Puffer Fish

Im looking to get some puffer fish to put in my 30g tank. Ive had a browse around the internet and the 2 best i could find was "dwarf puffer" and "amazon puffer".

Anyone who has puffer fish or knowledge about them please feel free to share. Information such as compatibility with other fish (e.g. angels, rainbows, gouramis), its environment such as planted tanks or dim lighting, feeding and diet (read they need snails) etc.

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Permalink Reply by Russell on December 13, 2011 at 3:38pm

Figure of 8 puffer fish. Does anyone know if its critical to keep it brackish water?

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Permalink Reply by Hmoobthor on December 13, 2011 at 4:07pm

all puffer are brackish ..there is 1 that is freashwater

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Permalink Reply by Chris T on December 13, 2011 at 5:54pm

The closest to Freshwater are Fahaka Pufferfish or Dwarf Pufferfish yet both can handle brackish water to.

Fahaka- a.k.a. nile or band puffer ,not sure of but can get really large, do best in freshwater, and may require more of assistance/maintenance, should be single species as fahakas are highly aggressive

Dwarf- freshwater, can be compatible with otos and other dwarfs if allowing enough space(5-6 can reduce aggression in a large tank), environment needs caves or places for hiding and can be planted, sensitive to water qualities, also aggressive, should be fed only ramshorn snail and not MTS as their shells are much are harder and can damage their teeth also can be feed including blackworms, mosquito larva,tubifex worms, bloodworm,brine shrimp are all excellent additions to their diet.

Fun Fact about Dwarfs-Known to be fearless and aggressive, they can and will take on fish larger than themselves. Very intelligent, dwarf puffers have been known to recognize their owners, and beg for food. Dwarf puffers will provide hours of entertainment to their owner as they relentlessly hunt for snails.

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Permalink Reply by Russell on December 13, 2011 at 6:19pm

Had a look around and i think dwarves are the best for a 30g. You dont need to get a pair or a shoal of them, and they seem pretty compatible with most community fish. Shame there pretty small though.

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Permalink Reply by AsianKidOnTheBlock on December 13, 2011 at 9:04pm

Dwarf Puffers are hard to take care of in community tanks. They are slow swimmers and if you have stream line and fast fish, the dwarf puffer will be out competed for food. You might have target feed them everyday or have a snail population in the tank for them to eat. Otherwise they will starve to death. They are also very territorial and aggressive. If any fish enters its territory it will attack them till they leave. You might get lucky and find one that's very peaceful, but its a gamble. I would say Dwarf Puffers are best kept in species only tanks. Best thing is, they are dwarf so a 5 gallon tank will be plenty of room for 1 puffer. I've always wanted one for my tank too, but those 2 reasons always made me not want them.