malabar (dwarf) puffers again?

Question

i have a newborm malabar puffer and i have him in maybe three fourths of a gallon right now but plan on giving him a 2.5 or 3 in the near future it will be heavily planted (with falsies) and the filter will be 16 gph and i think its ok because i read they are river basin fish also i would like to know if this tank is big enough for maybe a otocinclus

Answer 1

Malabars are freshwater, but it should be in at least 5 gallons as an adult.

While you 2.5-3 gallon tank certainly would be large enough for *a* otocinclus, these should be kept in groups of 3 or more, and they're not compatible with puffers. The puffers are aggressive (despite the cute appearance) and would shred the fins on the oto.

You don't want to oversize the filter too much because puffers aren't fast swimmers. Be sure if you get one that has more power than needed for your tank that you're able to adjust the flow rate. If yours doesn't do that, or you haven't purchased it yet, look at Red Sea's nanofilter that's made for small tanks.

Also, be very aware of your water quality and cycle your tanks before introducing the puffer. These are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrite in their water.

Answer 2

They are aggressive and territorial, so you should keep a species tank of them. They need at minimum 3 gallons per puffer, so in a 10 gallon you could have 3. The tank should be heavily planted with either live or fake plants, and there should be a few caves or hidey-holes. Driftwood, clay pots, and rocks work well. That, along with plants, reduces their line of site for seeing the other puffers in the tank. They are not good with other fish in general, but many people have had success keeping them with Otocinclus fish. They will eat frozen foods like bloodworms, and that is the primary food most people feed their dwarfs (including me), but they also enjoy live foods like snails, brine shrimp, and blackworms. This allows them to use their hunting instinct!

Answer 3

ok