My newest babies... freshwater dwarf puffers!

[Abarnswell]

I know this is sort of off topic, as it is freshwater, not marine, but...

I have always loved/wanted a puffer, but my marine tanks are not suited for puffers, so no go. Just this past week, however, I "discovered" freshwater dwarf puffers, which grow to about 1 inch in length. They are so tiny, and so cute!! So, I bought several of them for my planted freshwater tank, where they are schooling around together, hunting pond snails and eating live blackworms and frozen blood worms. They have the tank to themselves, as dwarf puffers don't tolerate tankmates very well (with the exception of Otto catfish and some shrimps).

In case you'd like to know more about them, here's a great Dwarf Puffer forum: http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/

Now, I have puffers!! :loveface

 

[sadielynn]

April
Green spotted puffers are a brackish fish we had them and they went to full salt after a period of time . They are not true dwarfs they can get to be 6 inches long and require a tank of atleast 50 gallons . They will eventually kill tank mates and eat shrimps as well
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubW ... spfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubW ... spsart.htm
http://puffernet.tripod.com/main.html
they also have "beaks" or teeth that need to be constantaly worn down and are very dirty fish . I had them and when I got mine they were the size of a dime but quickly grew to the size of a sliver dollar less than 5 months they greeted me when I came in the room but got so big that I sold them back to the pet store . I wish that I had done more research on them they also require over filtration on their tanks and a soft substrate since they are "scaleless" . Maybe some others will have some experience on them but I dont think that there is a real fresh water puffer , the green spotted start in fresh but go to brackish and then to salt over the course of time Hope this helps some good luck

 

[reefman23]

I had a brackish 29 gallon with a group of leopard puffers and figure 8's...they were really fun. They were pretty aggressive and those beaks were nasty. good luck...let us know how they do.

 

[Abarnswell]

These little guys are Carinotetraodon travancoricus (Dwarf Puffers), not Green Spotted Puffers (Tetraodon nigroviridis).

The Carinotetraodon travancoricus are true 100% freshwater fish that do not exceed 1 inch in length (true dwarves), and they remain freshwater all of their lives. While they can grow aggressive as they reach sexual maturity, they're far less aggressive than larger species of puffers. DPs can be kept in groups, with a ratio of 1 m/2 f. Also, DPs don't have the same types of problems with their beaks as larger species, although it is recommended to feed them small pond snails or ramshorn snails so that they can crush the shells with their beaks (to help keep their beaks trimmed down).

I had never heard of these little guys until I happen to spot some in my LFS. Since then, after researching, I have found that Petsmart has been breeding these and selling these in large quantities for a decade now. Petsmarts sells them for $2 each! Can you believe that? According to my local LFS, they are not often found in the trade. Petsmart only has them in large numbers because they breed them. I checked my two local Petsmarts, and they both had around 10-12 in stock. Amazing! And I'd never even heard of them. I think it's because they're so small (the juveniles are around 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length), that unless you know they are in the tank at the LFS, they will hide and you'll never see them if you're just browsing. They require approximately 3 gallons each (for stocking estimates) and a low flow.

I contemplated getting a Green Spotted Puffer -- my LFS had those, too. But in the end, I couldn't resist the diminuitive size of the little Dwarves. Also, their eyes move independently of each other -- like a seahorse's eyes. They are very intelligent little creatures, and they do interact with the keepers, recognizing humans, food bowls, etc... If you stare at them, they will stare right back at you. They also are pigs and beg for food.

 

[skipm]

They sound like very interesting little fish, I had no idea that they were as interesting as they sound. I have a friend who loves puffers and I could never figure out why she liked those ugly fish so much but I think I see why now (she likes the larger puffers). Thanks for all of the information, Skip

 

[EDGRAY]

well almost everything is true and i have them too and like abarnswell say they get only 1 inch big i had mine for about 10 months and never grew a inch or centimeter they were really cute i had 5 in a 10g with so bumble bees and they were always good partners all of them until i decided to give them away and started fancy guppies and saltwater tank :lol: know i have my 12g cube and a 2.5 gallon with 8 guppies and 2 platties and alot of guppies babies and one baby orange platty seems alot of fish on that little tank but everyone is doing fine and i make a 1/2 gallon water change every week and they been together and still kicking for about 6 months and keep going they are healthy no signs of ick or stress and they all follow me when i get close they are like food food and i think they are really jeoulous of my saltwater tank cause i dont pay them alot of attention like i used to they used to be in a 10g with more guppies alot of them and platties but i gave some away and kept the pretty ones ohh well just wanted to share...

 

[reefman23]

just a note...i worked at petco, and each region uses a breeder for their fish, ie. ORA (Ocean Reef and Aquatics) for their salt, and i cant recall the name of the freshwater provider. Petsmart is the same way, they use an outside breeder. just fyi.

Jesse