Smallest Puffer Or Other Oddball?

[AshleySpatula]

i have a 20g community and an extra 10g that i would like to use for something 'different'. what is the smallest freshwater puffer and could i keep one in a 10g? if possible two?

i plant to have it pretty heavily planted and want to know a good small oddball that would work in it?
i want to lean more towards the puffers but any other suggestions?

 

[invader]

http/www.fishforums.net/content/Oddballs...rs-Should-Know/

 

[DarkEntity]

The only option is a pair of Dwarf Puffers. Tiny but aggressive little buggers, with heaps of personality

 

[AshleySpatula]

thanks for the article! well it said a 10g would be good for 2 puffers and three ottos, but i dont plan on keeping anything but the two puffers.

and it also looks like having a lot of plants is a good idea too, would you suggest driftwood too? like if i could find round cave shaped pieces i think that would be awesome.

and it says they are messy, so for my 10g should i get a filter for a 15-20g?

and i have an overload of the small ramshorn snails, they eat these right? then check around and make sure there is a close pet store that sells the foods they like.

and regular water changes.

sounds like i can handle all that... any other info or suggestions?

 

[iSnail]

They love plants and bogwood/drift wood. My DPs like things that they can go through e.g. tunnels, wood with big enough holes, etc.... They just love exploring

Over filteration is recommended and weekly 40-50% water change.

They do eat ramshorn snails. They tend to kill the big ones and not eat the entire body so make sure you clean it up afterwards. It's better to feed them small snails the size of their eyes. They will either crunch them whole or suck out the body.

Apart from keeping an eye out for aggression, they are pretty straight forward to keep. Like DarkEntity said, aggressive little things but packed full of personality. Enjoy

 

[AshleySpatula]

thanks what would be good plants, right now i only have the basic lid with one bulb, i dont think it's enough wattage to get crazy with the plants, the plants that come from those betta bulbs have been doing really well and sprouting new plants with minimal lighting should i just go with those? i also wanted to get a moss ball and maybe some java fern would those do good with them?

thanks for all the info guys, and even though i'm not planning to start the tank till after christmas (gonna completely repaint/decorate my room) i am already so excited!

would that duckweed stuff work well in there? i heard it takes over your tank but i put some in my 20g and it slowly disappeared, someone told me my tetras were eating it?

 

[DarkEntity]

Just make sure you have a fully cycled tank. Puffers are very sensitive to crap water quality.

 

[SJ2K]

IMO you could have 3 DP's in 10g the general rule is 3g per puffer. Any plants will do aslong as they keep them interested and break the line of sight wherever possible.

 

[Erised]

IMO you could have 3 DP's in 10g the general rule is 3g per puffer. Any plants will do aslong as they keep them interested and break the line of sight wherever possible.

The 'general rule' depends on whoever tells you. There's 2 'general rules' with DPs, 1 is 1 per 3 Gallon, and 1 says 5 Gallons per dp. I personally much prefer the second. And even then with dwarf puffers you are never ever guaranteed success if you keep more than 1. Honestly, keep a close eye on it. All it takes is 1 to be slightly older/more aggressive and you can end up with a dead dwarf puffer. If 1 wants to mate but the other doesn't that can also seriously stress out the other. So please keep a close eye on them, daily. They tend to all get along great when young, but once more mature it can cause problems. I personally will never keep more than 1 puffer together again because of bad experiences I've had keeping 3 in a very heavily planted 15G.

 

[SJ2K]

Well the 3g per puffer comes from dwarfpuffer.com, I dont neglect other advice but will trust those who have vast experience in the field (also from the forum). Its up to you, personly when I get a 10g ill be keeping 3 (or 2 in a 6g).

 

[eschaton]

As a note, dwarf puffers aren't the only oddball you can keep in a 10 gallon tank. That size tank would be fine for a mated pair of most Killifish species, a mated pair of Peacock Gudgeons, or two pair of Scarlet Badis. I've had luck keeping Bumblebee Gobies in freshwater tanks as well. Finally, I think a single South American leaf fish would be fine.

 

[DarkEntity]

I think that 1 per 5g is better but having said that i think 1 per 3g will work fine if you get them all together as juvis and let them grow up together.

 

[AshleySpatula]

i know when i started this thread i was looking for alternatives as well to the DPs but since starting it, doing alot of reading, and even ran across some DP's at petsmart today and watched them for a while i think i am in love.

i dont want to chance it with the 3 in the 10g, i am just going to go for the 2.

the wierd thing is they had these tiny little DPs maybe 3cm long in with the spotted leaf fish. i would think they would eat them but it seems they were hiding from the puffers lol.

i also decided i am gonna upgrade the lighting on both the 10g and the 20g and look into more exotic plants, i would like to have a variety. and i think the fish will like it too.

i read A LOT of info on the #### site, as well as other sites, watched all kinds of videos on youtube of them, to kinda see how they move about and interact with their enviroment. i am definatly set on the puffers!

 

[jennybugs]

Good for you! You won't regret it! They are fantastic little fish and will give you hours of enjoyment if they're looked after accordingly

One tip, get yourself a worm feeder! You'll love watching them pull the live bloodworm out of it

 

[iSnail]

thanks what would be good plants, right now i only have the basic lid with one bulb, i dont think it's enough wattage to get crazy with the plants, the plants that come from those betta bulbs have been doing really well and sprouting new plants with minimal lighting should i just go with those? i also wanted to get a moss ball and maybe some java fern would those do good with them?

would that duckweed stuff work well in there? i heard it takes over your tank but i put some in my 20g and it slowly disappeared, someone told me my tetras were eating it?

I'm totally rubbish at keeping plants alive However, I would probably go for 2 or 3 moss balls. My DPs love diving through the gaps between the moss balls playing hide-and-seek and sometimes the female lay her eggs there too

Not sure if duckweed is good idea since it might shade the light too much. It might take over when you don't have fish eating it.