Dwarf Puffer question

Thanks for the advice, he has been eating blood worms great even though it takes him a little longer to eat and also dumped in a few baby snails for him. They all get a long great so far. Oh yea if anything goes wrong I definitely have a cycled 5 gallon tank already running for him (was used as a quarentine tank for the cardinals) and right now just houses a few things to keep it cycled (baby cherry shrimp... etc).
I could isolate him, but would rather have all of them together if you know what I mean.
I know you guys really care about them getting along and would like to get some feedback from your experiences (jbradt, krytan...) sorry I sounded so standoffish in the beggining, but didn't want this to turn into some attacking newb thread (which I am not).
So I guess the general concensus is no for the pair? He should be perfectly fine by himself but again I like to keep things in pairs and at the lfs they seemed to school together and get along great in the community tank there. I got most of my information from the dwarf puffer forums and for the most part seemed like a gamble whether or not it would work out.

I will try to get some pics up of both my 5 gallon and 20 gallon (will actually be upgrading to 30 in a few weeks) to see what you guys think.

Thanks for your input!
 
Also to mention, the puffers were all mature (mine's a tad over an inch long) if this helps at all. I figured if they were aggressive it would already show and I know the lfs owner pretty well and he wouldn't lie about something like that (I literally asked him about compatibility issues ten times..lol).
 
To the best of my knowledge dwarf puffers are a species only fish. It's likely that your dwarf puffer is going to become very territorial and will eventually torture or kill all of your other tank inhabitants. I think a lot of people have the wrong idea, that if incompatible fish don't exactly bother eachother, that it's okay to house them together. A lot of people keep fish and they are unhealthy, barely surviving. I think the idea is to have a tank full of life that is thriving, not surviving. A Dwarf puffer mixed with community fish is likely intimidated and that's why he appears 'lonely'. You can bet on him becoming aggressive or finding him belly up or stuck to your filter one day. I think you should dedicate one of your tanks to him only, plant a tank heavily and see if he can tolerate another dwarf puffer. But most of all, you should get him out of the community tank. That's just my opinion.

I think it's a little silly that everyone played the 'when you're more receptive' game. You should just come right out and offer the advice you have, especially when you know it is correct and the proper thing to do.
 
peter22 said:
Also to mention, the puffers were all mature (mine's a tad over an inch long) if this helps at all. I figured if they were aggressive it would already show and I know the lfs owner pretty well and he wouldn't lie about something like that (I literally asked him about compatibility issues ten times..lol).
Click to expand...

Even if you know the owner, you have to take everything a LFS tells you with a grain of salt. If they truly cared about compatibility and the proper habitats for these fish, they would no longer be in business because almost every person I've ever ran into at a LFS, or employee do not take care of their fish properly.

If you went to the car dealer, would you believe everything they tell you? No. Do your own research from the least biased resources you can find. Like a forum, or a website dedicated to proper fish keeping.
 
peter22 said:
Thanks for the advice, he has been eating blood worms great even though it takes him a little longer to eat and also dumped in a few baby snails for him. They all get a long great so far. Oh yea if anything goes wrong I definitely have a cycled 5 gallon tank already running for him (was used as a quarentine tank for the cardinals) and right now just houses a few things to keep it cycled (baby cherry shrimp... etc).
I could isolate him, but would rather have all of them together if you know what I mean.
I know you guys really care about them getting along and would like to get some feedback from your experiences (jbradt, krytan...) sorry I sounded so standoffish in the beggining, but didn't want this to turn into some attacking newb thread (which I am not).
So I guess the general concensus is no for the pair? He should be perfectly fine by himself but again I like to keep things in pairs and at the lfs they seemed to school together and get along great in the community tank there. I got most of my information from the dwarf puffer forums and for the most part seemed like a gamble whether or not it would work out.

I will try to get some pics up of both my 5 gallon and 20 gallon (will actually be upgrading to 30 in a few weeks) to see what you guys think.

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...


you know, this would definitely not have turned into a newb bashing thread. anyway......

DP's are very territorial(with other species of fish as well as their own), and notorious fin nippers. youre right, it is a gamble. who likes to gamble with pets? :) that 5 gallon would be just fine if you had to move him... but you might wanna kiss the shrimp goodbye if you leave them in there. ;)
 
J double R said:
you know, this would definitely not have turned into a newb bashing thread. anyway......
Click to expand...

I have never once seen a thread 'bash' a newb; on the contrary, we all try to be incredibly supportive and direct to resources/info. as needed. I think we're all greatful to the forums for helping us to assimilate so much information.

No...... we prefer the taste of more 'seasoned' posters who are utterly defiant in their ways and therefore have no shelter :laugh:

:hitting:
 
Thanks for all your replies, it is greatly appreciated. I will definitely keep an update for you guys to see how everything goes. I'll probably just keep the dwarf by himself and see how everything works out for now and if it doesn't work out than the five gallon tank is his new home.
So far contrary from what everyone has told me about keeping fish with cherry shrimp, all my fish so far has been really good with them (including the dwarf puffer as well), it seems like my shrimp are too fast for them (I have at least 60+, started with 10 a couple months ago, and they are still reproducing like crazy!).
 
Just a quick update on everything, everyone is still getting a long great. My dwarf puffer seems to be putting on some weight and really healthy, although it is a little tricky to feed him as everyone else in the tank goes crazy for frozen blood worms... lol
What I do is create a divergence of aqueon flakes on one end of the tank and the dwarf puffer now knows to wait for me on the other side where he gets his fillings before the whole crew storms in and eats all the leftover blood worms after the flakes are all gone.
The funny thing is the dwarf gourami sort of likes him and they "hang" out together sometimes. Sometimes he thinks he is a puffer and tries to mimic the puffer by eating snails... and fails. Thats really unexpected since the dwarf gourami absolutely hates the cardinal tetras and closely defends his side of the tank 24/7, but the puffer is allowed to hang out there.
I also supplement the puffers diet with baby pond snails every day as I am breeding them in a simple 2.5 gallon tank.

I've read on forums that after a few months, the dwarf puffer might get aggresive, I will keep you guys updated. As of right now he is very nice and gets along with everyone. He is definitely full grown and sexually mature so hopefully his attitude won't change one day.
 
Dwarf puffer is a very aggressive fish. DO NOT put them in a community tank. I found that out and took them back the next day. They will stress out your fish. I found the smaller they were the worse lol. I know they look cool but... I have learned one thing read about the fish and then make your decision whether you want to get it or not. AC is a really good place with knowledgeable and experienced members that will help you with any question you might have.
 
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