Pea Puffer

[JoshStover]

I just got my daughter a pea puffer and stuck him in an older and somewhat neglected aqua scape in a 10. It was a little over run with bladder snails and Mr. Puffer quickly went on a snail murdering rampage. My first question is what can I put in the tank, if anything, to help clean up the snail remnants? Also, the little guy has been going around and eating up nerite snail eggs off the filter and dragon stone. I had no idea that they’d eat the nerite eggs. My daughter and wife quickly fell in love with the little guy and they want me to setup a 30gal Half Moon with 6-8 pea puffers in the living room now. The living room has always been off limits for my tanks so I’m pretty excited!!

[Patrick_G]

I don’t think anything living will clean up the mess. You might want to try siphoning the shells up with some narrow diameter tubing attached to a chopstick. 

[Tihshho]

Only thing you can put in the tank to clean up that waste is a siphon. Nothing else will eat the remnants of shells. Over time, water params depending, the shells will just break down and dissolve. 

[JettsPapa]

I added two pea puffers to my heavily planted 40 gallon breeder tank a few months ago.  I just think of the shells as a unique substrate.

[JoshStover]

Thanks y’all. I’m not really worried about the shells. Mainly just the bits of flesh left in the shells that’ll rot and probably mess with my parameters 

[JettsPapa]

On 9/2/2021 at 11:22 AM, JoshStover said:

Thanks y’all. I’m not really worried about the shells. Mainly just the bits of flesh left in the shells that’ll rot and probably mess with my parameters 

I'd be very surprised if there's enough to matter.

[Atitagain]

Yea I leave my shells in as well. Pea puffers are so cool I have 3 in a 20G that has cherry shrimp in there. Fairly confident I have 1M 2F hope to start a breeding project with them soon. 
nice move to get a new tank👍

[JoshStover]

On 9/2/2021 at 6:58 PM, Nooby said:

@JoshStover just curious what do you feed your puffer?

The Pea puffer is getting very small bladder and ramshorn snails, blood worms and live mosquito larvae. There’s neo shrimp in there too so I’m sure it hunts the babies on occasion. I’m always looking for new options to try if you know of some I don’t have in rotation. 

[Odd Duck]

On 9/2/2021 at 11:22 AM, JoshStover said:

Thanks y’all. I’m not really worried about the shells. Mainly just the bits of flesh left in the shells that’ll rot and probably mess with my parameters 

I regularly add amphipods to the pea puffer tank to help clean any meat remnants out of the semi-empty snail shells.  The puffers also love amphipods so they are a good food source for them, too.  If you add the amphipods either before lights on, or after lights out when the puffers have put themselves to bed, the amphipods have a much better chance of survival. 

[Odd Duck]

On 9/2/2021 at 6:01 PM, JoshStover said:

The Pea puffer is getting very small bladder and ramshorn snails, blood worms and live mosquito larvae. There’s neo shrimp in there too so I’m sure it hunts the babies on occasion. I’m always looking for new options to try if you know of some I don’t have in rotation. 

Favorites of mine, by far, are whiteworms, then Daphnia, then amphipods, then blackworms, then snails, then frozen bloodworms.  I haven’t tried mosquito larvae and don’t have Neos in that tank.

[Jennifer V]

@JoshStover just my two cents but I'm a fan of the idea of upgrading the little guy to the 30 and adding some friends. Pea puffers do best in groups of at least six because they are shoaling fish. There is an awesome Facebook group called Pea Puffer Enthusiasts Worldwide that I've found extremely helpful and educational. 🐡

[JoshStover]

I’ve already ordered 6 more. After they’re all out of quarantine they’ll be going in the 30 for sure