# dwarf puffer info



## jclaudii (Feb 16, 2006)

This is my first time dealing with these little beggars. Will they be happy on tropical flakes or do they need the blood worms? They live with 2 bala sharks, tetra, tiger barb, two big silver dollars, a neon, a big sucker fish, and a betta. Now I did read that they will nip at other fish (which they do) will they be attacked by any of my other fish? Thanks for any info you can give me with these little guys.


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2006)

yeah, they should definitele be kept in a species tank....2.5-3 gallons per puffer. They are strictly fw puffers so you dont have to worry about brackish conditions, but they dont do well with tank mates. Also, they will most likely not eat flake foods.


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## jclaudii (Feb 16, 2006)

so what is their favorite food. The tank is a 29 gallon with plenty of cover and plants and rocks. I sure hope they will do fine, they were a v-day present!


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

they should be in a seperate tank... nipping puffers = stressed out fish = disease. 
Not a good combo, as well as they can be outcompeted by other fish for food.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

They are species only. They love bloodworms and a few snails. They may eat flaked foods but it is rare. The rest of your tank is very unbalanced. Balas don't fit in a 29. Tiger barbs should be in a 30 or larger and in groups of at least 4. Neons need 6 minimum. What type of tetra? Most are schooling fish as well. Stocking levels as you have them will lead to disease and stress. Bettas and tigers don't get along at all.


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## jclaudii (Feb 16, 2006)

hmmmm....everything but the 2 puffers and 2 bala's are left overs from when my tank was stocked right. The betta came about froma move and my wife loves her betta. the neons started out as 7 and I'm now down to one. the barbs I started out with more but It does make for an interesting aquarium! THe only thing I think should not be in my tank now is my siilver dollars there pushing 2 inches (thats big) and my picostimus he is like 6 inches or so I have to feed him cucumber b/c there is not enough algea. Anyway so i need some blood worms to feed my fish
is it okay if some of the other fish eat them
I've never really had a problem with fish killing other fish, only time I had trouble was when I had a red tail shark he was territoral. Thanks alot guys and gals for the help.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

we are talking long term here, not the short term. Like I said before, the puffers will not "kill" the fish, but the stress from the puffers eating their fins and so on will kill your fish because of disease. Your balas will quickly outgrow a 29 gallon tank, they will need at least 75 gallons. I know its hard to stock your tank right, the options dwindle quickly, but its for the best. For the best for the fish, for the best for yourself, and for the best for your wallet.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

jclaudii said:


> THe only thing I think should not be in my tank now is........../QUOTE]
> 
> Translation....... Thank's for the time you wasted trying to help me folks, but I'm going to do what I _____ well please, regardless of what happens to my fish.


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2006)

i agree ron. If this guy doesnt want our help and doesnt want to listen to our advice, no sense in arguing with him.


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

You will loose some fish to stress/disease or one of you larger ones might decide a little puffer snack would be ok too. They are poisonous and you will loose both fish at the same time.
Mine are in a species only tank with a Chinese algae eater. Your suckerfish might be ok with your dwarf puffer, the rest will not. Nipped fins equals infection, ich, etc and death one way or the other. All your fish except the suckerfish and possibly your beta will compete over the same food as the puffer eats. The only thing he might not have to share, but needs, are pond snails. He needs those to keep his "teeth" (fused plates) sharp or he will starve to death from being unable to eat. Not an easy fish to keep in a community tank. Mine eat also live grindal worms and freeze dried tubifex worms. They will not touch flakes or any sinking food, i.e. pellet or wafers.


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2006)

dwarf puffers are one puffer species that do not require snails to wear down their teeth. They do not have problems with overgrown teeth.


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## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

I wrote this article on them 
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6285


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## LittlePuff (Jan 17, 2005)

www.dwarfpuffers.com


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

ron v said:


> jclaudii said:
> 
> 
> > THe only thing I think should not be in my tank now is........../QUOTE]
> ...


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Cichlid Man said:


> ron v said:
> 
> 
> > Come on guys, let's not be too hasty here.
> ...


