# Dwarf Puffers and Cherry Shrimp?



## raven_wilde

I recently saw some Dwarf Puffers at my LFS and was reminded just how freakin' cute the little buggers are... I had a pair once several years ago, and had to give them to a friend when I moved across country. After seeing them the other day I've been jonesing for some.... however...

I would only be able to find room for them if they are compatible with cherry shrimp. Has anyone tried this combination? I know dwarf puffers are mighty unpredictable- they pretty much did in a school of cory cats I had- nipped all their fins down to stubs in almost no time. Is it foolish to think these little devils would cohabitate peacefully with my cherry shrimp?


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## fredyk

i have 7 dwarf puffers, being very well fed with live bloodworms. theyre sharing the space with cherry shrimp and are doing fine together. it's sort of a successful experiment with the cherries, but puffers seems to ignore the cherries as they get all they want of the bloodworms.

Mark


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## GekkoGeck0

It's a gamble. I have heard of dwarf puffers that thought that cherry shrimp were their favourite snacks. Other puffers, like mine, live with shrimp and actually avoid them.

If you have no other housing available for the puffers and would be extremely unhappy to find that your cherry shrimp have become dinner, perhaps it's best to be safe rather than sorry?

I sympathize with you, they're adorable little beasts.


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## JanS

Even though it's obviously possible after reading the other posts here, I don't believe I would take the chance myself.
All it might take is one little disruption (like forgetting a feeding or a power outage) and they might figure out that they have a gourmet meal right under their nose.


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## trenac

I know people that have kept shrimp with Dp's successfully. I tried Ghost shrimp with mine and they gobbled them up. With that said, I don't think I would risk your Cherry's shrimp just for the sake of trying it.


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## raven_wilde

Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking... not risking it... they're just soooo cute... especially when their eyes spin around independently!... weird huh, to think that's cute? Oh well, luckily, when I paid the LFS a visit today to pick up some random little supplies I saw that they'd all been sold... probably for the best really.


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## kram

Just a side note:

I had 3 dwarf puffers in a very nice planted tank with two shrimp (I dont think they were cherry shripms),

Everythinh was fine for a long time with fish and shrimp and then one day I adjusted the position of a plant or two.

The puffers went insane and ate the shrimps before having a go at each other. This went on for ages until they settled down again.

After that I heard that adjusting plants or decor in an established puffer tank is a really bad idea as if their territories are disturbed or their established sightlines disrupted its like flipping their psycho switch.

So if you like changing you aquascape a lot then maybe puffers are not th ebest thing as they get really stressed by changes in their physical environment.

God Bless their bulgy little eyeballs!

kram


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## aquariageek

From what I know, there are two types of dwarf puffers. I am not sure of how they designate between the two. The one is much larger, and is a true brackish. The smaller (a dwarf dwarf??  ) is compatible with any tropical community. I have seen them in tanks with various species and they never were agressive.


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## John N.

Never kept the dwarf puffer with shrimp, but I got one for snail control, and it went together fine with all the other fish...rasporas, rams, otos. Since they are so finicky eaters I can picture them in a tank with cherries without any problems, but obviously it could be chancy 

-John N.


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## GekkoGeck0

aquariageek said:


> From what I know, there are two types of dwarf puffers. I am not sure of how they designate between the two. The one is much larger, and is a true brackish. The smaller (a dwarf dwarf??  ) is compatible with any tropical community. I have seen them in tanks with various species and they never were agressive.


The dwarf puffer (Carinotetraodon travancoricus) is true freshwater, a true dwarf, and is absolutely not always community compatible. All puffers have their individual personalities, but the dwarfs more often than not tend to be fin nipping, shrimp gulping non-community types, in the long term. 

http://www.pufferlist.com/ is a great place to use to identify puffers.


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## trenac

aquariageek said:


> From what I know, there are two types of dwarf puffers. I am not sure of how they designate between the two. The one is much larger, and is a true brackish. The smaller (a dwarf dwarf??  ) is compatible with any tropical community. I have seen them in tanks with various species and they never were agressive.


Take a look here... http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/intro2.htm


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