keeprs of Dwarf Puffer (Carinotetraodon travancoricus) help.

hello folks,

so i have a 20 liter tank (just over 5 gallon) sitting around catching dust. i have been doing some research about stocking lists for 5 gallon and im most interested in the little dwarf.

for those who know i also have a large SW tank (118gallons) a 48 gallon planted discus and a 10 planted betta tank.

bettas would be the easiest option but seeing as i already have one i would like to go for something different.

so any of you out there who have kept these little guys? i have several Ramshorn in my 48, in fact almost an invasion so the food would be live and constant but my question regards more the plants needed as well as water needs.

as far as i knew puffers were brackish water fish so a minimum salinity needs to be present?

but yea im still in the research phase so any experiences and tips are welcome.

p.s i could move the betta to the 5 gallon and give the puffer the 10 gal home

 

brackish fish are not very sensitive to salinity, many fish suited to brackish tanks can also be kept in full saltwater tanks or full freshwater tanks. many hobbyists however find that they tend to do best, and have the longest life span in brackish water which is why they are considered brackish water fish. but they can live healthy lives in freshwater and saltwater like i said.

i had a dwarf puffer tank (5 gallons) about 4 years ago. it housed 3 dwarf puffers. they are fairly hardy and eat mainly blood worms. but they are very very small, and often times very hard to find as they also will blend into most rocks and gravel being a light to dark tan color. i would suggest having black gravel in the tank. also they are small enough to get sucked into most intake valves so make sure to cover those with sponge or screening.

they are not very picky about plants so that should not be a problem. i have heard however that they can become a bit aggressive and pull plants apart.

 

it would be him alone in the 5 gallons as it seems they are quite territorial, didnt know about them tearing plants apart.

standard 25°c water temp?

 

yes they are tropical so between 72 and 80 would be fine.

they can often times be territorial but if added around the same time they dont bother eachother.

 

I currently have 3 DP in a 10 gallon standard and they are all females so there is little to no aggression. Temp needs to be 80 ish they are completely freshwater absolutely no salt they do eat meaty foods and love to hunt snails to keep their teeth ground down. Keep rocks and plants in your tank to break up their line of sight so they always feel they have somewhere to explore so they don't glass surf. Glass surfing is normal for a week or so but it means your puffer is stressed or unhappy. They are very hardy and are great to watch, I kept mine in a 55 along with other fish such as loaches and algae eaters. But it's when you get males the aggression shows.

 

a temperature anywhere between 72 and 80 is great. this is one case in which a snail infested tank is a good thing. because like said above the puffers need to eat snails to grind down their teeth or there will be many oral problems.