Is a fish tank with amazon puffers, peacock spiny eels and a butterfly fish possible?

[oscarbuffalo]

I am going to start a 30 gallon fresh water aquarium. I have researched puffers and discovered that the Amazon puffers are community fish and do not require brackish water. I wanted to have a peacock spiny eel and a butterfly fish as well. I was wondering if there would be any problem with the butterfly fish's fins. I now puffers tend to be fin nippers. I am also wondering if the puffers may eat the spiny eels food. Would this tank be possible? If not, any recommendations?

 

[Luananeko]

I haven't kept puffers personally, but I've read about them a fair bit because I've always been curious to try keeping them... From what I've heard, 30g is a bit small for a Amazon puffer group plus tankmates... I believe they need around 15 gallons per puffer and need to be kept in a group of at least 3, 5-6+ ideally, in order to avoid neurotic/nervous behaviors. A 50g would be a much better size tank for a group, and even then you wouldn't have room for the eel or butterfly fish. Puffers have pretty large bioloads for their size.

Just on pure behavior compatibility, the eel would probably be ok with the puffers if kept in a large enough tank since the eel would be mostly active at dusk/nighttime and would hide out of their way during the day, but the butterfly fish might get fin-nipped a bit.

 

[oscarbuffalo]

I do not really want anything larger than 30 gallons, what fish would you recommend for living with a spiny eel (one of the smaller ones) and a African butterfly fish?

 

[Luananeko]

Hmmm, those two would take up a fair portion of the bio-load, so most schooling fish that are big enough to not be eating would leave you overstocked... You'll want something that's okay being kept singly or in pairs that's big enough to not be eaten. Here's some options:
Gourami (Pearl, Opaline, etc)
Paradise Fish
Rams (they need warmth, so if you go with them keep the temp in the upper half of the eel's range)
Badis
Hatchetfish (note these guys are schoolers, but they have a low bioload and stay near the top so they should be out of the eel's way)

If you want larger fish but aren't as concerned with a very active tank, the gourami or paradise fish will be your best bets, while the hatchets will give you the most livelyness. Rams are probably the most personable option. I don't have too much experience with Badis to say how they'd be, but what little I know of them they seem like they would fit too.

 

[oscarbuffalo]

Thanks for all your help, I think i'll go for a Paradise fish, badis or an electric blue ram. I fear the hatchet fish might bother the African butterfly at the surface.