Pea Puffers and Amazon Puffers together?

[Xabbusan]

Hi all,

So I have been setting up a 60 gallon tank and have been very back and forth about what I want to stock it with. I eventually decided on a Tanganyika tank with Tropheus and Synondontis.... but I have come to find out that they are very expensive and very hard to find. So.... back to a previous idea... Puffers.

I have been starting to do some more in depth research into the different kinds of puffers that would work for me. I definitely am getting Dwarf Puffers as I also have a 16 gallon that I am setting up and had already planned that out for them...

I have come across some various comments that in a large enough tank with good caves/plants... It may be possible to have a group of dwarf puffers AND a group of Amazon's. Say 5 Dwarfs and 5 Amazons..... is this a good idea? If this is something that would work out ok that would be awesome... Advice? (I realize puffer personalities vary widely but has anyone here ever tried this?)

I have also looked into the Figure 8's but I am not sure I am ready to dive in on a brackish tank as I have never had one before.

 

[fishorama]

I haven't kept puffers but it seems like the size difference is not a compatible combo.

 

[Xabbusan]

Yeah it seemed like a long shot to me mainly because of those angry little pea's lol. But I figured I would put it out there and see what everyone said. Ultimately I will probably end up going with an Amazon Puffer community tank. As far as I understand they do better in decent sized groups and are also fairly friendly with other community fish. Not the easiest to find stock but I have a LFS who loves puffers and generally has some sort of puffer in stock and access to vendors for more. Haven't decided what the other species will be yet though. So many choices, not enough tanks!!

 

[OrionGirl]

You'll have more tank mate options with the amazons than with pea puffers. I tried having a group of pea puffers in a planted 90, and they brutalized and killed each other off until there were only 2. I had 5 amazons in a community 40 with great success. Make sure you quarantine rigorously, for the puffers and any tank mates--they are very susceptible to ich.

 

[Xabbusan]

Thanks! Do you have any recommendations on tank mates for the amazon's? I have just begun looking into what I could put in there with them and this is my first idea but will probably change before it's time to purchase lol... I'm still learning and have never kept any of these fish so all advice is welcome.

5-6 x Amazon Puffer
1 x Pleco (something dwarfish lol, one that doesn't grow more than 4-5")
2 x Bolivian Ram pair (not sure on this, but seems compatible)
5 x Corydoras seussi (too much? I could choose either the 1 Pleco or the Cory school if it would be too much with both)

60 gallon tank (48 x 12 x 24) w/Cascade 1000 filter (should I think about investing in a 2nd filter? I know a lot of people use two filters and I also know that puffers are notoriously messy... but I also don't mind just doing an extra (free lol) water change if that would be sufficient). I already started hardscaping it for when I was planning on a Tropheus tank so right now there is pool filter sand, large basalt rocks, small river rocks, and pea gravel. I really, really don't want to take everything out again lol... so I was thinking of just scooping away some sand in the areas that I would want live plants and replacing just those main areas with better substrate for plant growth, and then maybe throw in a couple of small pieces of driftwood as well.

Recommendations on plants/lights would also be useful. I haven't much looked into them yet but I know that I would prefer something biotope-ish or close to it and preferably something fairly hardy/easy to work with as I have never had a planted tank before.

 

[OrionGirl]

Go with a bristlenose and that will be fine. Watch the rams, as if they pair up they will terrorize the tank, and the puffers might make snacks of fry.

In terms of plants--there are a lot of options. What shape and maintenance are you interesting in? I hate trimming plants, so avoid stem plants, but there are a lot of rooted plants that will be fine in sand so long as you fertilize. Root tabs are a good thing.

 

[Xabbusan]

Here is a pic of my current setup as it is right now... I stopped filling it up because I realized I was going to have to change some stuff after I decided halfway through to switch to a different species tank lol.

So I was thinking of taller plants on the back corners/sides and then I would probably remove some rocks in the middle and have something a bit shorter in that area. I don't mind trimming (i don't think I do at least lol) or general maintenance of the plants, I am mainly just concerned with something that will look nice (and biotope-ish at least in appearance) and grow well/easily because I have ZERO experience with plants... aquatic or otherwise.
I found someone selling a kit of small packages of 5 different kinds of ADA substrate additives for like $20 so I have that and I figure that little amount would be enough for what I am doing in this tank (of course it shipped from China so it takes like a month to get here lol... worth it? I don't know yet).

 

[OrionGirl]

Might want to research a bit what you mean by 'biotope'. There are many Amazon areas where there is little to no aquatic vegetation, and a lot of places where the plants aren't really aquatic, they're just temporarily flooded. Better bet...crypt spiralis or retrospiralis for the long, tall plants, then a variety of anubis that you can attach to the rock with superglue/string. Add some wood, and use the same method on it. Lower maintenance, easy to maintain. Make sure your light it up to spec as wel, since taller tanks need more output to cover the depth.

 

[Xabbusan]

That's why I say, "biotope-ish" lol. I don't need a perfect biotope or anything, especially because I don't know what species are even readily available/difficult or easy to work with. I would rather get a plant that looks similar to a certain region's plant but is easier to work with and find... than to get something exactly from one specific region and have it be a disaster.

Basically, I was just generally thinking.... stick to plants from South America. That would be good enough for me personally. I read that the amazon puffers prefer some vegetation and driftwood rather than just purely rocks/caves.

I was also looking at anubius and I think that is one for sure that I will use as it is pretty popular and available. These are some other ones that I liked the look of. I would probably just pick a few out of these. If you have had some experience with these let me know if there are some that might work better than others. Thanks you are a wonderful resource of information!!!

Echinodorus grisebachii Broad-leaved Dwarf Amazon Sword
Alternanthera reineckii Rosaefolia
Hydrocotyle leucocephala Brazilian Pennywort
Vallisneria gigantea Jungle Val
Limnobium laevigatum Amazon Frogbit
Eleocharis parvula Dwarf Hairgrass
Anubius nana Dwarf Anubius

 

[OrionGirl]

Swords are root feeders, need high light and do best with supplements in the substrate. Vals as well, though IME they are ok in medium light as well. Hairgrass is a mess, requires a lot of dedication to get it planted and established, also higher light. Anubias will be fine, as noted. Pennywort is attractive, but it's a stem plant so will require pruning. Frogbit is a floating plant, it requires VERY high light to really do well indoors though I have success keeping it in tubs outside in the summer.

Puffers don't care about plants, per se, but all tanks do better with live plants since they help clean the water. Plants also often introduce snails, which puffers definitely appreciate, and plants are very good at breaking line of sight, helping keep aggression down and providing cover. Overall, I'm a fan of plants in tanks.