Pea puffers community or no????

[kmny34]

I'd like to here from some people who have kept a pea puffer in a community tank with no problems!!!

What fish are they with?
What size tank?
Planted or not?
What do you feed your puffers??

Ive got mine in a 29 gallon with guppies, neons, cherry shrimp, juhli cories, and a peackock gudgeon.

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[Mcgolg76]

Wouldn't call it a community but had an endler in a tank who was getting pretty aggressive. Had to move him quick and my only option was my 5 g planted tank where my dp lived by himself. There was zero aggression from either fish. Only issue was the endler stealing the puffers food.


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[Penguin]

I've had a pea puffer and all i can say is they are very picky about food and need good water quality and can nip at slower moving fish and are brackish so need some salt in the tank

 

[Pseudomugil]

I've had a pea puffer and all i can say is they are very picky about food and need good water quality and can nip at slower moving fish and are brackish so need some salt in the tank

THEY ARE NOT BRACKISH!!! They are fully freshwater puffers. Salt can actually hurt them.

I had 9 in a community tank with 2 MALE bettas, 7 zebra danios, and 3 indian glassfish. No problems at all.

 

[Penguin]

THEY ARE NOT BRACKISH!!! They are fully freshwater puffers. Salt can actually hurt them.

I had 9 in a community tank with 2 MALE bettas, 7 zebra danios, and 3 indian glassfish. No problems at all.

I've read that they need some salt in fact mine died because i didn't have a mixture of both salt and fresh water my friend also has one and his thrives well in a brackish tank

 

[addisonnolann]

I've read that they need some salt in fact mine died because i didn't have a mixture of both salt and fresh water my friend also has one and his thrives well in a brackish tank

Probably isn't a dwarf pea puffer then. I'm not sure if salt harms them, but they definitely do not need it.


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[kmny34]

THEY ARE NOT BRACKISH!!! They are fully freshwater puffers. Salt can actually hurt them.

I had 9 in a community tank with 2 MALE bettas, 7 zebra danios, and 3 indian glassfish. No problems at all.

What did you feed your puffers??

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[Pseudomugil]

What did you feed your puffers??

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Frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, and live pest snails.

 

[RackinRocky]

Well, this is new to me! I've always loved the look of puffers. I had thought they would "bite" fish in a community tank, and that they will usually only eat live food. So I never got one for fear for my other fish and the fact that I do not feed live. I'd like to hear further input on this from puffer owners.

 

[lindenthaler.9]

I kept my Pea Puffer with Corydon as and ghost shrimp. They're one of the true freshwater puffers and don't require any salt. If it's brackish, it's really low end. I imagine they wouldn't survive long in the high end levels.
It's really a hit or miss depending on the puffers personality for the community tank. They're also one of the few species of puffer that do well, if not better, in groups.
A heavily planted 20L with 4-5 of them and lots of stuff to explore would be a good way to start owning a group of them. Bigger of course always being better.
Mine got pond snails, frozen blood worms, krill, and shrimp. Mostly snails.
And they're only puffer that could potentially live in a freshwater community. They're not at all aggressive compared to the other species. Again it depends on the personality of the puffer, but the most you would probably see is nipping at long-finned fish.

 

[RackinRocky]

Thanks for the info. I have a sorority of betta in my 55, and something tells me that even though female bettas have shorter fins, the puffer may not take kindly to them, and bettas aren't the fastest fish in the world either. I have a rather new, innocent, shy one who stays low in the heavy, thick plants, and I can just see a puffer cornering her in there... better not take the chance.

 

[serena00]

Honestly, I just went to my LFS and they had pea puffers in a tank with community fish. Said they never had a single problem. And in my opinion everybody looked happy. I think it really depends on the fishs own personality.

 

[lindenthaler.9]

It's definitely based on personality, but there's a big difference between being kept in a tank short term at a store and long term at home in a community. Most of the problems you would encounter probably won't happen overnight.