How many Dwarf Puffer Fish can fit in a 10 gallon tank?

Question

PLease do not respond back saying, 'Yes, a 10 gallon tank would work fine"......I am looking for a ##### NUMBER #####.......not a yes or no answer.......{THANKS}

Answer 1

Call the people at this company - I listed their main site on your other question on dwarf puffers...

Answer 2

I would recommend only 1 but no more then 2...They are nasty little fish and can kill fish just as easily as they can be killed by bigger fish.

Answer 3

These are Dwarf Puffers people!  Suggesting that you can't keep more than 2 of these little guys in a 10 gallon tank is ludicrous.  If you have sufficient plants and wood to entertain the fish, 3-4 Puffers (especially females) would fit easily.  These fish are not nearly as aggressive as people make them out to be.

Answer 4

Dwarf Puffer

Tetraodon Travancoricus  

Also Known As: Bumblebee Puffer, Indian Puffer, Sea Frog, Pygmy Puffer, Abeni Puffer, Gold Puffer, Dwarfed Indian Puffer, Malabar Pufferfish; Monotreta Travancoricus



  

  Species / Type:

Single-Species [Community] types can often co-exist in community or solitary tanks. Some fish of this type may be solitary fish within a breeding pair.

Single-Species [Community]  

   Care Difficulty:

Medium  



  Length:

1 in (3 cm)  

   Tank Size:

10 g (38 L)  



  Region:

India  

   Tank Environment:

Planted tanks generally require some type of plants to either create hiding places or territorial boundaries for fish.

  (id: 1)Planted  



  Food:

Meat Eater, generally prey on other fish and / or fry of other species.

[close definition]   (id: 1)[Carnivorous] Live or frozen foods like shrimp, blood worms, black worms, etc. Snails are a periodic requirement for tooth maintenance.  

   Temp:

75-80°f (24-27°c)  



  Breeding:

Extremely difficult in captivity

[close definition]   (id: 3)Extremely Difficult  

   PH:

7.0-8.0  



Photo Provided By: Russell Carroll    



General Information:  

Dwarf Puffers have the typical puffer shape, kind of a cross between a tiny blimp and a minuscule torpedo. When full grown they will only reach from one to one and a half inches long.

Color varies from a shimmering gold with black spots to a washed out tan with equally washed out army green or brown spots. Their bellies should be bright white. A Dwarf puffer with a dark colored stomach is a sick puffer and should be treated right away.

Dwarf Puffers are very moody little fish and you can usually tell if something is bothering them by changes in their behavior, they will pout and they will grieve over the loss of a mate. In the same token, a happy little puffer will be almost iridescent gold with black spots.

When they sleep they will often curl up like a dog, wrapping their tail around their body. They like large leaves to curl up on but will do the same on the substrate in a protected area.

When viewed in the right light their eye's appear to be blue. They have large eyes that move independently of one another but if they spot a snail in passing, they will quickly stop with their rudder like tail, and lock on to the snail or other tidbit with both eye's.

They are quite entertaining to watch as they hunt and every so often come to the front of the tank to check to see if you are still watching or have any food to offer.

I had a pair of Dwarf Puffers and only just recently lost my little male. His mate was heart broken and would only come out of hiding once a day to eat. On the 3rd day she didn't come out at all and I was sure she was going to die. The next day she was back to normal. This entire time her color was very pale and washed out.



Care Information:  

The name Tetraodontidae means four teeth. Puffers have fused, bone like teeth, two on top in the front, and two on the bottom. These teeth grow constantly and your Puffer needs things like small shell fish, crustaceans and snails to keep his teeth from getting so long that he can no longer open his mouth to eat.

Dwarf Puffers mouths are very tiny, I've read that you should only feed them snails that are no bigger than their eyes, but I have seen my Puffers attack, kill, and eat snails as large as they themselves were. I make sure to provide plenty of smaller snails as well, with the smaller snails, they crunch on the shells, which files the teeth down. With the larger snails they just basically eat the snail, leaving the shell untouched and defeating the purpose of feeding snails.

Most Dwarf Puffers purchased in pet stores are wild caught; The biggest challenge is getting them to eat. They prefer live food and some will never switch over to dry or frozen. However, many people have good luck feeding frozen bloodworms, mysis shrimp, adult brine shrimp, tiny pieces of fresh frozen cocktail shrimp, and any fresh frozen sea food can be tried as long as you chop it into bite sized pieces.

With frozen shrimp make sure you smell it, Shrimp is often rinsed in Bleach to kill any bacteria before it is frozen and this could prove deadly to your puffer. Rinse the shrimp until you no longer smell the bleach, before feeding it.

As far as live foods go, Blackworms, tubifex, white worms, tiny earthworms, baby and adult brine shrimp, and micro-worms are a favorite of my female.

Dwarf Puffers are pretty hardy for such small fish. They are said to be the most tolerant of water conditions of any Puffers. I have very high PH water and my Dwarfs adjusted fine after being acclimated.

While they are hardy for puffers they still need excellent water conditions as far as ammonia, nitrites and nitrates go. They are scaleless fish so more sensitive to high nitrates than some. And of course we know that all fish are sensitive to any ammonia and nitrites so testing your water and frequent water changes are a must.

You can keep up to 3 Dwarf puffers comfortable in a planted 5 gallon tank provided that you only have one male. Male's are very territorial and will fight to the death during breeding season. The tank should have lots of plants for hiding places and a cave or two is always appreciated.

Puffers can also be kept in a peaceful community tank but the keeper must keep in mind that they are notorious fin nippers and no fish, large or small is exempt from these attentions. Only keep fish that will turn and run for their lives. Any aggression by a tank mate could result in a deadly standoff for both fish.

Dwarf Puffers have a powerful bite and will take on a fish 10 times their size if he's foolish enough to want to fight. Fish with long flowing fins are not a good choice.

Hyper fish tend to make puffers nervous and its better if they aren't in the same tank. A nervous puffer tends to be nippier and can get stressed to the point that he quits eating. I've kept my Dwarfs in with guppies and Corries. The guppies have been left completely untouched including the fry but the Corries tend to make the puffers nervous and get nipped often as a result.



Breeding Information:  

I have the T. Travancoricus species of Dwarf Puffer. The male is built slightly differently than the female in that she will be rounder. The male is longer and slimmer in build. The male will also have a small dark stripe that looks like it runs from under his chin to half way down his belly. It fades and darkens with breeding behavior or aggression.

Dwarf puffers are egg layers. The male will chase the female during courtship until she decides on a place to lay the eggs. Usually they will snuggle together in a clump of java moss if provided, once the eggs are laid the male will drive the female out of the nest. I have only heard of removing the eggs at this time and hatching them in an heated tank with methalyn blue as an anti-fungal treatment.

I have read of cases where the eggs hatched in the tank with the parents present and the fry were ignored.

Probably the hardest part of raising a batch of Dwarf puffer fry isn't getting them to hatch, its feeding them once they arrive. They can only fit microscopic sized food into their mouths after the yolk sack is used up, and they become free swimming. You will need to have a couple of jars of infusoria going and feed small amounts often, or the fry will starve to death.

Older fry are said to cannibalize younger hatches so you will want to keep each hatch separate.



Suggested Resources:  

Here is a link to a terrific site about breeding Dwarf Puffers.

''http://www.rr.iij4u.or.jp/~kohda/en/en-d...

Up to 3 dwarfpuffers in a 10 gallon tank

Answer 5

ohh lets see I say 2 might do better.