ive somehow converted my friend to liking fish too so im teaching her everything there is to know. shes cycling the water in her tank, its about 20 gals. she wants some cardinal tetras and a freshwater puffer, what else can she have in there? is there anything else we need to know thats different to what you do with coldwater (other than temperature)?

cant help with the puffer im afraid. never owned one. tetra swim in the mid region so maybe three hatchet fish for the top water and 2 corys for the bottom and fill up the space with more tetras, rasboras and pencils. remember these are all shoaling fish and need at least 5 of each. she could also get a small plec, maybe a bristlenose or a hong kong or butterfly. these wont grow too big.

Dwarf (Malabar) Pufferfish

These tiny puffers are imported from India. They are surprisingly hardy fish and they are also know as pea puffers. They are said to be semi aggressive, but I find they are a good community fish, as long as you have a big enough tank. Males have a brown vertical line on their belly , which can darken and fade. The females don't have this. Dwarf puffers seem to eat bloodworms. If they don't at first, then try little tiny pond snails and ghost shrimp. They stay tiny at about 3 cm and don't eat your plants. They don't require any salt, but I do add a little. These little guys do have a personality. They eat right out of my fingers, if I hold the food semi in the water. They see me when I'm near the tank and all swim up to see what I'm doing. They are very cute fish.

Scientific Name: Carinotetraodon travancoricus
Family: Puffer
Temperature: 22 - 28 C; 72 - 82 F
PH 7.0 - 8.3
Size: 2.5 cm; 1 inch
Life Span: years
Breeding: Difficult
Compatibility:

Other puffers and compatible in a large community tank.



Figure 8 Pufferfish

These puffers orignate in freshwaters of Southeast Asia and are said to be a little nippy. I have them in a tank with my other pufferfish and haven't had any kind of a problem. I have also heard personal stories from pufferfish owners that they nip, so take extra precaution when introducing them to a new tank. Figure 8s are said to be brackish water fish , but there is still quite a debate on whether this is true or not. Most hobbyists would say to add some salt, but not much. Salt is good for most freshwater fish, as it kills bacteria if they have a wound. It's not bad in proper quantities.



Scientific Name:
Tetraodon biocellatus

Family:
Puffer

Temperature:
22 - 26 C; 72 - 79 F

PH
6.5 - 7.5

Size:
6 cm; 2.5 inches

Life Span:
5 years

Breeding:
Difficult


Compatibility:


Other puffers. Possibly aggressive and may nip other fish.




Spotted Green Pufferfish

These guys are my personal favorite. I have had one now for two years and he's getting big. I must say from what I have seen, they are one of the smartest fish and are friendly to humans. They do get nippy and aggressive at times. They can be placed in a community tank with other fish, but keep a close watch and feed them well. These puffers are always hungry. I find if they are feed them three times a day in smaller amounts that they nip less. Their nipping also depends on the size of the tank and the amount of swimming space that they have.

Spotted Green Pufferfish are very entertaining to watch, especially their swimming patterns. They will live a long time if taken care of properly. From my experience, this type of puffer is very sensitive, so if you are a beginner, I suggest you start with the hardier dwarf puffer. Spotted Green Pufferfish eat frozen then thawed bloodworms, ghost shrimp and pond snails . The snails keep their beak from growing too large. These puffers are a definite brackish water fish. When they get older, they can be introduced slowly into a fully saltwater environment. In saltwater, they will do better and their colors are vibrant.



Scientific Name:
Tetraodon nigroviridis

Family:
Puffer

Temperature:
24 - 28 C; 75 - 82 F

PH
8

Size:
10 - 17 cm; 4 - 7 inches

Life Span:
years

Breeding:
Difficult


Compatibility:


Other puffers. Nippy in a community tank unless they have adequate space and food.


this is what i found on freshwater puffers and from the looks of it she cant have anything much with them .

wow thats alot of info to take in!!!!, they have puffer at one of my LFS and they are about £150

I don't recomend a dwarf puffer they arn't beggener fish and i personaly find that there alot of work with feeding and all..

Hey!
im the friend that is getting fish!
Its good to see that she has faith in me! :angel
thanks for the info sandy, ill look for a dwarf puffa,
i need all the help i can get!
c ya
Tink x

I have faith in Ya, I'm sure that you'll be able to learn as much as you need here and of blinky...

awww, thanks!
Thanx agen 4 the info sandy!

no probs tinkerbell. post when you get your fish.

well, i got the fish.....
three of them are fine, but the marble mollie aint lookin so good.
I have posted more about this in the chatterbox section.
Any 1 have any advice on snails?

What fish did you get?

Please look into puffers a lot more, they need a special diet and can be pretty nasty. Dwarf puffers are probably the safest and are truely freshwater, but stay away from Figure 8's and Green Spotted, at least till you know more.

There's a lot of debate on the brackish thing for those two types, but people who have been keeping them for years and years found that while they can survive in freshwater, they don't live nearly as long or grow nearly as large as they can when in brackish. GSP's in fact really need to go full marine as they grow. Properly taken care of, these guys can live 18-20 years. Ask anyone who kept one in freshwater how long it lived.. betcha it wasn't 18-20 years...

Er...I got the rest of the fish 2day, they all look fine, got some strange looking things stuck to the side of the tank, might be eggs but im not sure who's they are.
i also have a snail in there so they might be his/hers.
heeeelp!!!!

defoo avoid puffers, they will either a die, b eat your otherfish

the nasty ones will eat the otherfish and live but the better tempered ones are Very sensitive....