Dwarf puffer advice

[sinibotia]

I got a free 10 gallon tank! I also traded some multies for a heater and some java moss, and transfered a sponge filter from one of my 20's for an instant cycle and filtration. I've decided to set the tank up for breeding dwarf pufferfish. I just have 2 questions.

1. Will 1 sponge filter be enough filtration? I'm good about maintenance and it's a small tank so I'm only worried about biofiltration, but I've read that they are quite messy. The sponge filter in question is a size rated for up to 30 gallons, and the air pump is a petco pump rated for "12 to 93 gallons" with two outlets; each outlet is running one sponge filter. If one sponge filter isn't enough, would adding the other sponge filter be sufficient filtration?

2. Does anyone know a reliable way of getting a pair? None of the local retailers sell these guys, but I don't want to order online and end up with two males that will kill each other.

If anyone has any other advice for dwarf puffers let me know! I've got all sorts of frozen food ready for them and I'm planning on getting some snails to eat algae in both of my 20 gallons and then I can feed some to the puffers to keep them in check. The tanks has a big rock cave in the middle and I'm planting it heavily enough to break up the lines of sight elsewhere. As far as all of my research is concerned, I'm all set!

Edit: One last thing. I have no idea what to do about lighting for this tank. I've never done a real planted tank before and I've always just used default fluorescents. All of my research on lighting has only left me more confused. Can someone just give me a link to a cheap, simple lighting system for a 10 gallon tank?

 

[Nils]

This sounds really cool! I'll be glad to help you along the way with any questions you have. Ok, first of all, all you need to breed these guys is a lot of java moss and a male and female. There's a good article out there, here it is: The Dwarf Puffer: A Pleasant Little Surprise | Details | Articles | TFH Magazine®

It really goes into depth on what he did, but it seems that Java moss is the key. It's hard to really figure out the sexes of these guys, so buy a group, like he did, and then watch behaviors.

I have my puffer in a 2.5 gallon Minibow from Aqueon, with the stock filter, and he's doing just fine. They love live foods, and sure, they drop a piece here and there, but other than that they aren't too messy. You should be fine with a single sponge in there, they aren't that messy, especially with only 2 or 3 in there. Even if you end up with 2 males, they wouldn't instantly go after each other, unless you don't have enough hiding spaces for each. I only feed one worm at a time, so I know how much they get. You can tell when they're full when they look like they swallowed a miniature bowling ball

I actually found mine at a LFS in Huntersville, North Carolina, which is only a 30 minute drive for me, but Maine is far from North Carolina! You could have your retailers order a big group in, pick out a male and female, then give the rest back. It won't be easy to do, but I'm sure you'll get it done Good luck and keep us updated!

Nils

 

[sinibotia]

Thanks for the help! Unfortunately, Maine is AWFUL for fishkeeping. The nearest quality LFS is about 30 minutes away and it's the only one within 200 miles. And he's got some kind of thing for snails, or against snails as live food, and refuses to stock pufferfish because of it (the owner got very upset when i asked him about getting some "nuisance" snails for a puffer food culture). Dwarf Puffers are also *technically* not allowed in the state (Maine's fishkeeping laws are complicated and idiotic) so the big box retailers aren't allowed to order them either.

The end result of all the nonsense that it takes for me to get fish is that I'm prettymuch stuck ordering online for myself, which means I can't just order a bunch. The maximum I would feel comfortable with in that tank is 3, which doesn't give me the best odds of at least one of each gender. I'm looking at an auction for a pair on aquabid and hopefully the seller can sex them! Breeding isn't a necessity, but I'm a poor college student so it really helps me pay for the hobby, and because the selection around here is awful I can sell prettymuch anything for a decent amount.

Thank you especially for the feeding advice! None of my research said anything like that, it's a really helpful tip! What kind of worms do you feed? I have frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and frozen mysis shrimp in cubes. How much do they typically eat?

 

[Nils]

I used to feed only pond snails (nuisance) but I found out that they're really high in fat, so I switched to live blackworms. He wouldn't touch frozen. The way I set up my blackwork culture was really easy, and he only eats 3-4 a day. TO make a culture all you need is:

1. A jar that can hold a gallon
2. An air pump and sponge (the kind that is slipped over the filter intake)
3. An airstone (goes inside sponge)
4. Brown coffee filter paper (Brown paper towels work fine too, but you just have to make sure it's not white or doesn't have added chemicals or else the bleach will kill the worms)
5. 3-4 inches of water


I filled the jar with the paper towels, and then put in 3-4 inches of water from a water change. Then I bought a teaspoon of worms and dumped them in, fed them every few days, and now they have probably doubled in size, even with me taking 10 worms out a day. It's really simple and doesn't take too much time.

