A pea puffer and/or snails in the community?

[Dan Szewczyk]

Still trying to finalize my future lineup while I wait for the new tank to cycle and plants to take root. I would appreciate any advice!

I'm thinking about adding a single pea puffer as there are tons of hiding spaces, I'm planning on keeping the overall tank population low, and the other varieties I'm considering should do okay with it.

I have my heart set on a small school of Panda Garra and Forktail Rainbows (4-6 each). MAYBE +1 puffer? This will make for a sparsely populated tank but I'm okay with that (I'm going for more of an underwater garden with a few active fish darting around sort of look).

Given this setup, is it possible to maintain a snail population or will the puffer hunt them endlessly? I'd really like to have some trumpet snails to help clean the soil near the plant roots where I can't go with the vacuum. I am hoping the puffer will just help keep their numbers in check (I can supplement with hornworms that I breed in another tank if needed).

Also, if anyone knows of something I could add to this tank that would nibble on the plants (to reduce the need for trimming) that would be greatly appreciated!

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Current Population:
Black Racer Nerite Snails (x3)

75gallon freshwater tank
Fluval 407 Canister Filter
300W TopFin ProSeries Heater (x2)
2.5" Aquarium Soil (Fluval Stratam)
Moderate/Heavily planted with a variety of aquatic flora
Seiryu Rock/Driftwood/Java Moss Decor

Established 11/27/2020 (seeded with colonized filter media)

[Brookster123]

Pea puffers are not a good fit for that setup. Consider an amazon puffer of you're set on a puffer