puffer fish and....

tammy911

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Jan 26, 2003
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I have a 10 gallon freshwater tank that is cycled and ready to go! I presently have 3 long finned zebra danios ( taken from my 75g) to keep things going in the tank. It is lightly planted so far with java fern, but I have intentions to add more of the same plants. Snails are already introduced and doing quite well, judging from the number of the little darlings. The substrate is sand and there are a few pieces of driftwood to divide up the swimming areas. My question is: I would like to put in a dwarf puffer or two, and would like to know what I could add with them. The danios are going back to the big tank. I was thinking of something that could stir up the sand a little bit as I am concerned about anaerobic bacteria. Are kuhli loaches a possibility? If so, how many would be ideal?
 
O! pufferfish r sooo cute! well, i think u'd B able 2 put loachers w/ them, but i dunno the #...:(
 
If you've got lots of snails they'd do a pretty good job, kuhli loaches are pretty good for stirring up sand. Make sure it's sand though, gravel can scratch them up pretty bad. As long as you've got nothing else in the tank, dwarf puffers would be a good fit. Dwarf puffers only as everything else gets too big for a 10g or is brackish.
 
I think the kuhli loach would be ok, as long as there are plenty of places for him to hide (under rocks, driftwood, etc).
I had one in with a nasty sunfish and nothing happened, it could never catch the loach, they just dig into the sand.
 
One male and 2-3 female dwarf puffers without any tankmates should be fine in a ten.

You should add some Java Moss clumps to the tank - it is their prefered spawning site and also provides refuge fo the females if needed.

Coolies, like other loaches, do best in groups and the 10 is much too small for that. I disagree with their suitability for this tank.
 
Thanks so much for all the feedback! I would be happy to put just puffers in the tank, but as I said, my concern was that the sand would pack too tightly and cause the deadly anaerobic bacteria to form. That would be very bad, I think. That was my reasoning for putting in kuhli loaches. Am I being overly cautious?
 
Anaerobic pockets only cause a problem if disturbed. If you don't move the sand around, it will be fine. I have 2 tanks with about 2 inches of sand as the substrate, and they are fine. Plants will appreciate the low oxygen areas, and their roots will prevent compaction.

You may want to start a snail population in another tank as well. Puffers can wipe out a huge snail population in very short order. Plan on supplementing the snail diet with a nutritious, meaty food as well. My puffers are in a 40, and I seldom see a snail in there. Lots of empty shells though...
 
i know this may sound dumb but if u cant get anything but puffers in there and dont want Anaerobic pockets to happen just stir up the sand yourself with the fish net or something :p :D
 
While a good idea, I have to remind you that you need to start doing that from the beginning of the tank's existence, or else you'll be stirring up anaerobic pockets!
 
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