South American Puffer

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nameless01

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
53
Hey guys, so I'm thinking of turning my 30 gal community tank into a South American puffer tank. I was wondering if I can possibly add a crayfish or dwarf crayfish, I read pros and cons on both. for example the pros of crayfish is they might not kill the puffers but cons not 100% sure thing.
Pro for dwarf cray, they can't eat puffers, cons the puffers may eat them.
or so that's what I've understood from research.
And I was thinking if that's not possible then can I keep 3 SA puffers with 3 Zebra Loaches in a 30 gal
 
30 gal is too small for a group of SA puffers. You'd want at least like a 55g. You should pm Terrance on this board, he's one of AA's puffer experts.
 
I second the recommendation for a 55 gallon for a group of SAs. They're very heavy bioloads for their size and can bicker a bit if they don't have enough room to retreat to when they don't feel like being social. SA puffers will tend to nip at loaches even if you have them in a tank big enough, so I would recommend against them regardless.

Not sure on the crayfish idea... I don't think the puffers could eat it outright, but the feelers would be mighty tempting snacks to nibble right off. It may cause enough tension between the two that one or the other could get injured and stressed.

About the only tankmates I've heard of being kept successfully with SAs are full grown Nerite snails, because their shells are too tough. Given enough persistence and hunger by the puffers they sometimes do manage to take the snails out.
 
well aqadvisor says I can get away with 3 SA puffers at a 117% stock level.
I'm not saying I'd listen to a computer stock generator rather my fellow fish keepers but is it possible it may be okay if I have high filtration and WC like it suggest?
 
117% stocking level is not quite the same across different stock plans when potential aggression comes into account. That's something that aqadvisor is a bit hit or miss on. In theory you could keep the parameters in check with over filtration, large water changes, etc, but keeping the peace may be problematic. 117% stocking is far more manageable on a peaceful community tank than a tank involving fish that can have temper tantrums with each other. I usually aim for 80-90% stocking level when I have semi-aggressive fish in the tank so everyone has room to chill out when needed.

So basically, yes, you could try it, but there's a strong chance of it not working out and you'd have to be 100% on top of your water change schedule and have no room for error when life gets chaotic.
 
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