dwarf puffer help?

i was just wondering, what conditions are needed for the dwarf puffers,, and i was just wondering how did they get theyre name do they literally puff up or summat [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]



cheers

Hi
Dwarf puffers, despite being small, need lots of space. They are highly territorial, so best not to mix with other fish. You can get away with maybe corys or other bottom dwelling fish. For a group of 4 DP's, a 15 gallon tank, heavily planted would be a minumum size.

They only "Puff" as a defence action, but it is dangerous to make them do it deliberately. It is also dangerous for them to be out of water.

We had some and never once saw them puff up.

Also DP are kept in fresh water, whereas most other Puffers need Brackish tanks.

Hello!
Dwarf puffs are best kept singularly or a ratio of 2/3 females to one male. They like really meaty foods such as bloodworm and snails the size of their eyes. They are abit abusive towards each other at times but they are fantastic little fish with great personalities, if you ave the space and can meet their requirements I would really go for it! As to the tank the best thing that worked for my group was 5g for the first puff and 3g per additional puff. If you want to be even better have 5g per puff as they are terrotorial and messy (have good filtration.

They are inquisitive so need a good planted tank whether it be live or fake or lots of ornaments, if having a group it is espeically important to have lots of things in the tank to "break line of sight" and lessen aggression.

With their feeding regime, they are right little piggies and it is best to have at least one rest day during the week, I fed mine peas occasionally and they enjoyed them as well as helping their digestion.

As to the puffing. I experienced this with one of mine in sad circumstances. A female leapt for her food one day and ended up gulping air down which she couldnt release (never ever let them get air as their puffing mechanism relies on water to release and be inhaled). She had the bubble trapped, I tried to release with various techinques but on such a small body I couldnt. The stress ended up making her puff up just like a pea (their alternate nickname is pea puffer by the way!). In this case I was hoping it was a good thing for the water to help release but unfortunately she ended up passing.

Sorry to blab on but hope that gives you an overview of the pufferdom kingdom. They certainly are the easiest of the puffs to own and really bond with their keeper (at least in my expereinces).

p.s. As to tankmates be very very careful and only attempt bottom dwellers ( a common one is otos) as puffs are very nippy fish and will nip anything to see if it is edible (including you! - but this is cute I loved it lol). They can be whirling dervishes with tankmates, but then they also have very individual personalities.

Just to tempt you!
here is Piggy she was my specially little girl
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ok, so im guessing mixing them with 1 male betta is a bad idea :/, ill have to wait till i get a new tank till i can get emm,,, what temperature should they be kept at?

i only use freeze dried food so will i be alright with that,, they are extremely cute fish, id love to keep them lol

x

Yeh, bad idea Something would die......very quickly.

Take a look at the link below, there's loads of stuff on it:)

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Forzen or live foods are best hon, freeze dried prob wont be accepted and isnt a good staple for them.

Temp wise between 23-28C