Any suggestions for 5 gallon tank?

[mostlycichlids]

akapaul's dp died the other day (see his thread about 5 gal stocking in General Chit Chat). it was very thin and I thought it had internal parasites. Rowangel believes it may have just starved because stores don't feed them propertly. They just give all their fish flakes, and dp's will not eat flakes.

So, yeah, they can be difficult to feed. Mine would only eat live blackworms, but I've managed to wean them onto frozen bloodworms after weeks of training. I can give you details if you want, when the time comes. I want to try some human-grade shrimp, too, and probably mussels or clams. I am a big proponent of variety, but it's so dang hard with these guys. A few people have "good" dp's that will accept all kinds of foods readily. But I'd say far more have problems getting them to eat.

Thanks plah it seems like you always have my back.

 

[plah831]

Thanks plah it seems like you always have my back.

aww, well you're my friend

actually, I think it's more that I'm on here way too much and extremely vocal

 

[riddle4sphinx]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! I don't know too much about dwarf puffers, so one of you would have to fill me in a little more on them. My biggest question is how expensive does feeding live food get? (I am a poor college student) I also like the idea of guppies or gouramis or bettas. Can a snail live with any of them? Obviously I wouldn't mix species of fish, but I have only dealt with snails for my families pond outside at home, never for indoor aquariums. Thanks so much for all of your help!

 

[dorkfish]

Snails would work with the gouramies and guppies for sure and probably the betta as well (can't say for sure on the betta though - there temperments are quite variable).

I would imagine that the cost of live food would be quite low for a drawf pufferr - maybe $3-5 per month at the most.

 

[pthalobluebetta]

about female bettas, i was once told by the owner of a great lfs near me that you need to have at least 3 females in a tank as one will become the dominant "queen" over the other 2. With only 2, they will fight for dominance and back and forth they will go.
with at least 3, the queen betta's attention will be split, and the other 2 will be safer in a group.

i have a male betta happily living by himself in a 4 gallon.. he's already forced out the other tankmates i've tried w/ him (white clouds), and will vigorously attack my algae eating shrimp any time he's spotted.

i'd say get the wimpiest looking male betta in the store lol, cause i went for the most vigorous looking one =)

 

[fishcatch22]

drawf

just curious, DF, but why do you always spell dwarf drawf? is it an accent thing?

 

[plah831]

it is not expensive to feed dwarf puffers as they are so small. however, live food can be a hassle if you're living in the dorm (unless you have a mini-fridge and your roommate wouldn't mind having a small tub of live worms in there )

for more info, the best place is www.dwarfpuffers.com, and they have a forum where you can post any questions.

 

[plah831]

also, NO you cannot keep snails with dwarf puffers as they are molluskivores and would eat the snail. Even if it's too large (like a mystery snail bigger than themself) they will tear pieces of its flesh or eat its antennae until the poor snail dies. It's not pretty and very cruel.

I breed common ramshorn snails to feed my puffers and they love them almost as much as their live blackworms. They didn't know how to eat frozen bloodworms at first, but I've trained them after a few weeks to accept dead, non-wiggling food.

 

[dorkfish]

just curious, DF, but why do you always spell dwarf drawf? is it an accent thing?

I keep geting mixed up with the two spellings.

 

[fishcatch22]

I keep geting mixed up with the two spellings.

LOL, you are great, DF.