How do I set up for dwarf puffers?
I have a heavily planted tank holding just over 100 litres, in which I’m hoping to keep a group of dwarf puffers. How many puffers should I aim for? Can I keep some Corydoras with them?
G. AGNEW
NEALE SAYS:
You could probably keep a fair-sized group of 8-10 puffers in a tank this size, which will help spread out any aggression between them much better than when they’re kept in twos or threes. The usual recommendation is to allow about 10 litres or so per specimen, but this depends to an extent on how the tank is decorated. The males are territorial but tend to ignore one another if there are lots of hiding places and visual breaks.
Plants are particularly important because these puffers naturally swim at all levels, not just the bottom of the tank. Floating plants with long bushy leaves or feathery roots will really help, creating cover and making it harder for the males to see each other. Amazon frogbit and floating Indian fern are two very useful species that should be on the shopping list of any potential dwarf puffer owner.
You should, of course, include the usual midwater plants as well. I’d also add some bogwood roots and hollow ornaments, though these puffers are not shy and don’t hide away much.
It is possible to sex dwarf puffers, and thereby purchase a group where the less aggressive females outnumber the territorial males—but whether you’ll be able to do this at the aquatic shop is open to debate. Like other
Carinotetraodon species, they are sexually dimorphic, with the males having a dark keel running along their bellies, and often sporting metallic blue squiggles behind their eyes. Very young specimens of both sexes are very similar, however, and the males only acquire their full colouration once sexually mature.
You’re better off keeping the puffers as the only species, and if there’s space in the tank for more fish, see that as your margin of error when it comes to water quality and avoiding territorial skirmishes. I’m not convinced dwarf puffers cohabit reliably with anything, to be honest—and they’re likely to nip
Corydoras, so I wouldn’t risk it.