Dorm room tank...

[hamburgler]

Long time lurker first time poster.

I'm gonna be setting up a small tank for my desk in my dorm in the fall. I'm planning on an eclipse system 6...not sure what to put in it. I know i'm limited and have done lots of forum browsing. I am looking for stocking ideas in terms of somethings thats interesting with some personality. So far it seems as though dwarf puffers are the ticket. I was just wondering if anyone had any other input. BTW i plan on doing frequent water changes and i'm not worried about something that will take some work with feeding and whatnot as a break from work is always good.

OK im done with this essay, and i'm sure this has been asked a million times already!
Thanks!

 

[joannde]

Personally, I'd go with a betta and 3 panda or 3 pygmy cories. ALL of them are full of personality and the cories are a HOOT

 

[tropicfishman]

corys and betta are awesome, but the puffers are brackish so you do needa mix some aquarium salt in the tank for them, so invertabrates are outta the question if you do the puffers and welcome to AA you ever havea questiuon, truyst me the people on here can answer it in minutes

 

[hamburgler]

Thanks for the input. Although i do believe dwarf puffers are completely freshwater...according to dwarfpuffers.com. Compared to figure 8's, spotteds, etc.

Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Elle2]

Yes, my lfs claims that thiers are completely fw. They are adorable.. I really want some but apparently they are difficult to feed in a community tank... unless you are prepared to feed all of your fish live bloodworms all the time (acording to the lfs). But If I had another tank I would definitely go with them.
Having said that, I second joannde's comment on the Panda's... she recommended them to me and I love them... they are hilarious (and keep the bottom really clean).

 

[verucaproduce]

Dwarf puffers are beautiful little creatures! I had a couple (a loooong time ago) but unfortunately the store that sold them to me didn't tell me of their eating requirements and they didn't make it all that long.

They were cute when they got caught in the flow from the filter and it would push them downward toward the front of the tank - they would puff up!

 

[JustOneMore20]

I personally think a 6g is too small for cories. The pygmy type may be ok, but not pandas. They get about 2 inches, so if you go by the inch per gallon rule, 3 of them would be stocked. I don't use this rule, but I am using it as an example atm.

I would go with a betta and maybe a couple ottos. If possible plant the tank. Small tanks make nice aquascapes.

I don't think dwarf puffers would work in that size tank. The general rule is about 3 gals per fish, meaning you could only have 2 in a 6g. They also can be aggressive towards each other and you'd have to make sure you got 1m/1f. Sometimes though males can be aggressive towards females, that's why its suggested to use the ratio 1m/2f. They will only take frozen or live food (some will only take live) and can be hard to feed. They shouldn't be kept alone because one would get lonely and may not eat. They are completely freshwater and really need a planted tank with alot of room (even though they are tiny).

 

[hamburgler]

A typical tank on dwarfpuffers.com is a 5-6g with 2 or 3 puffers in it. I'm sure 2 dp's will be fine in a 6g planted...frequent water changes, etc.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Elle2]

Yes I think there may be more than one variety of dp? Is that possible? The ones at my lfs are VERY small and the people there (knowledgeable- small exclusive aquarium store) said they are very peaceful. They said they get along with other fish but the problem is that they will only eat live blood worms which means all your other fish start to eat them and eventually won't eat anything else. They said you can keep many together in a smallish space... but as I said these were REALLY small and they said that they didn't get bigger (less than an inch). But as justonemore noted this seems counter to the research I had done.

 

[DepotFish]

No I think there is one variety of dp that gets 1 inch. There are several small freshwater puffers though that might be mixed up or mislabeled.

 

[hamburgler]

I second that there is only one species. And as far as i know they are considered agressive.

 

[Elle2]

hmmmm.... probably a good lesson for me to always beware of what the lfs tells me.

 

[JRagg]

http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/intro2.htm

Seems to say two species there. They've got the domain name, they must be right!

 

[hamburgler]

Regardless...i think they are both equally aggressive.

 

[lyquidphyre]

I think pea sized puffers would work fine in a 6 gal tank. Possibly 3 or 4

But, I will say that puffers can be tempermental when it comes to water conditions and being a college student myself, I know that a betta is WAY easier to take care of during exams than puffers =o)

When I lived in the dorms I had a betta and when I moved out I ventured on for "bigger and better tanks". I bought a 6gal tank not to long ago.. and guess whats in it?? A betta!
They really do have a lot of personality, and you have to consider the fact that they are VERY hardy.

In my 6gal I have one betta and 4 harlequin rasboras (if that helps any)

 

[noncentric]

A typical tank on dwarfpuffers.com is a 5-6g with 2 or 3 puffers in it. I'm sure 2 dp's will be fine in a 6g planted...frequent water changes, etc.

Any other suggestions?

I agree. I have an extra Eclipse 6-gal in the closet that I'm tempted to convert into a DP tank (with 2 DP's), but am trying to fight the MTS urges.

Anyway, the most important thing about keeping multiple DP's would be to have lots of plants/decor that create visual barriers - which helps the DP's create their own territories. I guess it's like the 'out of sight, out of mind' type of thing to reduce their aggression towards each other.

Also, I didn't see it mentioned yet - but DP's eat snails (but not Malaysian Trumpet Snails), so you could have a jar or something for snails to breed and grow in and then toss them in the tank periodically. Or just toss snails into the tank itself and hopefully a few will survive long enough to breed, so there's a constant supply of food. The DP's will need at least occasional snails, as the shells help them keep their teeth trimmed.

I'm all for your plan of 2 DP's. No other suggestions.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Dwarf puffers don't have a problem with overgrown teeth, so snails aren't necessary, but a good snack. They get to practice hunting them, which they enjoy.

As far as Dwarf Puffers needing snails in their diet to "wear down" their teeth, it has been agreed upon by most in the forum that they are not necessary for this

From www.dwarfpuffers.com

Go with 2 to be safe. Make sure you get a male and female...not 2 males. If you have 2 males, you will most likely have problems. They are very messy little guys, so frequent water changes would be necessary. Plant the tank heavily to break up the lines of sight. Good water quality is a must for these guys, so make sure you have enough time to keep up on changes. They may be small, but they are aggressive.