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## jclaudii (Feb 16, 2006)

I've not totally dismissed it. Me and the wife have been talking about getting a second aquarium anyway. Were looking at some 55 and 75 gallons and statring off fresh and someday turning it into saltwater. Sometimes when your at the pet store you pick the prettier fish. The silver dollars when I got them were about the size of a thumb nail. I looked them up on the net and it said they could grow to be 3-6in or so in aquarium, but it depended on tank size. Since my tank is 29 gallon I figured they wouldn't get to big. I've watched them grow from little bitty to what they are now and they are fun fish. Even though they may be too big for my aquarium I hate to get rid of them. Plus around Russellville, ar I would have a hard time giving the pair away. Most people have the smaller 10gal aquariums around here. 

I am sorry if I offended some people here. I am taking their advice but I'm going to apply it for future fish. I'm going to try and make my aquairum home to what I have. I did count it up what I actually have in my tank. 
I have no tiger barbs it is a orange barb (looks like a tiger except no stripes)
betta, neon, sucker, 2 bala sharks, 2 silver dollars, 2 dwarf puffers. I have some live plants the silver dollars seem to like them. 

Again, I am sorry if I offended somepeople, I was just trying to make a pretty aquairum. I have to say everything except the 2 puffers and 2 sharks have been with me for almost 4 years!!!!! They have survived several moves, lived in an ice chest for a few days, lived with a red tail shark, 4 tigers, 7 neons, 2 catfish, and a snail infestation. The fish I have are very hardy fish. 

Thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it.
Jason Nuckols


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2006)

it's not that you are offending people, you just aren't really taking our advice. if you were smart, you would get rid of the silver dollars and bala sharks and either get a new tank for JUST THE PUFFERS or get rid of them as well.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

If you are planning on upgrading thats fine and dandy... however, getting those puffers out now is by far the smartest idea. I'd buy a cheapo 10 gallon starter kit and put them in there. $40 later and you have happier fish, and healthier fish. Then you can start saving up for your big tank for the balas who should get a 75 gallon tank.


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## LittlePuff (Jan 17, 2005)

I agree with Fishfirst.

And for the future, if you decide you like a certain fish, find out ahead of time what size tank, how big they get, do they school, what do they eat, what fish are compatible. Then decide if you want to give the fish what it needs or not buy.

and don't rely on a LFS for info.

Kim


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

Jclaudii, I would like to address a few points you made in your last response but before that let me explain how I got started in this fish hobby, so you know where I'm coming from. I got a 1.5gal tank for my daughter for Christmas and a pack of triops as an experiment. When we opened it on Christmas and read that they would only hatch in a mason jar with bottled water, I asked, "so what do we do with the fish tank?" My hubby promptly went out the next day to get what was needed for the Christmas present for my daughter, and also 2 goldfish and a book called "aquariums for dummies". There has never been a more fitting book written for us. It took us 10 minutes to realized we needed a much larger aquarium for our newest members of the family, the goldfish. That was 2 years and 10 fish tanks ago.
"We looked at these fish and those and picked the prettier ones", been there and done that, hence the many tanks, lol. Then you bring them home and realize, one does not go with the other. One needs different water values, the other is a know fin nipper or in our case a slime coat sucker-offer. Never buy on impulse, always research what you want, to see if it fits in your tank and not just size wise but also temps, water values and deco (substrate, live plants, or driftwood etc) wise.
"Fish will grow according to the size tank they are in". Not exactly word for word what you wrote but close enough (I have not yet figured out how to do the quote stuff) That is not entirely true. While, in a smaller then recommended tank, the total length of the fish may not get as large as what is normal for them, their organs still grow and that causes health problems, in some cases severe. I would almost bet my right arm that the goldfish in goldfish bowls in the old days never reached their 30+ year live span. 
If you plan on getting the 55 gal I would recommend the following (open for discussion and trial and error, lol)
29 gal
2 dwarf puffers, sucker fish and beta
55 gal (better yet the 75 gal) all else you currently have
On the saltwater set up, wait at least 2 years before you go that way, in the meantime you may get bitten by the pleco or corydora bug and will run out of space long before you even consider saltwater again. Visit www.planetcatfish.com or
www.aquabid.com
and you know what I mean. Your local fish place is just a small glimpse of the universe.


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## LittlePuff (Jan 17, 2005)

NO BETTA with puffers! They will be finless.

Kim


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Great post Garfieldnfish!!!!!! This one needs to be a sticky and a must read for every new hobbyist.

And you are a GIRL. Well I'll be.. Am I the only one that thought....


