) or bristlenose cats

there are fresh, brackish, and marine puffers so we need to know the species

Puffers will generally not eat prepared food Ie flakes, or pellets as most are caught in the wild and wont recognize them as food,

puffers need to work on thier teeth since they constantly grow so feed them snails, shrimp, molusks and any other small shelled cretures

generally you want a softer substrate like sand but then again you want to match its original enviroment dont use black beauty as i have learned, it looks nice but it contains glass and iron sludge. the softer substrate is good for some species since some like to kick up the dirt looking for food, others like to sit on the bottom and sand would be good for their soft bellies


do not expose a puffer to aiir as the ingestion of air can be really bad. (boyancy problems, the bends, stress)

if you pick one up from the LFS make sure they know how to remove him(her)

basically net them then place them in the container all while underwater

I'm no expert and am learning alot so far, im still working on getting my Dawrf puffer 6g tank right.

best of luck

 

[SirMinion]

I notice that you mentioned tangs in your post, does this mean that you're asking about marine puffers? If so, there is no marine puffer that can live in a 20 gallon marine tank.
Also small marine tanks are very, very hard to maintain.

Assuming then that you are actually asking about freshwater puffers, then here's the short answers:

1. In 20 gallons your only option is 3 or maybe 4 dwarf puffers.
2. All freshwater & brackish puffers are tropical
3. Heater, light and plenty of quality filtration are required for puffers.
4. Mainly live or frozen invertibrates- bloodworm, snails, brineshrimp etc. they are also fond of eating fins from other fish.
5. On the whole there are no fish that can safely live with puffers.

 

[Dweenus]

I notice that you mentioned tangs in your post, does this mean that you're asking about marine puffers? If so, there is no marine puffer that can live in a 20 gallon marine tank.
Also small marine tanks are very, very hard to maintain.

Assuming then that you are actually asking about freshwater puffers, then here's the short answers:

1. In 20 gallons your only option is 3 or maybe 4 dwarf puffers.
   
2. All freshwater & brackish puffers are tropical
   
3. Heater, light and plenty of quality filtration are required for puffers.
   
4. Mainly live or frozen invertibrates- bloodworm, snails, brineshrimp etc. they are also fond of eating fins from other fish.
   
5. On the whole there are no fish that can safely live with puffers.
   

[snapback]861601[/snapback]​

Hehe, I meant I wanted fresh waters. I used Tang as an example. XP I dont want a marine, no way, no marine fish for me! XD I'd probably get 3, but this is in a pretty long while. Ok, so tropical puffers. I would be the heater and light, and with the filter could it be a high powered 20 gallon one? They can eat frozen blood worms? Like the ones bettas eat? And yeah, I dont need any other fish with them lol. They sound like vicsious little guys!