Dwarf puffers???

[Bluefrog]

From what I've read so far on these guys, it is best not to have more than one male in a smaller tank, like a 10 gallon. Look for a dark verticle line on the underbelly that appears when the fish is 'excited'. Also, the females have more rounded bodies. I think I may go with two females and a male for my 10 gallon, if I can find any around here. And also, I have to talk my kids into giving up our cory (he's a loner since he lost his friend a month ago). I might have to do something rash, like take the cory to the lfs when they aren't looking I really can't resist those little puffer faces!!

Oh, does anyone know if they are sensitive to PH? I have very high ph coming from the tap and I don't like to use chemicals to bring it down. My goldfish and bettas don't mind it either.

 

[TankGirl]

The funny thing is if you have a gravel vacuum with a clear tube the puffer will freak out and try to get at anything being sucked up. Very funny to watch as old snail shells becoem the object of desire.

That is too true! Anything that moves is irresistable! I guess I just found the blackworms disappearing into my gravel kind of unpleasant, though I suppose they would be hunted down, ultimately.

 

[tkos]

My guys were always scanning the gravel bed for little treats. It is fun to watch them hunt.


As for the male/female thing, from what I read there is a lot of variety sexually. They are either all male or all female (I can't really rememebr). And also when they are young it is pretty hard to tell either way. don't know about the pH. Mine was slightly acidic, depends on what you mean by high pH I guess. Stable water quality is generally the best thing and slow acclimation if there is a big difference.

 

[TankGirl]

I had a lot of trouble identifying gender in my puffers, and I had them for over a year! I never sat that stripe that everyone talks about. It could be that I had all females, though one fish was noticeably bigger than the other 3.

My pH comes out of the tap at about 7.6 or 7.8, so I don't think they are sensitive to higher pH, just as long as it remains stable, as tkos alluded to, and I definitely agree with the slow acclimation if your tap water is different from the LFS.

 

[cowfish7]

I am having a hard time figuring gender on mine, too. No ventral stripe. However, some of them have less rounded bellies - I was thinking they were not getting as much food or were not as hardy, but perhaps these are the males. They are less aggressive than the ones with the rounder bellies.

The comment about the spots is interesting, I have not heard that. My first 3 puffers have the lighter spots. Then I got another fish, from a different shipment, and it has much darker spots. I was trying to figure out why they are so different.

As for tank requirements: I would not put more than 6 in a tank. Plastic plants are fine. Sand makes it less likely that the food will fall down in the voids and get lost, although they will hunt for it to some extent. My guys have been pretty picky about what they will eat.

As for your lfs - if you are able to tell that they have the fish misidentified, please clue them in. It makes a world of difference, especially for puffers.
8O

 

[screaminbuckeye]

Ok so I can have say 1 male and 3 females and be ok in a 10 gal? I have a student discount for my lfs and I can get a 10 gal tank kit for only 19.99! How about if I went with a figure 8 puffer? I know the figure 8 is brackish but they are super cute. Can just one of those and some sort of catfish work in a tank?

 

[TankGirl]

I think the 1 male and 3 female dwarf puffer idea for the 10 gal is a good idea. I think that is too small for a figure-8, though. Let us know what you do decide!