dwarf puffer, is it for me?

They are fin nippers, so won't mix with any thing that has long fins like guppies or bettas. They need live foods for the first few months--snails, and lots of them. They are not the best community fish, since they can be abusive of fish much, much larger than themsleves. They need very clean water, since they are sensitive to nitrites. Very curious, animated fish, but they tend to get lost in a big tank. Planted tanks are better if you have more than one--they need to be able to avoid each other to avoid fights.

They are true FW, and react poorly if kept with any salt.

i used to have one, but he nipped the fins of my beta even though my lfs siad he wouldnt i think oriongirl hit this one right on the head

The voice not of reason, but of experience. I have a betta who got moved to his very own 5 gallon. I had 2 males dwarves in with him with no problems, and added 2 females. One of the females shredded his fins overnight. The males prompted the transfer of all my gouramies to the 20 (with the african frog) since the dwarves (under 1 inch, mind you) would harrass and chase my 4-5 inch gouramies.

They are adorable, but they don't mix with many community fish.

I keep mine all alone in a 10 gallon setup. Very cool inquisitive fish ( my girls choice ) but definitely nippy. He even nips at the glass trying to bite my face when I go to feed him sometimes. Make sure you research their diet before you purchase too, they like to have snails in their diet , as a matter of fact , they need them to keep their teeth from over-growing. Mine love frozen blood worms, mysis shrimp, glassworms.... pretty much frozen anything at this point...and of course snails. The dwarfs don't get very big, and large snails are too hard/big for them to eat...keep this in mind as you will need to have access to some pencil eraser sized snails. I started with 2 and the one had intestinal problems and was kind of skinny and emaciated shortly after I brought him home. The stress of moving must have brought the problem on as he never got better and lasted about a month. My water is pristine and I change about 40-50% once per week and I've had him for about a year now, no health issues on #2 as I like to call him.... Good Luck , if you decide to get one...you'll like them.

Steve