# question about dwarf puffers



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

is it possible to breed these? and would a fluval ebi be enough room for 3 of them?

im getting frustrated finding a dead shrimp almost every morning despite constantly monitoring their water... today i went to get a second flower shrimp and when i got home the one i already had was dead.. im debating switching to dwarf puffers or even a figure 8


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

dunno bout the dwarf puffers, but I think it would be too small for a figure 8
I feel your frustration with the shrimp deaths Mike, went thru the same thing with mine till I started using crushed coral in my filter, haven't had one death since and the colors are just great now and no issues with molting


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

doesnt seem to be a molting issue i see some of them molting often, even one of the huge flower shrimp did i have one of those mineral rocks from pat
idk what it is tbh but its really frustrating and im sure a few dwarf puffers would be much cuter
theyd prolly really enjoy these finnicky little shrimp too while they lasted ><


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

lol they would be cute and most likely enjoy the shrimp and probably be way easier to deal with


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

figure 8 = brackish water.

I don't know the size of ebi tank, I have some SA true freshwater puffer here at 2.5"-3"


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

ebi is 8 gallon


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

The only puffer that would fit in an 8g is a drawf puffer. Roger's has a tank full of them right now. Minimum recommended size for a SAP is 15g and for a F8 it is 15g and drawfs 5g per puff. If you want to breed drawfs you would probably want a bigger tank that the ebi because as you can see below it suggests having 2-3 females to one male to prevent harassment. Also the thing to watch for with SAP's is if they are not fed snails daily their beaks will overgrow and you will need to trim them. For that size of a tank you have I would think you could get away with 2-3 drawf puffers. I tried 5 in my fluval edge which is only a 6g and they did not fair too well at all.

Taken from the puffer forum



> Common Name: Dwarf Puffer
> 
> Other Common Names: Pea Puffer, Malabar Puffer, Pygmy Puffer
> 
> ...





> Tetraodon biocellatus Date: 16/08/06
> Owner: PufferPedia Admin
> Size: 7 items
> Common Name: Figure Eight Puffer
> ...





> Colomesus asellus Date: 15/08/06
> Owner: PufferPedia Admin
> Size: 8 items
> Common Name: South American Puffer
> ...


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

Moved thread to proper section, the aqua lounge is meant for non fishy talk


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i noticed ipu has a tank full of dwarfs too for 3.99 each
if more shrimps die i might just do that


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

They are super cute, just make sure if you get a couple to make a somewhat complex environment for them so they don't get bored. They love lots of plants and what not to hide in.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

tank looks like this atm http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/crus...k-pics-video-flower-fan-shrimp-feeding-10622/

btw how is homer doing?


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

A couple of DP's would love that setup. Homer is doing great, right now he is in my garage but as soon as I can get a couple guys over to help me I am moving him up to the kitchen so I can actually enjoy him.


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## Johnnyfishtanks (Apr 21, 2010)

ask hoolagal shes has alot exp in breeding dwarf puffers


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

cool i think thats what were gonna do then and move the ebi over into the kitchen
mebbe il offer some of these shrimps up for sale cheap to members instead of them being slaughtered 

btw i have sulawesi snails in my other 2 tanks that dig thru the substrate and clean the tanks i think theyre a type of rabbit snail, cone shaped etc.. would they be good food for these dwarf puffers? i have LOTS


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## Johnnyfishtanks (Apr 21, 2010)

im sure they would be great


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Flower Shrimp are very hardy....what is your hardness in there?


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

Rastapus said:


> Flower Shrimp are very hardy....what is your hardness in there?


like 4 degrees, not very hard, the red cherries seem to be fine its the crystal blacks and the one flower that died


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

but as for the snails, would they be good food or do u need a certain kind?


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## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello,

IMO the dwarf puffers are a great idea. 8 gallon could do 1 male and 2 females but u would definitely have to create some obstructions to ensure line of sight is broken all over to avoid aggression. Personally I would let the puffers take care of the shrimp and smaller ramshorns are great, mine loved them! For such a small fish they sure have alot of personality, I'm sure you would enjoy them alot!

Lance


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i have an abundance of the spiral type snails seen on the substrate in this pic they range from tiny to 1.5cm, are they ok?


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

you could do 2 in that tanks assuming it is _well planted_ and has lots of breaks in the line-of-sight.

I've bred mine in a 20g with a diet small snails, live daphnia supplemented with frozen daphnia and blood worm 2 or 3 times a week.

They prefer ramshorn, physa (pocket) and radix (small pond) species snails over the trumpet snails in the photo.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

will they only eat snails or will they also eat something like NLS pellets?


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

introducing puff daddy: from ipu richmond 
he's explored the whole perimeter of the ebi now and seems to like the left side where the hygro is 
i hope i get to see him try to eat a shrimp in there
i only got 1 for now but i plan on bringing home a couple more after work tomorow


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Very nice, Mike! What kind of puffer is that? Looks like a pea puffer to me, but I don't have any experience. He likes his cool surroundings.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

yep its a pea/dwarf puffer
3.99 at ipu richmond 
thing is the shrimps are bigger than him theyre prolly safe for now lol, il throw in some pond snails from my other tank for him


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

use the smallest snails you can (I use lettuce leaves to catch small snails from other tanks) so that the puffer actually crunches the shell. With bigger snails, the puffer just bites off chunks of flesh, and once the snail stops moving the puffers loose interest. That means their beaks overgrow, and your tank gets very dirty very fast.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

ah ok thx for the advice
so its probably not best to throw a whole bunch of pond snails in the ebi, throw them in another tank and feed them one at a time?

are they gonna be able to see that tiny little thing as i put it in?
what else do u feed em?


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## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello,

I've often visited lfs around and offer to rid them of their 'pest snails'. These ride in on their plants and they're usually more than happy to get rid of them! They are usually a good size for them. As well, I wouldn't put to much cash on the shrimps safety, even dwarf puffers can be quite aggressive for their size. Don't worry about them finding the snails, those litttle puppy dog eyes constantly roam the tank for food!!


Lance


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Congratulations! What a cutie! I am sure you will have lots of fun with him/her


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i was freaking out at first this morning cuz i couldnt find him in the tank but somehow despite the lid being on i found a shrimp beside it, stupid little water crickets

eventually it turned out puff daddy was just snoozing in the moss and hes out cruising around now

theres a couple pond snails in there i noticed and dozens of shrimps/shrimplets to clean up any of his scraps, or he can eat the shrimplets too


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

I also feed mine bloodworms. Best thing to do is setup a small tank to breed snails.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Mine LOVES the moss as I told you before. She (I am almost sure it is a she now) is sleeping there. I guess these guys love moss 
I am sure eventually he/she will clean all the snails and shrimps. Give it a couple of days to adjust


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

its so funny how you can watch these guys's stomachs get all fat as they eat bloodworms
makes it pretty easy to tell when they have an empty stomach and when theyre full lol


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