# Dwarf puffer setup



## kellyyoungmoney (Jun 20, 2012)

So I'm looking to set up a 5.5 gal dwarf puffer tank in a month or so. My plan is to do some beginner live plants in sand with a piece of driftwood. I plan on having some frozen foods and growing some adult brine shrimp in case the little critter decides to be a pain. I plan on just having one but if I could have 2 that would be cooler. I'm planning on a pretty heavily planted setup and I'm also fine with frequent water changes. I really only have 2 main questions when it comes to these guys though: if I can get them to eat a flake/pellet food, which would be best? I'd like to feed mostly frozen/live foods but I'd like to have a flake or pellet on hand just in case I have to get someone to feed them for me. And my second question is, do they need like a house or a hidey cave or will just a bunch of plants be enough?


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Dwarf puffers will never go on processed foods, you're lucky if you get them on frozen dead stuff (frozen black or blood worms, or brine shrimp), many are finicky and only eat live. Get your hands on some 'pest' snails (pond, bladder, ramshorn, even mts-go to your local petsotre, you can ask an employee to pluck out some from the plant tank (always some there) should be free) let them grow in the puffer's tank or in a separate tank to periodically feed to the puffer (they love snails!). You MUST pre-cycle the tank before getting a dwarf puffer, unlike a betta it won't tolerate fish-in cycling. Stick for just 1 puffer in that tank size, they can be real mean s.o.[censor]s, there is a 3g per a dwarf puffer recommend minimum, but I'd make it more, get a 10g and very very densely plant if if you want 2-3. Have a lid, and accept that one may be a total [censor] and kill the other(s) (happened to my husband-12g long 36" tank 3 dwarf puffers.. one killed the other see with ton of live foods in tank and ton-o plants), may be soon or when they mature.. or maybe never and get along together.
From my experience they did not use caves/hides but enjoy desnly planted tanks to explore/hide in.


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## kellyyoungmoney (Jun 20, 2012)

Yeah I have access to some pond snails where I work so that shouldn't be an issue. And I was planning on having the tank cycled and all that jazz before I put anyone in there, I'm just going to start setting up in a month after I move. Thanks!


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## kellyyoungmoney (Jun 20, 2012)

Okay so semi-related question, I'm growing out a few of the plants I want to put in this tank in a small fish bowl, which is now starting to grow algae pretty much everywhere (on the sides of the bowl and on the leaves of my plants) and I just don't like the algae growing on my plants. I got some pond snails from work and I was wondering if they would be effective for getting rid of that algae. Everything I've read said that pond snails aren't great at algae control, but they're small enough to get on the leaves and it's a small bowl so they have find the algae eventually right?


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## Kisiel (Jul 30, 2014)

A 5.5g would be just fine for one puffer, although you could have two provided they're both females - males can be quite mean and aggressive, and personally I would only keep one per tank unless it's very big. As Aqua Aurora said, you won't get these guys on dry food - most fish will at least put the stuff in their mouth and spit it out if they don't like it. Not DPs, they're too smart haha. Also, vary their foods ie don't feed them only frozen bloodworm as it's very poor nutrition and you're risking the DP becoming malnourished. Mine enjoy live brine shrimp and daphnia greatly. Puffers don't seem to use caves as much as other fish but they're curious enough to explore every little nook and cranny of their tanks: personally I use spiderwood and lots of plants to keep them happy.


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