I don't have pictures yet, but I'm starting the thread so I could tell you all I broke down and got my Dwarf Puffers. I had the 10 gallon all set up for them, and I was going to the fish store to buy more leopard danios for my 29 gallon. I was going to QT them in the puffer tank for a few weeks and then add the puffers a few weeks after that. Well, once I got to the fish store, I was watching those little cuties in the tank (they keep them in the plant tanks to reduce the snails) and I thought, heck, why wait? So I bought 3 DP's, 3 amano shrimp, and we'll see how everything goes. I realized my heater is inaccurate or something because my tank water is a whopping 84' but I've read that DP's like it at least 80 (I know others here don't keep theirs that warm). So I'll probably try for around 80/82 degrees.
Okay...here are some photos. It's funny, these little characters, in a lot of the photos, they are actually looking at the camera! Or swimming away from it... Here are the clearest ones...
it's nice when they look at the camera
don't they make their surroundings look huge?
They got pretty comfortable in their new tank pretty quickly, sniffing around (if you have DP's you know what I mean, they explore and poke things like dogs).
And here I made this heavily planted tank with oversized driftwood so there would be ample hiding places, and little did I know that one little branch was enough of a boundary on their little corners. They've already found their favorite little hiding places. And when I say little hiding places, I mean little!
are they hard to take care of? i want to inqire about them like how big do they get? are they compatible with fish like swordtails and danios(zebra)???
I can't tell you from experience I can only tell you based on what I've read and what others have shared. Not hard to take care of but some can be picky eaters. And they need certain (crunchy) foods so that their teeth don't get overgrown (otherwise you have to clip them). These DPs are tiny, not even the size of my thumbnail, and I'm shocked every time I look at them at how very tiny they are. And these are several months old. Supposedly they get about one inch long. At the fish store, they were with ottos (which are supposed to be good with them but many feel that otos are too sensitive), amano shrimp, and danios. I've read both ways on compatability...you want fish that can get away from them (fast swimmers) but you want fish that are calm and won't attract attention to themselves. I did see fish in the tank with them that looked like zebra danios but only a couple. I hope these guys thrive in my tank...we will see, I just brought them home today and I'm keeping my fingers crossed despite the tank heater issue I'm having...I'll be posting if their luck (and mine) turns south...
IF you have more questions, there have been several threads posted lately about DPs, you might do a search on the forum for "DP" or "dwarf puffer"
Congrats, Stephanie, on your cute new DP's!! Man they are sooooo cute! I wonder what other fish they can be in with other than what you mentioned. Keep us posted.
P.S. I just ran a search and there is not a lot you can have in with them. It mentioned Otos and Shrimp and that is about it. I guess they can be nippers, etc. and can do a lot for there size. It would be fun to have a tank with just them.
yeah, they'll be in a species only tank...besides the amano shrimp (say a prayer for the shrimp!).
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