# Considering a pea puffer and have questions



## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Hello,

My daugther is beggining me for a puffer forever and I am starting to maybe consider getting one or two pea puffers as they are small and hopefully not that demanding. I did some reading and it seems they can't live with other fish, as usual my daugther is picking a favourite that has personality and wants a tank on its own. This is an issue with me already and is the main reason I always refused thinking about a puffer. So my question is can one or a few live in 5.5 g? Can they share it with a mable cray or that's gonna be a disaster? An american dwarf frog? Bettas or other fish? I guess no snails or maybe malasian trumpet ones. I read several articles, but preffer some personal experience if somebody wanna share.

Thanks a lot in advance.


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## Johnnyfishtanks (Apr 21, 2010)

the frog the bettas and snails will be done for . there are big time fin nippers


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

it's going to depend on the individual puffers, since the answers vary apparently from fish to fish. 
I've kept a trio 3f/1m in a twenty gal with a breeding colony of Micropoecilia picta with no problems. They ignored young and adult cherry shrimp but new hatchlings were food. Likewise, snails, though they were less interested in adult physa/radix sp/ramshorn snails than the smaller ones.
One of their offspring lives solo in a 33g with Pseudomugil gertrudae (spotted blue eyes), bristlenose and farlowella cats, blueberry shrimp and the usual snails. It ignores the other fish and adult shrimp. I'm pretty sure it picks off rainbow eggs and the newly hatched. Newly hatched shrimp are taken and the snail load is now so low I supplement with snails from other tanks.
Dwarf puffers are messy eaters and all those half-eaten snails can really mess up a tank. Get a really good cleaning crew or remove daily.


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## jam (Apr 28, 2010)

back in the day when i had dwarf puffers i tried sticking a betta in with them and it didnt work out. there was major fin nipping but i did have some luck with cories and small plecos with them though...


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## ngo911 (May 19, 2010)

I have kept them with otos and BN plecos before with no problems. I think you will have the best luck with low-key fish, ones that don't draw much attention to themselves. I also hear you can keep them in a group if the M/F ratio is good. However, that is hard to do because they're virtually impossible to sex. As others have said, it depends on the individual fish.

They are really great fish though. I really enjoyed them. They are not shy at all. Mine would come up to the glass and follow my finger all the time.


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## couch (Apr 22, 2010)

They can be be vicious but what most people don't realize is that they only eat bloodworms. I am sure that people have had them eat other things but they love bloodworms.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Thanks everybody for the comments. I guess they are as demanding as I read they were. For some reason my daugther always get attached to that kind of fish  We just lost her betta that was a HUGE character. I thought I can get her the puffer she wanted for so long. But after readin all of you, I don't think so. Don't feel ready for that at all. And I can only give the puffer a 5.5 that has a marble cray right now. Have no room and will to start another tank... Maybe at some point in the future.


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## Kanesska (Oct 7, 2010)

I absolutely loved mine, I had 5 in the tank but I think I lucked out with a good ratio.. I had otto's and cories in with mine too and no problems.. Their main diet is bloodworms.. but they sure love snails too


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

OK, I ended up with 2 small ones today, they are in half 5.5 g with a divider. The cray is in the other half. They are very small, less than 1/2 inch and super cute. My daugther didn't want to leave the store without them, she was begging for so long, but there were none.

The tank is bare bottom, it just have some rocks and 2 plants in small pots. We'll put more plants and decorations during the weekend. I guess potted plants would be the best as you say they are messy fish.
I read all the info in dwarfpuffer.com, but more info and recommendations are welcome.
Like can they tolerate salt at all? I did a fast 60% water change as the tank has some guppies (the other half) and some salt. I was worried they might not like that.
Do they need a heater, it seems the room temperature might not work for them?
The tank is cycled and have a very good filtration, so I hope they will be fine.


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

half of 5.5g is going to be too small really quick. remember, lots of hiding spaces.

I've read they don't like salt, but it depends on what level you're talking about. a teaspoon or two per 5 gallon should be okay, but dilute it down when you can. They like hard water, so add a little crushed coral.

If you can, get a starter culture of daphnia from mykiss. they love daphnia and are fun to watch when they hunt. remember to remove those dead snails daily so they don't rot in the tank (puffs are messy eaters and leave lots of flesh in the shell.)


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

How are your puffers doing, Milena? I really like puffers when I see them in other people's tanks, so I'd love to hear how your new puffers do.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Thanks a lot for the advices! 
We now have just one puffer, as we had an accident last night  One of them was real small and wasn't eating, I was about to go to the store today and ask what else to offer him/her. BUT, my daugther came to my room screaming this morning that the cray is in the puffers side and the baby one is missing. So, the cray ended up going up all the way to the top of the mesh divider and apparenly ate the baby one  Very sad  We put plastic on the top part of it now and watched the cray, she can't get up now, so it should be safe. It may be was for better though, in a way  considering I read they don't need a friend. The other one is absolutely adorable though. It is much bigger and fun to watch! Has wonderful eyes  I have a picture in my gallery, maybe I should post it here. He/she is eating bloodworms, LOTS of them and only the real red thick ones.
As for the salt, I don't plant to add it in the future, but there was some in the tank when we got the puffers, less than 1 teaspoon per 5.5 g. I wasn't sure if puffers tolerate it, so I did a quick water change, hope it is OK.
I use Equilibrium for all my tanks thanks to Morainy, so I hope the hardness is good enough, what you think?
As for hiding places, there is one big pot and 2 small glass ones all filled with plants. There are also some rocks. My husband and daugther plan for us to go to Lynn river tomorrow and get some rock from there. We'll bleach them and they will build some caves, etc. Hope one puffer will be happy there for some time till we figure out maybe another 5 g (I don't want more thanks *sigh*).

So, that's the update. Very stupid from our side not to predict the cray can climp up 
But this evening we saw the puffer sleeping, it is laying at the bottom and is not moving at all. Even after we turned the light on it took him 20-25 min to wake up and start moving. I guess this makes them a pretty easy prey 
Oh, and the puffer won't get any snails for now, we don't have enough babies for him. Maybe in a month or two. I'll PM mykiss and see what we can do with daphnia, thanks for the contact!
Sorry for the long posting and that for the info.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

And to move the pictures here 

These eyes!!!


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## ngo911 (May 19, 2010)

I had a feeling you wouldn't regret it . Just wait til you do feed him a snail, it's very entertaining!


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Oh, that puffer is SO cute! Do you know if it is a male or female? Does it eat well?


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Yeah, VERY cute! Still early to tell the sex, it's a baby 
But it is eating very well and I think it's growing. 
Will give it some snails when we have enough babies.

Thanks everybody


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

how are they doing?
that last pic was so cute have you taken any more?
my wife keeps begging me to get her a figure 8 puffer but i dont think our 10g would make it happy im debating getting her one of these...


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## ngo911 (May 19, 2010)

I recently had a figure 8 in a 10g and to be honest, I don't think I would do it again. He looked bored a lot of the time swimming up and down the glass. I also had a huge algae problem since I couldn't put any algae eaters with him. With pea puffers, you could have 2 or 3 of them along with a few algae eaters in a 10g.


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