My son has a 10 gallon he'd like to put a freshwater/brackish puffer fish in. I did a little research but wondered what opinions I can generate here regarding which would be better, or if there is another species that would work better. He has currently an african dwarf frog, but I can move him if necessary to my betta tank. Thanks in advance!
Leopard or Dwarf Puffer?
- Thread starter SftWrmRain
- Start date
At my LFS, they have puffers marked as leopards but they sure look like green spotted. I guess my main question was, which would you pick for a 10 gallon, if it was the only fish in it?
This is why common names are useless. From a quick search there are two species that have the common name "leopard puffer".
Tetraodon schoutedeni the spotted congo/leopard puffer which is a true freshwater puffer.
Tetraodon nigrifilis/fluviatilis (they changed the name recently) green spotted/ leopard puffer which is a brackish water puffer.
They both look very similar too
http://puffernet.tripod.com/confusion.html
You really need to be sure as to which one your getting. I personally wouldn't keep either in a 10gal. I would say your best bet would be the dwarf puffers. I have a DP and he is very entertaining to watch.
Tetraodon schoutedeni the spotted congo/leopard puffer which is a true freshwater puffer.
Tetraodon nigrifilis/fluviatilis (they changed the name recently) green spotted/ leopard puffer which is a brackish water puffer.
They both look very similar too
http://puffernet.tripod.com/confusion.html
You really need to be sure as to which one your getting. I personally wouldn't keep either in a 10gal. I would say your best bet would be the dwarf puffers. I have a DP and he is very entertaining to watch.
Thanks for the link! Very interesting! So you wouldn't keep a dwarf puffer in a 10 gallon alone, with plants? Everything I've read says that's a great home for them. I used to have a puffer in a community tank that was also very entertaining, which is why I encouraged my son in this direction. BTW, that was before I knew puffers are really better off NOT in a community tank, many years ago.tai95 said:
No I would definately keep a dwarf in a 10gal, the leopard i wouldn't. The freshwater one may only get to be about 4", but with the food they eat keeping the water quality good would require a lot of work in a small tank. If you want you could try and breed DP in a 10gal.
Hey thanks for your input - I greatly appreciate it.tai95 said:
Anyone else want to toss in their opinions?? Puffer owners with pluses and minuses??
Dwarf puffers will do great in the 10 gallon. You could do a male and 2 females then put in a bunch of plants.
Dont do the 'leopard puffer' it is probably a GSP which need 30 gallons min.
Dont do the 'leopard puffer' it is probably a GSP which need 30 gallons min.