I am seriously considering getting a little tank for a pair of these guys... they are just cute as buttons and sound like they have awesome personalities! But every website I read about them has different info than the next. Hoping you guys can clear some of this up.
Tank: I want to do small for my table. 5-10 gallons. I've read on one site they do fine in a 3 gallon if you only have 1 fish and two are fine in a 5-6 gallon provided they are male/female and not two males. Another site said you should never keep them in less than a 20 gallon tank, which would make it impossible for me to keep them right now since I just dont have the space.
Sociability: A couple sites said they need to be in schools, and other said they can be kept singly or in pairs, and still others say they NEED to be alone unless you have a huge tank or they'll kill each other. If they are schoolers and need buddies, then I probably wont do them since I dont have space right now for a larger tank. Alone would be fine, but I dont want a lonely fish. Some sites say no shrimp, no other fish, and some say some puffers get along with shrimp and otos. While I would love to keep diversity in the tank and added food cleanup with shrimp and otos, I dont want to endanger any creature.
Feeding: I've read that they NEED live food (planning on providing snails for sure, but dont have live black worms or brine shrimp atm) and wont take flakes or frozen food. But I've also read that frozen blood worms work. Anyone have experience with them doing OK on frozen foods if they have snails?
Params: My water is very hard with a high pH (around 8.2). I've read they can tolerate up to 8.3 on one site, but another said keep it around 7. I'm hoping to get an RO system soon so it wont be a huge deal, but it would be a help if they can tolerate harder water. I know they need very clean water with 50% weekly changes, which isnt a problem, but since I'm mixing distilled into my tanks to help with the hardness and pH, it could get expensive if they need neutral conditions. Also, I havent read anything about water movement. Is high current a problem? I know they are small, so I was thinking filter current should be low, but I was hoping to put them in a fluval edge if possible and the filter on that still has a relatively fast "LOW" setting.
Lifespan I've read 2-3 years, and then I've read up to 8 years. Your thoughts?
Finally, I have read that they can be colorful and there are different types, but all the ones I've looked at look the same. Are there variations to choose from? Or are all dwarf puffers created equal...
Thanks for the help if anyone can clear this up. I wont be getting one till after the holidays (My xmas list was primarily made up of fish gift certs or nano tanks), but I want to make sure I have the best possible environment ready for them.
Tank: I want to do small for my table. 5-10 gallons. I've read on one site they do fine in a 3 gallon if you only have 1 fish and two are fine in a 5-6 gallon provided they are male/female and not two males. Another site said you should never keep them in less than a 20 gallon tank, which would make it impossible for me to keep them right now since I just dont have the space.
Sociability: A couple sites said they need to be in schools, and other said they can be kept singly or in pairs, and still others say they NEED to be alone unless you have a huge tank or they'll kill each other. If they are schoolers and need buddies, then I probably wont do them since I dont have space right now for a larger tank. Alone would be fine, but I dont want a lonely fish. Some sites say no shrimp, no other fish, and some say some puffers get along with shrimp and otos. While I would love to keep diversity in the tank and added food cleanup with shrimp and otos, I dont want to endanger any creature.
Feeding: I've read that they NEED live food (planning on providing snails for sure, but dont have live black worms or brine shrimp atm) and wont take flakes or frozen food. But I've also read that frozen blood worms work. Anyone have experience with them doing OK on frozen foods if they have snails?
Params: My water is very hard with a high pH (around 8.2). I've read they can tolerate up to 8.3 on one site, but another said keep it around 7. I'm hoping to get an RO system soon so it wont be a huge deal, but it would be a help if they can tolerate harder water. I know they need very clean water with 50% weekly changes, which isnt a problem, but since I'm mixing distilled into my tanks to help with the hardness and pH, it could get expensive if they need neutral conditions. Also, I havent read anything about water movement. Is high current a problem? I know they are small, so I was thinking filter current should be low, but I was hoping to put them in a fluval edge if possible and the filter on that still has a relatively fast "LOW" setting.
Lifespan I've read 2-3 years, and then I've read up to 8 years. Your thoughts?
Finally, I have read that they can be colorful and there are different types, but all the ones I've looked at look the same. Are there variations to choose from? Or are all dwarf puffers created equal...
Thanks for the help if anyone can clear this up. I wont be getting one till after the holidays (My xmas list was primarily made up of fish gift certs or nano tanks), but I want to make sure I have the best possible environment ready for them.
