Dwarf Puffers

[happy_pitbull]

So I am going to be getting 5 dwarf puffers next week ! YAH !

Anybody have any good info on these, or any tips? I know they are completely FW, and feed on snails... but any other tips :)


I am so excited !!

Heres a site I know on them: http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/


Min

[CACAdmin]

Great... I love Puffers... they are neat. Member 'Waterpond' has a dwarf puffer. He might be able to give you some info.

[Melody]

Mr. SB wrote an excellent article about Figure 8 Puffers (http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1203), if that helps.

[happy_pitbull]

Thanks Melody, but this dwarf puffer is different from other puffers as it is the only truly fresh water puffer. I pretty much know how to care for them from the website I listed above, but I just wanted some tips from people who actually own them... those are the best kinds of tips !


Min

[WaterPond]

I dont have my little puffer anymore :( :(

He was my absolute favorite fish.

Anyhow, the website you have already named has all the information you will need for taking care of these little guys.

I just have a few questions:

Is it going to be a species tank? If not what will your tankmates be?

How big is the tank? Does it have alot of hiding places, is it planted?

[happy_pitbull]

Hi... species tank, but I may try some BN plecos in with them. I was reading on the dwarf puffer forum, and some people had no problems with this mix, and some did.

It will be a 20g tank, it is not set up yet :) Will put lots of live plants and neat decorations in there for them to explore in :) I cant wait ! I want to see them hunting around through tonnes of plants ! :)


Min

[WaterPond]

Sounds awsome, but you dont have it setup yet? Puffers like an aged tank, but if its cycled, and you use filter media from an existing tank im sure they will be fine. They will probably be fine with the plecos, they wont nip anything that barely moves.

[happy_pitbull]

Not set up yet, nope :) No worries, a cycle wont happen, as I set up all my new tanks like this... using mulm and filter media from already established tanks.

I cant wait to get them !


Min

[WaterPond]

I always have very high nitrates the next day after cycling my tank with seeded filter media. Just keep an eye on that.

And the cycle still happens, its just you introduce a large about of nitrifying bactera to your tank which eats up the ammonia and nitrites. Unlike when you do lets say a fishless cycle, you need to give the bacteria time to grow and multiply.

There's your science lesson of the day :) :rolleyes:

[happy_pitbull]

I will also be adding some substrate from an established tank as well...

So.. if there is no rise in ammonia...then drop, and no rise in nitrites...then drop...and no subsequent rise in nitrates...as bacteria grow and populate the filter/tank etc... which is what the 'cycle' is... would there then NOT be a cycle? ( I thought it was called a cycle as graphically the process takes time and follows along in highs and lows before it is complete.... so if the time frame is zero.. and there are no highs and lows...??)

I would understand the tank would not have good bacteria growing throughout the substrate and on items in the tank, but with a fully cycled filter, and resultant 'skipping' of the rise/lower in levels of ammonia and nitrites ... which I thought was THE cycle, would I therefore not really have a cycle?

I can understand maybe having a mini cycle if I did not have enough bacteria established in the filter media... but to tell me I am still having a cycle when in fact all the fluctuations are skipped does not make much sense to me :)

:;):

I think when done in this manner, if enough nitrifying bacteria are added to the new tank, that the 'initial' cycle is skipped... and then the normal "Nitrogen Cycle" can work away to keep ones tank healthy and happy on a daily basis.



Min


ps... I am not trying to be argumentative :laugh:

[WaterPond]

Haha, i wasn;t trying to be arguemental either. I was just speaking from experience.

What you are saying makes sense, i was just speaking from experience though.

Good luck

[Melody]

Experience is the key - they can all be different. The cycle is a precarious thing and it is constant - its balance we're after and many things can impact that. I can seed and never have so much as a fluctuation, which I've been doing for years, but I still monitor just in case. Tomorrow it could all fall down around my ears. Then you have specific fish preference/sensitivity. Some can tolerate fluctuations better than others and that's what an established tank offers - stability.

There is no arguement to make really - it either works or it doesn't. But its always nice to know what could happen, just in case, especially when it comes to the specific needs of a particular species. Thanks for sharing your experiences - the more we hear, the more ready we are for any result. :smile:

[happy_pitbull]

Oh I agree there... I always do water tests to make sure all is well when setting up a new tank.

I was talking about a perfect scenario... if enough good bacteria were alive and well and everything balanced out perfectly, then a cycle would not occur as everything would already be in balance. (*crosses fingers*)

But I do agree, this can go wrong... one simple thing is all it takes to throw this off and sick fish and a messed up nitrogen cycle can occur. Better safe than sorry for sure... especially with cute little puffers ! LOL!

I also agree, experience is key, and is the best kind of knowledge !!


Min