Re: Tips for keeping Dwarf Puffers

[cherylmason323]

I have asked numerous people about keeping Dwarf Puffers and I just wanted one last poll on what people generally need to keep and care for them. Also, I plan on keeping about three in a five gallone bc they only get to be about and inch or so. Also, I am building the natural bacteria in the tank a few weeks in advance by keeping three danios in there and then transferring them to my twenty gallon.

[Used]

Dwarf Puffers are great fish that provided with the proper environment will provide plenty of enjoyment. As with the majority of Puffers they are aggressive and nippy fish. The general rule to follow is one Dwarf Puffer for every 3-4 gallons of water so for a 5g tank I would house one at the most. You could possibly house two in this size tank although you may experience territorial disputes because of the insufficient space.

They require good water quality so weekly water changes as well as a thorough substrate vacuumining is necessary. A adequate filter is also a must on a Puffer tank. An HOB, Internal, or even a small canister filter would work great. I personally like to use a AquaClear 20-30 for smaller tanks. They have adjustable flow, quiet, can use whichever media you wish, and they are reasonably priced.

The bulk of a Dwarf Puffers diet should come from various frozen foods and live foods. They will almost never eat flake or pellet foods. Tiny snails should also be fed occasionally to help trim their teeth although it has been argued that DP's don't have problems with overgrown teeth like most species do. It is very interesting to watch them hunt for the snails. Make sure you see the Puffers you are about to purchase eat prepared foods preferably bloodworms or mysis. This should be done because some DP's can be difficult to wean on to prepared foods.

Tankmates are something that should be chosen very carefully. For a 5 gallon tank with one to two Dwarf Puffers I would only house a few shrimp as tankmates. Ghost, or Amano shrimp would do well and most DP's get along fine with shrimp. However it depends on the individual fish so your puffers may not tolerate tankmates. If they do coexist peacefully then it will benefit your tank as the shrimp will consume any leftover food.

The last thing that needs to be taken into consideration is decorations. Dwarf Puffers are very curious fish and love to explore their surroundings. With that said having plenty of plants, live or fake, as well as rocks, wood, caves, etc is essential. This will not only keep them active but will help eliminate them from seeing eachother to often which will help reduce aggressive behavior.

Hopefully this will help you out with preparing for your new Dwarf Puffer. They really are nice fish. :)

[cherylmason323]

Thank you so much for your reply to my post! I will consider keeping maybe two once I find more plants and such! I saw them at the pet store and immediately fell in love with them. However, I didn't want to make the same mistake I did when I bought my goldfish (if you ever read any of my earlier posts I have started out very rocky with fish keeping). I want to successfully keep my fish healthy and happy for the lengths of their lives and I hope that by learning all the needed information before I buy my fish will aid me! ^___^ Wheee!

[t_chelle16]

Dwarf puffers are highly aggressive so they generally do best with either one or several and since they need about 2 - 3 gallons each, you'd probably do best with just one in a 5 gallon tank. Although you could technicall fit 2 in there in terms of bioload, the odds of one killing the other are really high.

-Chelle