# Dwarf Puffers Bad?



## mazakman (May 10, 2006)

So I got my new ADA 90 P all set-up and going great
5 Neon tetras
6 Male fancy guppies
2 Praecox Rainbows
5 Ghost Shrimp
3 Rummynose tetras
2 Dalmatian Mollies
2 German Rams
3 Ottos
And 2 Dwarf Puffers..................
Everyone is getting along fine. I feed a variety of foods ( Blood worms,Micro pellets and Flake). But from what I am reading it seams like the puffers are a bad idea. They eat very good on the worms. Actually it's funny to watch the puffer on each end of one blood worm eating it until they meet in the middle. It kind of hard to find out anything about them i did go on DwarfPuffers.com and it looks like it's a bad idea from them too. I'm I just lucky or are the puffers planning their attack for later? They don't even seam to take a second look at the other fish.


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

People tend to generalize, is like the notion that you can't keep male bettas together because they fight. Fish tend to have their own personalities. Your puffers seem to be calm towards the other. Keep a watch on them and keep enjoying your tank.

Cheers,
Pedro


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I have 4 dwarf puffers in a 20 gallon long with some endlers and otto cats and they all get along just fine. I drop in some stray snails from other tanks for them to snack on from time to time.


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## mazakman (May 10, 2006)

Great thanks for the encouragement. I really like them. They are on the prowl for stray worms all the time so they help keep the tank clean. Also when they swim by each other they bend their tails around as if to wave at each other. I realize that that's not really what that means but they never fight.


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

i have them in a couple of my small tanks (jbj 12 and 20l) and it really depends on their individual personallity, i only have one in each tank and lucky me they are not agressive at all, they havent nipped or even taken a notice of the other fish in the tank. they are cute buggers and great fun to watch. my 20l has hundreds of rainbow shrimp and even though i know he is eating them (i never feed worms and he doesnt eat the flakes) he is fat and healthy. i guess the population of shrimp is so large he cant eat enough babies to really do any damage, and the adults are too big for him. on the flip side my friend has a very agressive one so luck of the draw i guess.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

When I first got dwarf puffers, I researched and lots of people said they don’t get along with each other or any other fish. In my experience this is not the case. I’ve kept 2 in a 20 gallon community tank of tetras, mollies, and even amino shrimp. Besides occasionally chasing each other they did no harm to one another or to the rest of the inhabitants. 

The hardest part with these puffers, they sometime won't eat.

-John N.


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## GekkoGeck0 (Nov 3, 2005)

I think, yes, it all depends on the personalities of the fish, but it also depends on maturity as well.

Often, they do well as juvenile specimens with either conspecifics or in a community setup, but as soon as reaching maturity, the attacks begin.

All I can say is keep a very close eye on them. You may have success. Or you may come home to a tank full of fish with no fins.

I suggest you check out http://dwarfpuffers.com and http://www.thepufferforum.com.

Good luck to you with them, and have a home for them ready in case things do go south.


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## JoeHoetzl (Feb 23, 2005)

I do think they get a bit of a bad rap. 
Like others have said, each one can have its own personality, but with the 5 I had in a planted 20 for about 3 years, and the 2 I kept in a 5g planted (until I loaned them out as snail patrol).
I never once had agression issues. I know I had two males and 3 females, so maybe that kept them content...but I have had them live with cardinals, angels, gymno's (meridionalis), endlers, gracilis, mutlitudes of mollies, platies, oto's, ancistrus, loaches (Botia Dario, sidmunthki), amano's, cherries (with little ones as well), and not once had a fin nipping episode. 

They do get their share of snails, as well as at least weekly live blackworm feedings.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Dwarf Puffers can be good or bad for a community setup. They seem to prefer to nip on longer fins over short ones. Like already said, it depends a lot of each individual Dp's personality. I've heard of Dp's that will not tolerate each other and have to be separated, sometimes even killing the other. Having a heavily planted tank also helps cut down on their aggression levels.

I have two Dp's in a 20 gallon tank along with a Rummynose Tetra, Badis-Badis, loaches and Otto's with no problems. My Dp's are however pretty docile. 

Even though yours is getting along now with the others, it may change as they mature. So just keep a close eye on the other fish.


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