dwarf puffer info

[jclaudii]

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.

[Scuba Kid]

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.

[jclaudii]

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!

[Fishfirst]

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.

[Damon]

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.

[jclaudii]

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.

[Fishfirst]

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.

[ron v]

[quote=jclaudii]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.

[Scuba Kid]

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

[garfieldnfish]

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.

[Scuba Kid]

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

[fishboy]

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

[LittlePuff]

www.dwarfpuffers.com

[Cichlid Man]

[quote=ron v]

Originally Posted by jclaudii

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.

Come on guys, let's not be too hasty here.
If one doesn't know what to do, one should not critasise.

True though, you should of researched your fish before going out and buying them, also it's not a good idea to get fish as presents unless you chose the fish.
For a start, your tank is overcrowded in terms of the fishes overall health, you might not see it now, but in a few years even months time those balas will of gotton too big. Another thing, even though the puffers will be a nuisanse towards your smaller fish, puffers can also feel intimidated by larger fish too dispite thier disposition. I always say that fish with a huge difference in size to one another unless there's a means of escape for the smaller fish such as hiding places in the form of caves, tunnels etc. THe sharks and dollars will get too boisterous for your lil' puffers (if not already) and I also wouldn't recomend having tiger barbs in there like already said.
Puffers look good in huge shoals in big display tanks where they can dart about and be as boisterous as they like, but in a samll tank it's really like letting loose a bull in a china shop.
If I was you I'd get rid of the sharks, dollars, puffers, and just keep peaceful smaller species.

[ron v]

[quote=Cichlid Man]

Originally Posted by ron v

Come on guys, let's not be too hasty here.
If one doesn't know what to do, one should not critasise.

Several, very knowledgable members of this forum, DID know what to do, and told him. The advice was consistant. Everyone said the same thing. People choose to spend time here to help others and to have that advice completely dismissed..... It bugs me!

[jclaudii]

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

[Scuba Kid]

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.

[Fishfirst]

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.

[LittlePuff]

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

[garfieldnfish]

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.