Types of Puffers

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polocrosseplyer

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Apr 21, 2006
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What types of puffer(s) would be okay in a 10 gal? or poss. a 20 g?
I know they say species only on a lot of things.. and the boyfriend wants one, well not one he says one fish in a tank is silly.. really bad - are dwarf puffers okay and what else actually stays small on that list on the website?

Pretty nikki says she has 2 in w/ cichlids - which i'm setting up a tank for now(malawi).. but would they really get along or would i have lots of fin nipping? or would should i chance it and see if there is enough territory for all of them to fight over?

http://www.****************/catalog_pages/brackish_water/puffer_figure_eight.htm#top2

I've been reading on this website and I dont know if it is a bunch of hooha or its right?
 
Well firstly, I would ignore the site on your link. Nothing but bad information combined with more bad information.

Check out the puffer list for more accurate info on puffers.

In general puffers do tend to be species only (do what is best for the fish, not your boyfriend) but there are a few exceptions. Some people keep dwarf puffers successfuly with a few otos in the tank. If you go for the 20g, you could keep around 5 dwarfs.

If you want to go the brackish route, a lone figure 8 would be ok in a 15g. I keep knight gobies with a f8 in a 29g and it's quite a peaceful tank. Remember also that brackish water require marine salt. Aquarium salt is nothing but an expensive gimmick and does not make brackish.

And with all puffers, it's a hit or a miss with any tankmates. They are aggressive by nature. I would defintely not mix them with malawis.
 
my suggestion would be to go with the 20gallon HEAVILY PLANTED, with 1 male DP and 2 Female DP.

focus on overplanting the tank, reason being is that the lil guys are very aggressive, and you ned to break all "lines of Sight"


a planted tank is cool in itself, especially if you over do it. make sure you get only one male, all the puffer sites and forums can tell you how to do so.
 
Gosh, thanks guys.. i kinda figured that site was bull since i've already read a lot about what you guys say, and i think the dwarfs will be the easiest and so will the planted tank. thanks guys for the easy set up ideas.. and i've been warned about aquarium salt and if i do brackish will always use marine. thanks again and happy fishkeeping!
 
Puffers should always be kept in a species only tank unless you are experianced with keeping puffers. 20G would be a perfect size for a single F8 and perhaps a few gobies later on. 25G would be a good size for 2 F8s.

10G would be good for some of the smaller puffers like dwarfs, red eye.
 
I've tried to socialize 2 dwarf puffers in a community tank. Everyone was one big happy family for about 2 days. Then the puffers had established themselves in the tank and had a nice little protection money business running. They'd chase and nip the heck out of my guppies. Then I moved them into a tank with only 2 dwarf gouramis, 3 Ghost Shrimp and a couple of CAE, and they've been doing fine ever since.

I would not suggest them for a community tank.
 
We have had two dwarf puffers in with 3 Cories for the last 19 months with no problems. A lot of people on the list warned me this was not a good mix but the puffers have never bothered the cories. They do eat the cories eggs when they lay them but that is fine.
 
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