Freshwater puffers

chunksofpoooo · Oct 26, 2004

Im having an interesting time trying to figure out compatability of different fish. I have a 20gal planted, fully cycled, tank and im looking to add some variety. Sooooo, im gonna need some feedback from someone who knows fish, and also has a bit of an artistic touch. If i had my darn camera this would be easier.

Tank:
plants-
Sword
Duckweed (light, i clear often)
Anacharis
Sagittaria

Deco-
Large piece of Lava rock (red)
Black slate
turquoise and black gravel

Fish and what not-
Neon tetras (10)
Bamboo Shrimp (3)
Chinese Alge Eater (2)
2 stupid guppies....i hate those things. i bought them to supply food for the African Butterfly i was gonna get, which still hasnt panned out (i keep on missing them at the lfs, they sell fast i guess).

Im looking to spice things up a bit. The tank looks awsome, but it lacks the centerpiece im looking for (ive just about given up on the butterfly i think). I was looking at Freshwater Puffers. This, i know, raises several issues....namely the complete destruction of all of my neons and possibly my shrimp (i dont care about the guppies).

Is there any way around this? If i kept the puffers well fed (id get 2 i think), and if i bought 2 small ones (yeh, they grow, i know) could i reduce my loss? I have a friend who lives in my dorm and hes bringing his empty 10gal tank from home, so i could possibly give him some of the neons if overstocking or whatever becomes a problem.

Im just looking for something a bit larger than the small schooling fish. At first i was thinking another school of harlequin tetras to go with the neons, but thats boring.

advice?

OrionGirl · Oct 26, 2004

Which FW puffer are you looking at? The short answer is that puffers--all of them--are best left out of the community tank. It's hit or miss, even with the SA puffers, to get ones that are not highly aggressive. All of them will nip at other fish, sometimes to the point of killing the other fish, sometimes just enough to leave the other fish looking bad. I have had SA--found them a new home with someone who'se willing to trim teeth as needed. I couldn't give them enough crunchy food to keep their beaks from overgrowing. The dwarves are a terror pack. They leave the kuhli loaches, bristlenose and rainbow shark alone, but everything else I had in the tank had to be removed--tetras, rainbows, cories, gouramies, etc. The dwarves were okay to begin with, but became increasingly aggressive to anything that used more than the bottom of the tank. The shark will be removed pretty soon, as he is starting to show nips, too.

So, the neons probably would be nipped and harrassed too much. The shrimp--likely toast. Ghost shrimp last for about a week in with the dwarves, and less with the larger puffers. Some FW puffers-fahaka, notably, are considered some of the most aggressive, nasty tempered brutes out there. Cool, but the only fish in the tank.

Moving this over the Brackish--despite being FW, we're consolidating puffer threads over there for convenience rather than logic.

chunksofpoooo · Oct 26, 2004

I was looking at the neon green puffer as my lfs calls them (green puffer or Argentinian puffer i believe, Tetraodon schoutedeni?). They're about 3-4" long and have bright green patches/patterns on their body. Coincidentally they might actually be a brackish fish, not sure though.

I had a feeling that i couldnt get away with having them in a community, so ill hold off for now. Im still looking for that darn butterfly, supposedly a Petco off Sepulvida by LAX has one. Its a new petco, so their not really stocked, i was suprized. I am, however, increadibly reluctant to go to petco. Crickets are about all i ever buy from petco.

If i cant find the african butterfly ill probably give the tetras to my friend (10 should be ok for a 10gal, right?). Im unsure of what id do with the bamboo shrimp, probably the same. Im suprized that the puffers would take them on, the bamboo shrimp are about 3" long. Would the Chinese alge eaters be ok? they're about 4" long, give or take. I wouldnt have the numbers i had before, but 3 puffers would look awsome in the tank. Id also have to get a small 2gal or something to hold the feeder fish. would the feeders provide the "crunchyness" needed, or would i need something else?

Pufferpunk · Oct 26, 2004

GSPs, Tetraodon nigroviridis (green spotted puffers) are definately BW fish. See: GSP They should not be fed fish. There is no chance that they are Tetraodon schoutedeni, as those fish haven't ben available in the aquarium trade in over 20 years.

chunksofpoooo · Oct 27, 2004

they might have been a Tetraodon fluviatilis, but i still think they are the green spotted. **Note**, and this is a big one, my lfs is crazy, and regardless of the fact that they arent available to the public, that wouldnt stop them from having it. My only other option is petco, and i hate petco.

when i say crazy i mean it.....they have rice on the floor and have scorpions in cages in the back

is Tetraodon fluviatilis a FW or BW? could it survive FW? i realize its better for the fish not to have to compromise, but the fish at my lfs have been there for a while, and im worried about their health.

Pufferpunk · Oct 27, 2004

You really should read that article. I mainly wrote it to dispell the confusion & misidentification of spotted puffers. Fluviatilis requires identical care as a GSP. Fluviatilis really doesn't look like a GSP. They look more like T biocellatus, with spots on their lower half.

chunksofpoooo · Oct 27, 2004

yeh thanks, ill read through it

ill try to get a pic of the fish at my lfs for you
maybe youll have an easier time idetifying it

chunksofpoooo · Oct 27, 2004

they're dwarf puffers. I have no idea why the shop labled them as "neon green puffers", but im almost posotive they are dwarf puffers. Ill try to get a pic

thanks

nicolleen · Oct 27, 2004

hi!

pufferpunk is definitely right, if you really ought to get one, get a t. travancorius, the dwarf puffer, and even he can be a right little bugger to other fish! anything else should NOT be put into your tank, let alone two of them!! figure eight is a freshwater fish, but gets up to 6cm in size, most others, including the nigroviridis, are definitely brackish water fish! also they are very territorial within their species, for 2 of them you need a much bigger tank!
i suggest you find something different eye catching, a pufferfish seems really not suitable and neither you, him or your other fish will be happy.

what about some peaceful shrimp?

lg
niki

RTR · Oct 27, 2004

Figure 8 puffers are BW fish, they are not, repeat not, FW fish. In FW you will be lucky to get a few years out of them, and likely have chronic or repeated skin and eye problems. In light BW they will be happy and healthy to the mid-teens.

Dwarf puffers do quite well in groups of their own kind, preferably with a ratio of one male to 2-3 females, and best with an allowance of 2 1/2-3 gallons per fish. They do best in heavily planted tanks. They also breed in captivity.


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