Karen - Betta talk :)

[JenniferGentle]

Aww so cute!

 

[Dead_Lioness]

Generally you want to check the water regardless of the area, so in my opinon there is no need to waste time with going online and checking the water quality in your area, cause you're probably going to have to change the PH anyway for the type of fish you get. If you buy the kit it will pretty much tell you all you need to know about changing the water and leveling out the PH. Some people don't ever change the PH. I know when I first had gotten a fishtank I didn't and my fish did fine. Derick, mostly all plants will take root and getting fertilzer will help them to grow And generally fish add their own fertilizer. So you might not ever have to go that far especially if you're going to add only a few plants for astetic reasons. Mostly its up to you what you want to do.

True, but I'm one to have huge and heavily planted tanks 'Amano' style,
so trust me: checking the water quality helped a lot with picking up plants that thrive in my tanks (and bot, do they thrive)
You're right though, it depends on what you want to do, and how many plants you desire, but from my experience: many people face rotten-leaves, and plants that slowly decay in their water and they never understand why... -and often it gets you discouraged from trying real plants again...
It's all about the fertilizer and the water change every week really, but if you want heavily planted tanks: 'knowing' your water helps tremendously

 

[Lordlucid]

See I normally get fatty little goldfish that eat the hell outta plants, which is good for them but not so much for the plants. That was one of the main reasons I got plants and I never really had to worry about letting them get Beeeautiful cause they were mostly going to be devoured by the endless vacum that is the Carp family.
I used to mostly get (way back in the day) fish from the Tetra Family, They require to be in schools and tend not to eat the plants so much as hide in them. I guess thats when you'd want to be more assertive about what you buy and whether or not is acceptable for your fishies.

!

 

[Iris]

All fish in my tank are Cyprinids, accompanied by Asian fanshrimps and apple snails.
My fav's are still the loaches. (Beaufortia Kweichowensis)
This is the female of the couple that i posted in the random pic thread.
Still have both of them.

 

[Chromatose]

finally found some dwarf puffers at a fish store (or "pea puffers" as they were calling them) so now to wait for my tank to cycle c'monnnnnnnnnnnn

they're so tiny and cute awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

 

[Lordlucid]

and they eat other fish!

 

[Chromatose]

It was sad though.. they had a tank filled with figure 8's and green spotted puffers and you could tell they had been nibbling at each other's fins

some were dull colored and kinda sickly looking

 

[Lordlucid]

Thats why if you get puffers and decide you want other fish, then go for fast ones.

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

Hmm, I guess we went to four pet stores today. In our ongoing quest to go to all of the local pet stores, we finally came across one today that was nice. They didn't have the biggest selection of fish or supplies, but the fish they did have were very well cared for and not overcrowded. They also had some neat unique items, and weren't very overpriced for an independent store. They had mother f'n sand sharks! Big, cute ones! Twas awesome.

 

[Iris]

It was sad though.. they had a tank filled with figure 8's and green spotted puffers and you could tell they had been nibbling at each other's fins

some were dull colored and kinda sickly looking

Puffers do that when they don't get enough and sufficient living food or when they get older, fighting for territory.
Puffers need living food otherwise they start to eat fins of other fish.
If they get enough tiny snails, shrimps and red larvae, they won't show such behavior and act like cute little fella's. They not only love to eat little snails, they need it. Puffers have tiny teeth and by eating snails, their teeth stay sharp and in good condition.
You can feed them little shrimps, red larvae but snails is their fav. Pallets or dried food is not ideal for these critters and is often rejected.
Puffers have a personality of heir own and are no easy eaters.
Therefor, i higly recommend real plants for a puffer tank and not to wash the plants when you get them from the dealer.
(new plants often contain snail eggs when they come straight from the dealer.)

How many puffers have you planned for your tank, D?

 

[Chromatose]

2 dwarfs in 10 gallons

 

[Captain Beard]

Sounds like a party if it weren't fish.

 

[Iris]

2 dwarfs in 10 gallons

If you can make sure you don't get 2 males, it's fine. If not, death will follow for 1 of them, eventually.
2 females or a couple ain't a problem at all. Pest is, that a puffer almost needs to be mature to see the difference.

 

[Chromatose]

Dwarfs are less aggressive and it is said that two males are often alright by themselves if they have plenty of hiding locations (which the tank is set up for). The big problems arise when you have 3 and there are 2 males, then you have to be sure to have 2 females to 1 male. This is why I'm not getting 3, even though 10 gallons will happily accommodate 3 DPs.

 

[Iris]

I see. I hope that theory works.
My experience is that 2 males will cause a lot of stress to both of them, even though the tank has a lot of hiding places.
When you're feeding, they might stress eachother out and it's not cute to see them chasing and biting eachothers ass off, everytime you come near the tank. But that's my experience with puffers. In the beginning nothing is wrong, it's when they get older that males become agressive towards eachother but maybe it works fine in your tank. I hope so. Puffers are cool fish and really have a personality. Their skin is cool, they don't have scales and it feels a bit rough. And if it appears to be 2 males, you have a good excuse to buy a bigger tank and introduce some females.

 

[Dead_Lioness]

Iris has really good valid points. I think however, that a 10 gallon tank is OK size for two small puffers....
Only issue with small tanks is the fact that water change needs to happen frequently, as water quality can't stay optimal in small 'areas' .
I also think Derick, that you would probably need more plants and more tall 'cave' -like hiding spots for them. When I had my puffers I set up my tank
thinking it's heavily planted and awesome, but I kept changing it and adding more rocks and wood to make it more suitable. You'll see as you go,
that you'll keep adding/changing your setting in the tank until you find the perfect set-up for your own little guys.

Iris is right about the snails and life food... golly, get real plants!!!!!

 

[Brooks]

I am awe-struck at how on topic this thread has remained.

Normally at this point, I'd post a picture of a disgusting culinary monstrosity, but I think I'll hold back just this one time.


JUST THIS ONE TIME.

 

[Chromatose]

Iris has really good valid points. I think however, that a 10 gallon tank is OK size for two small puffers....
Only issue with small tanks is the fact that water change needs to happen frequently, as water quality can't stay optimal in small 'areas' .
I also think Derick, that you would probably need more plants and more tall 'cave' -like hiding spots for them. When I had my puffers I set up my tank
thinking it's heavily planted and awesome, but I kept changing it and adding more rocks and wood to make it more suitable. You'll see as you go,
that you'll keep adding/changing your setting in the tank until you find the perfect set-up for your own little guys.

Iris is right about the snails and life food... golly, get real plants!!!!!

Man you guys are treating me like I've never had fish before.

 

[Brooks]

Squid eats fish.

 

[Chromatose]

In fact I had some long john silvers a few weeks ago.