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Hubby has been bitten by the Puffer bug. I need to know if they can be kept with juvenile convicts, a pair of 4 inch breeding Jewel Cichlids and a 4 inch Salvini?

None of the above. They need to be in a species tank. 3gal per puff. Otos are about the only tankmates (and possibly shrimp) www.dwarfpuffers.com

Kim

A lot of horror stories are told about dwarf puffers, i have been keeping some for over 2 years and to date i have kept 8 of them in a 4 foot tank together with a few small tetras, ottos and siamese flying foxes, and there have never been any skirmishes between the different species, although i have to admit to there being a few "stand offs" which is nothing experienced keepers will not be used to.
I think as dwarf puffers have become very popular in the hobby many people are trying them with different species and many are having good luck, myself included.

Puffers always retain the right to be belligerent, but depending on the specifications of the aquaria, and the choice of fish they are housed with, aggression can be kept to a minimum.

dwarf puffers are both delicate, and easily spooked by tankmates so the prerequisites for a tankmate should be ones of roughly equal size, and fish that are nimble and have shoaling tendancies are an advantage,since this prevents the puffer from singling out a target. Most dwarf puffers show extreme interest in new fish added to a tank, but as long as new fish are introduced in small shoals the puffers will usually discount them as a food source very quickly.

Although dwarf puffers are thought of as solitary i have seen shoaling behaviour in all 8 . Often the group will gather, especially when confronted by a new fish they havent seen before.

My tanks are densely planted and of reasonable size, since puffers are intelligent for a small fish, small aquaria are probably the reason for most of the aggression as the puffers become quickly bored .

A few things that may help reduce puffer aggression include:
1) when you buy your puffers, buy them young and in a small group- 6 or more individuals and keep them together all the time, this does seem to reduce their territoriality
2)when adding other species of fish- introduce them in a group.Strength in numbers acts as an effective deterrent.
3)Make sure the tank has adequate visual barriers, plants - decorative wood etc.
4)make sure you have a LARGE aquarium.
5)although some people have had success with amano shrimp- i would not generally advocate shrimp in puffer aquaria, unless you want even larger shrimp to have their antennae removed.generally puffers will consider all invertabrates potential food , even if they are larger, they will have edible parts that can be picked off.

6) DONT miss feeding times, i feed my puffers small amounts twice daily, generally they find frozen bloodworm much more preferable to eat than the fins of another fish , which may fight back.When it comes to predation puffers have a fairly lazy attitude, they prefer food that offers no resistance. Not offering literally "live foods" is advantageous, puffers generally adapt to the food they are offered when young, so it helps to prevent them from being attracted to moving and living targets.dont give them a reason to look for different foods.

7) NOTE OF CAUTION it is not a good idea to add puffers to a community tank that has other fish species already in it, especially if you dont have a spare aquarium to segregate the puffers into should trouble start.There is nothing wrong with trying puffers with other fish as long as you retain the philosophy that all puffers are INDIVIDUAL, and you should have an emergency tank prepared just in case.

8) lastly, dont assume that because dwarf puffers are probably mildly toxic and have a decent bite, that other larger or more aggressive fish (like many cichlids )will not damage them or eat them, dwarf puffers are neither fast nor especially manouverable, i suspect despite their reputation more puffers are killed by other fish than vice versa.

Despite all the warnings it can be done, as previously mentioned by another contributor a species tank is best, but if you are well prepared and observant, dwarf puffers can be an interesting part of a community tank. But be cautious.

don't forget Bumblebee gobys, an excellnt tank mate for dwarfs.

Except the fact that dwarfs are freshwater and BB gobies are brackish


Kim

not always, you can get BB gobys that are freshwater species, you just have to be careful.

How are they different? What do I look for?


Kim

unfortunately there is no visable difference, you have to trust your LFS that what they got arrived in FW. We have got them a few times at my store and the ones that are brackish and sent in FW do not last more than a week. However, if the suppliers send a shipment in FW odds are they were bred in FW so you are safe.

I have luck with DP in community setting. But I would not put them with any fish as territorial or aggressive as convicts.