Dwarf puffer fish

[Baileyfrog]

Can I put a dwarf puffer in a tank with either a betta or some danios? Are they compatible with either?

Thanks!!

[Oscar_freak12321]

Dwarf puffers are best kept by themselves, but housed with some faster danios might work. Bettas definitely not. They are too slow and will be picked on, no matter how ridiculous it sounds.

[troy]

No, they aren't compatible.

[jaysee]

Puffers more than nip at other fish, they take small bites out of the fish with their beak like mouths. I agree a school of zippy danios would be hard to catch.

[Northernguy]

The danios may become lunch as well!
They are best kept only with other puffers.
Check this out!
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/pufferfish.php

[Flowcus]

Even faster fish like Danios will get bit up by these viscous little guys! I kept some before, and they are better off in a tank to themselves. If you have something suitably sized you can house more then one. Just be sure to have the tank full of plants, driftwood, and caves for them to hide and base their territories. A heavily planted tank is ideal... for something like a 20g I would say 3-4 would be fine as long as its got ample hiding spots.

Fun little fish for sure, but definately not one to keep if you prefer a community tank. :22:

[terrapin24h]

another reason to not keep them in a community tank....

Most puffers(in addition to their ability to "puff") have a defense mechanism in their organs, a very strong poison. Eat the fish, and you die. It complicates an aquarium even more so. Let's say you have a puffer in with other fish, and said puffer dies. If you don't get it out quick(im told within a few hours) the poison gets in the tank water and kills every fish in it. Rapidly. I know a guy who kept puffers in the salt world, and had it happen to someone he knew who also had them. Granted that was a marine environment, but the same holds true for FW, IIRC. Species tank only, but they are a cool fish. I have a 10 gal just waiting to find them, but all i can find around here are gsp, which get too large for a 10 and i don't want to deal with brackish water.

--chris

[Flowcus]

The poison is only deadly if ingested, and will not release into the water like that. That dude never experienced it first hand and its just hear-say. I've kept 5 different species of puffer and have had a couple die ( green spotteds back when I was new to fish keeping years ago ) and they never once wiped out a tank because their poison was released.

I would love to hear from someone thats experienced that first hand because I find it very hard to beleive. And the source be reputable like and Aquarium Biologist thats had one pass in their exibits and cause some fish to croak... or something of the such.

[terrapin24h]

I would love to hear from someone thats experienced that first hand because I find it very hard to beleive. And the source be reputable like and Aquarium Biologist thats had one pass in their exibits and cause some fish to croak... or something of the such.

well, the "dude" worked at a high end marine LFS in florida at the time, and the customer brought the dead fish in(puffer and the others) for examination. Said store had a vet on retainer that examined the fish and determined the death (and subsequent rotting) of the puffer in the tank caused the death of the fish due to the poison(apparently the fish showed some sign of it). Apparently it happened over a weekend while the keeper was out of town. Maybe the other fish cannibalized the puffer after it died, i wasn't provided that level of detail. Perhaps the vet mis diagnosed it, but from that point on the the official policy of the store was puffers should be in a tank by themselves, and the guy i know moved his to their own tank as well. Makes no difference to me whether you believe it or not, I can only relate what he told me. He handled the fish himself so I tend to believe him.

--chris