Do you keep puffers?

[CACAdmin]

I've always found puffers very interesting fish. I have often been tempted to get one, but so far have not.

Do you keep puffers? or have you done so in the past? If so, what type(s)?

[Ursus sapien]

Neat fish - kind of like underwater preying mantis with fins. Messy feeders, though. It helps to have a good clean up crew.

I have 1 pair of dwarf Indian puffers and some babies from several spawns. My current adult male was the first puffer born in my tanks:-) Before those eggs hatched, I had given away the 2 females and male, then found the babies. In a twist of circumstances, I got one of the females back, and the game was back on.

[Kimr]

I had a puffer once to clean up my snail problem and that he did!!! But once I ran out of snails for him, he began picking on the other fish so I passed him onto a friend.

I would like to get another one to clean up my snail problem in a few tanks. - (Storm)

[Ursus sapien]

^^^ hint received:-) When the babies are old enough to move them safely, I'll be banging on your door!

This breeding puffers is kind of a hit and miss thing. The biggest problem I have with my semi non-interventionist style of fish breeding is that the clean-up crew and the food are likely to eat the eggs, so there never seem to be many fry.

Justice for the snails? The fish eat the snails, the snails eat the eggs....

Oh, and they do eat snails, billions and billions of snails. I no longer feed frozen brine shrimp or bloodworm, just baby snails and daphnia.

[Kimr]

Woo hoo!!!! just need 2 :D. Well then hopefully when they breed at least one time the "others" stop eating the eggs!

[Dan_G_Calgary]

You need to bang on my mailbox! I think I will get some of those. They are very cute! I made a deal with a guy here in Calgary to buy a group of them from him, but his wife over rode the deal! haha! He was limited to how many tanks he was allowed, she increased that limit by one so that he could keep the puffers!

Now I am on the look out for them, and would love to breed them.

[Ursus sapien]

^^I just found another baby:-) They're so small, snail shaped and plant hugging that you can be looking right at one and still not see it!

There must be other puffer keepers out there, surely...

[vince0]

Man those little puffers of yours Ursus sure are cute, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a few lol!

[Ursus sapien]

okay, stop it now, kids!:-) This isn't supposed to be a sales thread!

[Dan_G_Calgary]

That may well be, but I have 2nd in dibs! :laugh:

Good luck with the spawn. They are such cute little guys. I might need to raise a tank of feeder snails in preperation for them!

I think they are also called 'Pea puffers', which is a really cute name!

[Valkyrie]

When I first got back into fish about a year and a half ago, I bought a green spotted puffer. I loved the little guy to death and he had such a great personality! Sadly though he had a really bad case of ick when I bought him that he was never quite able to shake. After a few months, he died. :( I had him in a 10 gal and after he died I just turned it into a community tank.
I have been tempted to get a dwarf puffer because I've heard and read a lot of sources online that say that if there is adequate amounts of food, they can be introduced into freshwater community tanks. Since I have a 55 gal community tank with a huge snail problem (my loach and black skirt can't even keep up with it anymore) and constantly breeding guppies, I thought it might be worth a try. Anyone have any experience with dwarfs in community tanks?

[Ursus sapien]

the behaviour and temperament of Indian dwarfs varies between individuals. Females strike me as less irritable than males.
I've had them with small rainbows successfully, but the puffs did chase the other fish.

[Dandee]

I use to have an avocado puffer and currently I have two pea puffers. Very cute little fish. I have a separate tank for raising snails just for them.

[Dan_G_Calgary]

I need to change my vote! :laugh:

Just received a pair from Storm. They are so cute! Looking forward to spawning them.

[Ursus sapien]

Baby pics expected, when the time comes:-)

Edit: It just occurred to me that you don't need to change your vote - we've just swapped places.

[vince0]

Oooh Nice! I can't wait to check 'em out tomorrow!

[silvak]

*goes off to research*

[Ursus sapien]

*goes off to research*
no kidding. sometimes I spend twenty minutes on the forum and 3 hours researching the references.

[silvak]

no kidding. sometimes I spend twenty minutes on the forum and 3 hours researching the references.

It usually works out something like that twice a day! I really like puffers, and would love to have some, but I can't meet their needs to keep them happy. And from my research if their not happy they either die, or attack everything and then die.

[pocoleo]

My son and I have had a Dragoneye and an Arrowhead for the last 3 years. They are really interesting fish. The Dragoneye lives in a lovely planted tank and comes out from his bogwood hide only when he is hungry. The Arrowhead lives in a sand and bogwood only tank and buries himself near the glass so he can watch us. I love to see him explode out of the sand when food appears.

[Ursus sapien]

That's a cool image: "explode from the sand"

Pics would be welcome:-) Welcome to the Forum.

[CACAdmin]

The Arrowhead lives in a sand and bogwood only tank and buries himself near the glass so he can watch us. I love to see him explode out of the sand when food appears.

That would make a cool video.

[pocoleo]

I'll try to get a video of the arrowhead the next time he eats.

[wes&sam]

I have had 3 different species in the past and thinking about a tank for a MBU or a Fahaka Puffer (Tetraodon lineatus)

[Sweetpea]

I'm developing a snail problem and have been scooping them out of my display tank. Started collecting them with the thought someone may want them as feeders. No responses so far to my post on the feeder snail thread, and it got me thinking of snail predators for myself, and hence my discovery of the pufferfish. They are SO interesting and full of personality, from what I can see on various you tube videos I've been watching. Rather dog-like, the way they'll tilt their heads, contemplating a plan of attack when faced with a snail. I love the eye movement!!

I've got my 10G just sitting there unused, practically begging for an inhabitant. Of course, that tank is really going through (fishless) cycling, to prepare it to use it for a QT, but it's amazing how it's seeming to beckon me. "Use me for a puffer...a cute dwarf puffer! Do it! Do it!" Would then have to get ANOTHER tank to become the QT. Yikes., MTS threatening!

I'm very busy with work this week, but when I'm off, I plan to do some more research into these guys, and look around the LFS's and see if it's possible to see some in person. I look forward to bugging you experienced puffer caretakers with questions that arise from the research. Thanks in advance for your advice!

[CACAdmin]

Puffers are cute... I can see why you're tempted.

[Sweetpea]

Puffers are cute... I can see why you're tempted.

Adorable...in that kind of "ugly beautiful" kind of a way. :laugh:

[Sweetpea]

Puffers are cute... I can see why you're tempted.

Adorable...in that kind of "ugly beautiful" kind of a way. :laugh:

[ckmullin]

Yes I do. Pea puffers.