johnysgal
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hey everyone,
I fell in love with green spotted puffers the first time I saw them. I'm looking to do a small tank though, and I have a hard time setting aside that big of a tank for such a small fish... We're cramped on space and tight on funds. So I was looking into various other puffers that might work better, and stumbled across Dwarf Puffers.
They're just as cute, and it seems like 3 would do okay in a 10-15 gal tank. I'm looking at either doing a Nano SW tank, or a planted puffer tank when we get some extra money. I wanted some opinions on whether my puffer tank would work/be a good idea. I know that they are messy and major fin nippers, so I'd like information on what would/would not work with them
I've heard it's best to have a lot of plants to break the field of vision up and deter fighting, and seems to me like live plants would also help handle the waste they put off. I have also heard that bumblebee gobies can be good tankmates, as they're small, keep to themselves, and help with the waste. BUT, I've also read that Dwarf puffers are freshwater and bumblebee gobies are brackish. So are there any other small gobies that might work?
I also heard that kuhli loaches work okay with them as well, and can also help clean up the waste that puffers create.
I'd have: 1 Male 2 Female Dwarf Puffers (I've read this setup helps reduce aggression/fin nipping.) 2-3 Gobies or other similar waste management small fish, and 4 or 5 kuhli loaches. All in a freshwater heavily planted 10-15 gal long tank with sand substrate.
Would this be overcrowded?
Are there other small fish that would work okay and help with the waste load?
Would this, depending on the puffer personalities, work okay?
Would a long be okay, or would a tall be best?
I know that it'd require regular water changes even if it was a jungle of plants and so forth. Just seems like the more waste management, the better, in this situation. We already have the loaches in our community tank, and so I'd just try transplanting them over as our community tank has gravel (just a lot of above gravel areas to hide in) and we've heard sand is preferred for them. They're all pretty much full size at 3" or under. Our community tank also has room for the gobies or other small fish I'd get if they didn't work out. We only have small fish (guppies, tetras, and the loaches) so I don't see any compatibility problems arising.
Any input or recommendations?
I fell in love with green spotted puffers the first time I saw them. I'm looking to do a small tank though, and I have a hard time setting aside that big of a tank for such a small fish... We're cramped on space and tight on funds. So I was looking into various other puffers that might work better, and stumbled across Dwarf Puffers.
They're just as cute, and it seems like 3 would do okay in a 10-15 gal tank. I'm looking at either doing a Nano SW tank, or a planted puffer tank when we get some extra money. I wanted some opinions on whether my puffer tank would work/be a good idea. I know that they are messy and major fin nippers, so I'd like information on what would/would not work with them
I've heard it's best to have a lot of plants to break the field of vision up and deter fighting, and seems to me like live plants would also help handle the waste they put off. I have also heard that bumblebee gobies can be good tankmates, as they're small, keep to themselves, and help with the waste. BUT, I've also read that Dwarf puffers are freshwater and bumblebee gobies are brackish. So are there any other small gobies that might work?
I also heard that kuhli loaches work okay with them as well, and can also help clean up the waste that puffers create.
I'd have: 1 Male 2 Female Dwarf Puffers (I've read this setup helps reduce aggression/fin nipping.) 2-3 Gobies or other similar waste management small fish, and 4 or 5 kuhli loaches. All in a freshwater heavily planted 10-15 gal long tank with sand substrate.
Would this be overcrowded?
Are there other small fish that would work okay and help with the waste load?
Would this, depending on the puffer personalities, work okay?
Would a long be okay, or would a tall be best?
I know that it'd require regular water changes even if it was a jungle of plants and so forth. Just seems like the more waste management, the better, in this situation. We already have the loaches in our community tank, and so I'd just try transplanting them over as our community tank has gravel (just a lot of above gravel areas to hide in) and we've heard sand is preferred for them. They're all pretty much full size at 3" or under. Our community tank also has room for the gobies or other small fish I'd get if they didn't work out. We only have small fish (guppies, tetras, and the loaches) so I don't see any compatibility problems arising.
Any input or recommendations?