What is your thoughts on a school of pea puffers?

[timwag2001]

Just picked up a 125g and was thinking of a school of pea puffers in a heavily planted tank. Anyone have a decent sized school?

 

[fishorama]

Hey timwag, long time no see. I have no idea on the puffers but it sounds like an interesting idea.

 

[tanker]

A 125 with just pea-puffers, and they complain that I have a 100gal with tetras. At least my tetras can grow to over 2" long.

IMO, that would be nice, but may get a little lost in there. The puffers only grow to about 1" long. I think a 40 long, ect would be better.

 

[Murg7]

Pea puffers in a 125 heavily planted might be the coolest thing someone could ever do. Add in some bumblebee gobies and scarlet badises and you'd be set.

 

[evil wizard]

I don't see why not, they actually school in the wild.
But how will you feed that many? I'm assuming you'll have at least 50 dwarf puffers.

 

[Tifftastic]

I'd be very interested to see this done! I think you'd be able to witness some great natural behaviours that you just can't see with them in a smaller tank.

 

[OrionGirl]

FWIW...we started with 40+ in a densely planted 90. Ended up with 2. I don't know if it was a lack of food--we fed snails, live and frozen brine, black worms and frozen krill--or if they killed each other off. I suspect some of the former when there were lots, the latter once it dropped below about 10. Despite our best efforts to make sure every fish had fat bellies each day, numbers just kept dropping. Heartbreaking. They were awesome to watch display pack behavior hunting live food, but spent an awful lot of time brutalizing each other.

 

[SantaMonica]

Peas are one of my fav yet-to-be-done things. A school would be great. As for reducing numbers, maybe it is indeed food, like SW chromis, where if they don't get fed continuously they kill the smaller ones off until the amount of food they get is enough for them (and, if you do feed enough continuously, any number of them will stay alive).