Dwarf Puffer

[abefroman]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of getting a dwarf puffer for my 5 gallon planted tank. I know that most people recommend that you should only keep one puffer in a 5 gallon tank, but has anyone had experience in keeping other fish? Some people say that shrimp can be kept with them, but I want to know specifically about fish, not inverts. I was thinking of including either white clouds, cardinal danios, or SAE's. Also, what's the deal with fiddler crabs? Do they need dry land to survive or can they live completely submerged? I was thinking of including one of those too.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Nope dwarfs are agressive, AGRESSIVE little fish, will kill other fish
Some shrimp might work
No, a fiddler crab needs to be in dry land, can't live submerged, it will drown in 30 minutes

 

[abefroman]

Well is it possible at all to keep two puffers in a 5 gallon?

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

No not really, a 10 gallon MIGHT work, but could fail too

 

[Batgirl]

I love dwarf puffers and want one realy bad guess ill have to wait till I'm more experienced but I have heard people have kept them with ottos and kuhli loaches but I'm pretty sure both need more space than that

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Yup Otos need 20 gallons, and kuhlis a 20 gallon long

 

[wildroseofky]

I just got my first dwarf puffer yesterday. He is in a 10 gallon with snails and I just added some ghost shrimp. He is a baby and seems really calm right now. I found a puffer forum and they said that dwarf puffers get really aggressive when they are mature. It is their instinct to hunt and defend territories. That being said, several people say they have neon tetras, loaches, and ottos with them and not trouble. A few even said they had as many as 8 in a 10 gallon tank but that seems like asking for trouble.

 

[Terrance]

You are correct, 8 in a 10g will work short-term. Those fish will suffer from stress and eventually disease. Its really a hit or miss for tankmates. Most of the time, it doesn't work according to all the puffer threads I've tracked over the past 2 years. Very rarely do I read about a successful long-term case. Its basic instinct for the dwarf to be aggressive and territorial. I would only try dwarf shrimps and ottos if you have adequate tank size, but you can try other species knowing that those fish might get wounded by the puffer.

 

[misterpenguin4]

I actually have a 4 gallon planted with a dwarf puffer, otto cat, and a whisker shrimp. The puffer has never even payed attention to the shrimp or otto. Im guessing the other people that posted that they were aggressive AGGRESSIVE. Have not kept a dwarf puffer. I have a thread about my tank and it has been doing great for over 2 months.