Nils

 

[sinibotia]

I used to feed only pond snails (nuisance) but I found out that they're really high in fat, so I switched to live blackworms. He wouldn't touch frozen. The way I set up my blackwork culture was really easy, and he only eats 3-4 a day. TO make a culture all you need is:

1. A jar that can hold a gallon
2. An air pump and sponge (the kind that is slipped over the filter intake)
3. An airstone (goes inside sponge)
4. Brown coffee filter paper (Brown paper towels work fine too, but you just have to make sure it's not white or doesn't have added chemicals or else the bleach will kill the worms)
5. 3-4 inches of water


I filled the jar with the paper towels, and then put in 3-4 inches of water from a water change. Then I bought a teaspoon of worms and dumped them in, fed them every few days, and now they have probably doubled in size, even with me taking 10 worms out a day. It's really simple and doesn't take too much time.

Nils

Hmm... I hope mine will eat frozen. I've got plenty of other fish that will be more than happy to eat the frozen food I have, but I may have some trouble setting up a blackworm culture- I live in a house with 7 roommates and I doubt my landlords(who are also my roommates) will be thrilled if they find me culturing worms.

What do you feed the worms? And do you know if there are other better kinds of snails? My two 20 gallons have tons of algae (too close to a window) so I figured it would be an easy backup plan to put snails in those tanks to control the algae and then feed the excess to the puffers.

 

[Nils]

Nuisance snails don't do anything about algae, they pretty much ignore it. A nerite snail in each tank would take care of it though. I used to breed my snails in a jar as well, and gave them air from a pipette twice a day. I fed lettuce, fish food and any dead aquarium plant leaves. Puffers love snails, and I suggest growing and breeding snails int he 10 gallon during the cycle so you have them ready to eat before you introduce the pufferfish. I suggest letting the tank sit with water and plants before hand anyway, because they really appreciate an established tank. I just feed my worms flakes and the occasional vegetable, and they are doing fine. A good type of snail that reproduces and grows really quickly is the Malaysian Trumpet Snail, but Pond and Bladder snails work fine too. Hope this helped.

Nils

 

[sinibotia]

Nuisance snails don't do anything about algae, they pretty much ignore it. A nerite snail in each tank would take care of it though. I used to breed my snails in a jar as well, and gave them air from a pipette twice a day. I fed lettuce, fish food and any dead aquarium plant leaves. Puffers love snails, and I suggest growing and breeding snails int he 10 gallon during the cycle so you have them ready to eat before you introduce the pufferfish. I suggest letting the tank sit with water and plants before hand anyway, because they really appreciate an established tank. I just feed my worms flakes and the occasional vegetable, and they are doing fine. A good type of snail that reproduces and grows really quickly is the Malaysian Trumpet Snail, but Pond and Bladder snails work fine too. Hope this helped.

Nils

The sponge filter is from an already very well established tank. So far as I can tell, it's instantly cycled, although I've still got some tetras in and I'm keeping an eye on them for at least a week before I start putting fish in.

MTS were what I was going to use to take care of both the algae and puffer food- I've generally considered them among the "nuisance" snails but they do eat algae in my experience.

I'm going to hope that they eat frozen food- that would be ideal for me. If they don't, I've got access to enough resources through the university that I should be able to find them something to eat no matter what happens, while I get cultures going.

Thank you so much for all the helpful advice!

 

[TheresaM]

If you're considering ordering online give Wet Spot Tropicals a call. I've had specific M/F requests for a few types of fish and while they say they can't guarantee they've always sent me what I asked for.

 

[Nils]

No problem! It was just from my experience that they don't eat algae, but I was wrong. Sounds like you're all set, just got to get the fish and you'll be ready! Hope this goes as planned and keep us updated!

Nils

 

[sinibotia]

I heard back from someone selling them on aquabid, he said he can give me specific genders, and he's got a good price ($30 for 2 including shipping). I checked Wet Spot but they have a minimum $24 purchase and two dwarf puffers would only be $10. Thanks for the heads up though Theresa!

Provided the tetras all live through the next week I'll order the puffers so that they arrive around 10 days or so from now.

