Mister Puff and His Ladypuffs (Dwarf Puffer pic-heavy)

[Gatito]

I finally got my puffers, so now it's sharing time. Have had them about a month now and really enjoying them.

Grabbed a tank kind of last minute as i'd broken down my freshwater tropicals a while ago, there was a good special on a new Blue Planet Lagoon 70 litre - filter is wet/dry but it's a deep filter box, and i've chucked the carbon, plastic bio balls and most of the ceramic noodles and replaced them all with eheim 'substrat-pro' media instead. So far is working a dream, waste levels were spiking for a while at first (i was very naughty and got the puffers a week after beginning cycling, took good care/was very lucky and had no casualties), but now the tank's in great condition, despite all the MESS those little guys create.

Mister Puff - much bigger and uglier than the females, naturally

WHAM!! Get that snail!!!

[Gatito]

Having real trouble leading pics, img codes not working... will keep trying, even if it has to be one by one, lol

[Neon]

cute

that snail on the glass looks as big as him almost

[lmsmith]

Just me, or does the eye in that first pic look a bit cloudy?

[Gatito]

Just me, or does the eye in that first pic look a bit cloudy?

No, you're right, his eyes were cloudy, not sure if it was damage on the eye surface from the net or what. I'm pretty sure they've cleared up now, wasn't too worried so haven't had a proper look at them lately.

They're so cute with the snails - circle them, so cautiously watching and waiting, then they edge closer.... then pause... then BAM!!! Really really quick attack. They pick at it til it falls off the glass, and hang around it picking at what they can reach.

[phoenix44]

wow that's pretty cool! makes me want some too :lol:

[lmsmith]

Try not to pick them up in nets; they should never be immersed as they can draw air into their tummies (like puffing) and not be able to expel it. Try to catch them in containers. Much less stressful for them, too.

[Gatito]

Try not to pick them up in nets; they should never be immersed as they can draw air into their tummies (like puffing) and not be able to expel it. Try to catch them in containers. Much less stressful for them, too.

I've never had to catch them myself (netted when bagged by seller) so thanks for that tip, will use it (or try, quick beggars) if/when i eventually have to move them

[Fruju]

cool fellas, would like a small tank with them and bb gobies. :roll:

[Gatito]

cool fellas, would like a small tank with them and bb gobies. :roll:

Unless you got lucky with placid puffers, they'd probably shred the gobies. I've had bb gobies in my last tank and they're not really quick enough. Plus they sleep out in the open, that's when the puffers would get them.

I've been thinking about trying some small clown loaches - they're quick, and would sleep squeezed into a narrow space like under a slab, so the puffs couldn't reach them, and would clean up the half-eaten snails left behind by the puffs....

[Ira]

Try not to pick them up in nets; they should never be immersed

I disagree. They won't last long if they're not immersed. They're not airbreathers so they'll suffocate, they're intended to be immersed in water like most fish. Now being emersed, THAT can be bad for them. :lol:

[lmsmith]

I disagree. They won't last long if they're not immersed. They're not airbreathers so they'll suffocate, they're intended to be immersed in water like most fish. Now being emersed, THAT can be bad for them. :lol:

haha, you raise a valid point. Kudos to you for picking up that late night blunder!

[Jennifer]

I've been thinking about trying some small clown loaches - they're quick, and would sleep squeezed into a narrow space like under a slab, so the puffs couldn't reach them, and would clean up the half-eaten snails left behind by the puffs....

I would think loaches would snap up those snails before the puffers even had a chance...

[breakaway]

I keep mine with oto cats, and am careful to make sure no food goes uneaten (Usuaully, each puffer gets 2 x bloodworms).

The puffers never give the otos any grief.

[Ira]

I keep mine with oto cats, and am careful to make sure no food goes uneaten (Usuaully, each puffer gets 2 x bloodworms).

The puffers never give the otos any grief.

2 bloodworms doesn't seem like much. My brazilian could eat most of a cube on his own.

[breakaway]

Ignore, accidental double post

[breakaway]

How big was he?

Edit: According to google they can grow up to 5 inches.

The ones I have are still adolescents and are under 1 inch each so 2 bloodworms are plenty. After having eaten 3, their stomachs look like they are about to explode!

And the one you had is a Colomesus asellus (I think). This puffer is a Carinotetraodon travancoricus.

[Ira]

He was about an inch. Maybe a tiny bit more.

[ANB001]

Well chosen gatito

[Gatito]

I would think loaches would snap up those snails before the puffers even had a chance...

Possibly, but the puffers tend to go for the snails as soon as i pop them in, so i reckon the clowns would get chased off. If i put more than 2 or 3 snails in the tank at once then the clowns could have some too, then clean up the carnage when the puffers are done.

2 bloodworms doesn't seem like much. My brazilian could eat most of a cube on his own.

Yeah oto's are fairly widely recommended to live with them, and i like otos, but as it's only a 70 litre tank i'd like to try the clowns or maybe a small school of something else that i like MORE, and if it works, great. I'm not too worried about 2 of my puffs, they've been pretty placid so far, but one of my females is pretty aggressive, i think it'd be her that would cause a problem with other fish. Have heard from a lot of people that have theirs in a community tank, and a lot of others that can only do otos or nothing at all with theirs.

I feed a 1/4 cube of bloodworms to 3 puffers every 2nd or 3rd day. This is supplemented with snails, and is not how i recommend that anyone feeds theirs, i've just been very busy and so they don't get fed every day . I am planning on doing 1/4 cube every 2nd day with snails once or twice a week, and seeing how that goes, as i'm going on holiday end of march and want to make sure the pet feeder doesn't overfeed!!! May move on to daily feeding if it turns out that i really should be

Has anyone tried whiteworms with their dwarf puffers? I was thinking about cranking my old culture back into action to provide a bit more variation. Also thinking about tubifex (sp) worms, though either of these two may be too small. Freeze-dried shrimp? Frozen tropical tucker? Any thoughts?

[Gatito]

The ones I have are still adolescents and are under 1 inch each so 2 bloodworms are plenty. After having eaten 3, their stomachs look like they are about to explode!

This puffer is a Carinotetraodon travancoricus.

the adult size for Carinotetraodon travancoricus is about an inch (2.5cm). My male is about that, and my females are about 1.5-2cm, and they handle at least a few bloodworms no worries. How big are yours? I would expect them to eat more but i'm no expert on these guys, let alone adolescents (sp?). Maybe mine eat 3 or so bloodworms then hide the rest.... Tricky beggars...

I'll watch them next time and report back (will try to remember to anyway) :roll: