South American Puffers

[BubbleBaby]

I'm wanting to buy some south american puffers and at the moment I only have a 36 gallon (around 144 liters). I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I've been reading around the clock online and everywhere I looked they said you can keep a small group in around a 30 gallon. I wanted to check with everyone in the oddballs institute before I even began thinking of getting them . I also wondering if zebra plecos can be kept with them, if anyone knows (I know that thats a question for the catfish section but.....if anyone knows.

-BubbleBaby

 

[nmonks]

Colomesus asellus is a fairly small puffer with no territorial behaviours at all. So you can keep them in groups quite easily, and at about 6-7 cm in length when mature, they fit reasonably well in small tanks. The main thing is they like to swim, so don't clutter the tank up too much (they avoid caves, thick stands of plants, etc.) and make sure there is a good strong water current.

In a 30 gallon tank you could keep 4 specimens without any problems at all. They mix well with plec-type catfish, provided those catfish stay hidden during the day. They can and will nip the fins of slow-moving, day-active catfish like Corydoras. My puffers have coexisted with Panaque and Synodontis catfish without the least bother.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Spanerman]

^thats odd, from what ive been reading people seemed to state 15g per puffer as they produce alot of waste

 

[nmonks]

When I see some scientists report than puffers produce more waste per gramme body weight than other fish, then I'll go along with this type of argument. But I haven't yet read anything of the kind. They certainly do need clean water, but no more so than cichlids, and I'd argue they're less delicate than, say, dwarf cichlids or Tanganyikans. Certainly, I've seen more evidence of things like nitrate poisoning among dwarf cichlids than I've ever seen among puffers.

It's odd that marine puffers are generally regarded as being amongst the hardiest fish kept on that side of the hobby. Even during the 1980s, they were amongst the few marine fish that could be expected to have a normal lifespan under the the often-dismal conditions delivered by marine aquarium hobbyists.

I have five puffers (two SAPs, and three Carinotetraodon irrubesco) in a (heavily filtered) 180-litre community along with various catfish, glassfish, halfbeaks, loaches and tetras. No problems yet, and one of those puffers has been there for at least four years. I'd go further and recommend the SAP as being one of the hardiest puffers, and probably the best species for beginners.

Cheers, Neale

^thats odd, from what ive been reading people seemed to state 15g per puffer as they produce alot of waste

 

[Spanerman]

Thanks for that


How many Dwarf puffers would you say that i could put (comfertably) in my 15g tank?

 

[nmonks]

I'd allow a good 3-5 gallons per dwarf puffer, so, let's say 4-5 fish.

With dwarf puffers, it isn't so much filtration that's the issue (5 one-inch fish in a 15 gallon tank isn't going to stress any filter) but territoriality. You need plenty of rocks, ideally holey rock like lava rock, plus plants as well, especially floating plants and Java moss. Anything that creates a complex habitat where the puffers can hide or at least get out of the "line of sight" of each fish.

Cheers, Neale

How many Dwarf puffers would you say that i could put (comfertably) in my 15g tank?

 

[Spanerman]

thanks neale, my tank is pretty much as you described but without floating plants which are the next plan

 

[BubbleBaby]

Colomesus asellus is a fairly small puffer with no territorial behaviours at all. So you can keep them in groups quite easily, and at about 6-7 cm in length when mature, they fit reasonably well in small tanks. The main thing is they like to swim, so don't clutter the tank up too much (they avoid caves, thick stands of plants, etc.) and make sure there is a good strong water current.

In a 30 gallon tank you could keep 4 specimens without any problems at all. They mix well with plec-type catfish, provided those catfish stay hidden during the day. They can and will nip the fins of slow-moving, day-active catfish like Corydoras. My puffers have coexisted with Panaque and Synodontis catfish without the least bother.

Cheers, Neale

Wow! That's great news! My tank has a very fast current so I don't have to worry. I'm also converting the gravel in the tank to sand( I read that they like that and so does the plec I want). I probably won't get them too soon,because taking the gravel out will probably take out some of the benefitial bacteria, but it's great that I can keep four! I have another quick question for anyone who wants to answer it. I was reading about the zebra plec (the one I want to put in with the puffers)they hide during the day and come out at night, but it says they have small teeth. I was wondering if (since puffers sleep at the bottom of the tank) the puffers would get bitten by it. The zebra plec also has a taste for more meaty food so....(it could be good since the puffers like more meat, but I'm just worried about the teeth thing

Thanks for all your help!
-BubbleBaby

 

[BubbleBaby]

I was also wondering how you can tell how many gallons your filter can turn over in an hour or minute? I have two filters in my 36 gallon ( 144 liter) so I'm not worried about the water conditions or the current but I was just wondering.

-BubbleBaby

 

[nmonks]

Hypancistrus zebra isn't going to attack sleeping puffers. If anything, the SAPs might nip at the catfish, at least until the catfish learns to hide away during the day.

My puffer tank is 180 litres, and is equipped with two canister filters, a Fluval 104 and an Eheim 2217, for a total of 1480 litres per hour, or a turnover of about 8.2 times per hour.

Cheers, Neale