Here's the one question I still have- what lighting do I need? I've never done plants before but I need to heavily plant this tank. I supposed I could do just a regular fluorescent and stick to low-light plants but I figure I may as well reach a little higher for what will be my only planted tank. I was looking at this: 24" T5 Fluorescent Dual Fixture
What will be my planting limitations with that light fixture?

 

[Terrance]

Breeding DP is all about luck. It may take years or it might not even happen. Keep them for the enjoyment of the fish and be surprised if you ever see eggs.

Java moss is all you need, no other plants are needed. The lighting you chose is a too much for java moss. Perhaps you can take out one of the lamps in order to keep a single lamp light fixture.

 

[Nils]

Any updates or pictures?

Nils

 

[sinibotia]

Any updates or pictures?

Nils

Tank is in final stages of setup! The light just arrived today, hopefully I can get plants tomorrow. Then I'll order the fish for next week.

 

[sinibotia]

Here's the almost-complete tank! The plants are java fern and a dwarf chain sword. Light is a Finnex Stingray 20" LED. Adding some java moss tomorrow. It's not exactly heavily planted but hopefully everything grows and fills in and the big cave in the middle should hopefull provide enough obstruction for two puffers to get along.

Don't worry about those tetras you see- they'll be going back into the 20 they came from as soon as the puffers arrive, for now they're just maintaining the cycle and acting as "canaries" in case something was wrong.

 

[TheresaM]

Here's the almost-complete tank! The plants are java fern and a dwarf chain sword. Light is a Finnex Stingray 20" LED. Adding some java moss tomorrow. It's not exactly heavily planted but hopefully everything grows and fills in and the big cave in the middle should hopefull provide enough obstruction for two puffers to get along.

Don't worry about those tetras you see- they'll be going back into the 20 they came from as soon as the puffers arrive, for now they're just maintaining the cycle and acting as "canaries" in case something was wrong.

Very nice, looking forward to you getting this fish!

 

[sinibotia]

Just added two "nuisance" snails (free from the LFS!) to each of my 20 gallons and one to the 10 gallon puffer tank! Hopefully the snails graze on the algae and multiply fast enough to keep up with the hungry puffers. Anyone know how long it will take for the snails to start multiplying?

I also got root tabs and seachem flourish comprehensive for the plants, as well as some java moss! Not entirely sure what I'm going to do with the java moss yet, I got a nice bundle of it for just $2.

What does it mean when the ends of the java fern are a much darker green than the rest of the leaf? Is that good or bad? New growth maybe?

By my guess the puffers will be here next thursday!

 

[sinibotia]

Here's the tank, notice the new java moss!

 

[sinibotia]

Checked the tank this morning and there is a LONG stem growing up from the swordplant that wasn't there yesterday. I'm assuming that's a good thing? All the plants look really good. Tetras are looking better and better with each day, they seem to be loving all of the real plants. Every single one of the snails has completely disappeared.

I guess this has kinda turned into a "build" thread, huh?

 

[evil Nick]

looks good I have 2 DP in a tank with 2 bumblebee gobies and a guppy. All do fine. They were REALLY shy at first but now instantly come out when Im near wating for food. I use snails and frozen bloodworms. I had one tht ate them instantly and the other would NOT touch them but I guess he got hungry enough and after watching all the other fish eat them finally got around to trying them and luckily now loves them. I still throw in snails to from my 29. I had colonies started on pond snails but they got DECIMATED!

Ive actually thought about getting another one for my 29 just to kill off the massive amount of MTS snails I have now.

 

[sinibotia]

looks good I have 2 DP in a tank with 2 bumblebee gobies and a guppy. All do fine. They were REALLY shy at first but now instantly come out when Im near wating for food. I use snails and frozen bloodworms. I had one tht ate them instantly and the other would NOT touch them but I guess he got hungry enough and after watching all the other fish eat them finally got around to trying them and luckily now loves them. I still throw in snails to from my 29. I had colonies started on pond snails but they got DECIMATED!

Ive actually thought about getting another one for my 29 just to kill off the massive amount of MTS snails I have now.

That's probably not the best combination of fish as bumblebee gobies are brackish fish. That said, it's pretty awesome that you've got such amicable puffers! I don't think I'm going to give mine the chance to be nice lol.

Speaking of the puffers themselves, they're in the mail, shipped today! As soon as I've got them I'll post some pictures. The plants continue to grow wonderfully. How often should I add fertilizers? Should I add fertilizers following water changes?