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Need some ideas

lstratton

Member
Joined
28 Jan 2008
Messages
100
Location
London
So, most of you will know that I'm currently (and very slowly, due to changing my mind), setting up my first planted tank, properly (its a Rio240). I currently have 3 (or maybe 4) otos and 2 queen arabesque plecs in it. I am going to add another 5 otos that I have already and was going to put in my pride and joy puffers (colomesus asellus) and add another 3 to them.
However, both my puffers died last night, due to a spike in nitrite (not in the rio240 tank and it has been set up for over a year so have no idea for the reason behind it and it didn't kill the otos in there with them), so as much as I love my puffers, I had to trim their teeth every few months which was a complete nightmare and horrible for all of us (I had to anaethetise them). So now I'm rethinking my final stocklist for the Rio 240. This is where I'll need help.
So I'll have a total of 8/9 otos and 2 small plecs (max 4-6inches).
Do I add 12 dwarf puffers (only an inch big), they don't need their teeth trimmed and are very active or do I add a large shoal of fish (tetras or rasboras??) or a smaller shoal with some bolivian rams (had them before and loved them, they even spawned for me, but always ate the eggs). Any ideas would be brilliant. Thankyou
 
I think you might have trouble with the dwarfs. I have read other people's experience of them and I was doing some light research about them last year when I was considering them. They are not good with other fish I'm told (not from personal experience).

Personally, I would go with some shoaling fish :)
 
Personally, I'd go with the cichlids. Puffers seem to much hassle to me and from what I've read even the smaller ones tend to nip each other. There are some lovely apistos out there and don't forget chequerboards, A. thomasi and N. anomala among others.
 
I agree with Beeky. But I would say that; I'm totally biased as I love cichlids. They have character, colour and will even breed and pretty much look after themselves and their babies. Ok they chase other fish, but generally if you give them room and understand their needs for a place to call home that's safe for their little ones, they are fine.

Why not look at some of the Apistogramma species as they're far more colourful than bolivian rams (though they are very nice too!)
 
If you feed puffers an adequete diet containing enough hard shelled food you would not have to trim their beaks. In a planted tank you could easily grow plenty of snails such as ramshorns for their food.

Some puffers live happily together, my fiance has a pair of green spotted puffers that are "supposed" to live alone as they are so aggressive. Yet they live together happily with monos, and other fish.
 
In the wild puffers identify food simply by taking chunks out of things to assess it. I'd think putting puffers in a 'community' tank is a bit risky, I know of other people that have done this and, as is their nature, the puffers have torn/bitten fins even on fish a hell of a lot bigger than them.
What about rainbows? Boesemani are lovely, colourful, hardy and a good temperament!
 
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