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

LOL, Ron. You know, I am also a member on Plecofanatics.com as plecos and corys are my favorite fish. I recently had a problem with ich and had some great help from two of their members (my plecos made it through ok) but I had read so much from both of them and talk to them both that I was certain they were girls because of their pics in their signature. So when all was well I thanked them for their help by saying "thanks girls", well, one of them wasn't and he since changed him pics but he took it with good humor, thank God. You just never know. They probably think I'm a guy. But I have five cats, hence the garfield, and 70+ fish (and 3 rats, the entire food chain)


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## jclaudii (Feb 16, 2006)

*Yay!*

This has been a geat thread for opening my eyes and learning. Garfieldnfish you sound like my wife, she loves pets! She told me if her career don't work out she wants a farm so we can take in abondand pets. 

Anyway thanks everyone this has been very helhpful. I think we may have decided to go with a bigger tank. I will start off with freshwater and read about saltwater in the meantime. Wife said I could persue this hobby b/c she likes the way I make my tanks look. This way it also won't break my check book by just buying freshwater at first. I did buy the puffers some bloodworms they loved 'em. Everyone ate some not sure if there suspossed to; mainly it was the betta and the sharks that partook in the feeding frenzy. While on this same note about food I read that snails are good for them. I had a snail infestation one time will that happen again and if it does will they be able to keep it under control? 

again thanks everyone for helping me out. Give me a few weeks to get my ducks in a row so I can buy a new tank. 

BTW just out of curosity how long has this new forum been here. I used to be a member of fish forums a few years back. Now it is all made over. fishforums got made! This is the best group of guys and gals one could ask for for fish advice.


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## LittlePuff (Jan 17, 2005)

Most fish love bloodworms.

If you plan on keeping puffers, you'll need to start breeding snails. A simple small tank will do. You can add a small box filter and a heater~80. Feed them anything thats leftover. Another good idea is to add ghost shrimp (they may or may not become food)

Kim


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## jclaudii (Feb 16, 2006)

clarification. Do puffers NEED to eat snails to trim their beaks? I have seen mixed reviews, but the website you gave me seems that freshwater puffers do not need trimmed. that snails would just be a cheap food source and make them happy because they can hunt their food. What are your thoughts.


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## Guest (Feb 25, 2006)

dwarf puffers do NOT need snails to keep their teeth worn down, while most others do. Although dwarf puffers enjoy snails as a treat, they are not necessary for their dental hygiene. 
Are you just moving all of the fish into a bigger tank or giving the puffers a tank of their own?


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## LittlePuff (Jan 17, 2005)

Scuba kid is correct. Mine wouldn't eat enough bloodworms, etc.. but he loved snails!


Kim


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## jclaudii (Feb 16, 2006)

going to move them to their own tank. I got a extra 10 gallon laying around I use for sick fish. I'll clean it up and put a few plants in it and try to get some snails in it. they should l ike that home. Over the past few days I have seen them become more dominant in my 29gal. The betta used to be king of the tank now I had to isolte him back to his betta bowl b/c his fins were getting nipped at too much. I have about a 6 inch picostomus and they even nip at him. so They HAVE to have their own tank...BTW guess where she bought these little guys at WAL-MART...they were in a tank with silver bala sharks, said they would eat flake food. walmart should be sued for false info.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

hahah, a lot of corporations should be sued for their lack of knowledge. Just take petsmart for example. They recently revamped their fish selection and tags. I was optimistically hopeful that they actually had accurate information on them, however I was DREADFULLY disappointed when I saw the crazy info on the tags, one I particularly remember is Clown Knife fish (get 40 inches long) can go into a 30 gallons or bigger aquarium, and that dwarf puffers were community fish, and that a pictus catfish could go into a 5 gallon tank or larger.... sigh, now not only do I have to fight the customers on their misinformation, I have to fight the tags too.


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## jclaudii (Feb 16, 2006)

bad news on my poor little puffers  My heater shorted out and they fried  the water was over 100 degrees, the little beggars didn't even have a chance. I'll always remember the way they loooked at me with their beady little curious eyes.

Thanks for all the info on puffers, Hopefully I'll be ready for some new ones soon!


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## msdolittle (Mar 4, 2006)

Oh no! Thats heartbreaking, poor little things!


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