Has anyone quarantined pea puffers after they've been shipped?

[SWilson]

I'm considering ordering pea puffers from Aqua Huna, and though they'd all be going into their own tank w/no other fish.  It's a planted tank tho so I want to run them through the quarantine med trio in a separate QT tank (I'm probably going the plastic tub route).  They come as a group of 6.  I'm a little worried about not feeding them for 4 days to a week, especially given their transit time from WA (I live in CA), and the fact that they'll most likely be juveniles.  (in my mind juveniles are more dependant on regular feeding?)  Wondering if I should feed them/let them chill for some time in the QT tank first before starting the meds or just push through it? 

Would anyone not quarantine and just observe them in the main tank since there's nothing else in there, but have the QT tank set up in case individuals need to be removed and treated?  

I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance since I haven't quarantined fish before.  I have been doing my best to research this species as much as possible before purchasing them, but have not come across anything this specific yet.  I understand that Aquarium Co-op quarantines all of the pea puffers that they order into the store, but I've not heard whether they feed or not.  I don't mean to sound cruel or negative, but I also assume as a business each wholesale order incorporates some potential loss of any that don't make it through the shipping or quarantine process.     

[PotatoFish]

Hi there!

Congratulations on getting yourself some pea puffers! I love those fishies! I miss my old ones from college.

Cory has said a number of time that the med trio that Aquarium Co Op sells is invertebrate-safe and plant-safe. If you wanted to, I don't think that a "quarantine in the main tank" is a problem. In other Aquarium Co Op videos, "treating the whole tank" was an option if every, or most, fish inside got sick.

It might also lead to less strain on the fish because you don't need to net them out again when you move them from the quarantine tank to their new happy home.

As for feeding them . . . I don't know. I've always fed while the fishies were quarantined.

*looks out into the forum* Can I get a second opinion?

A note on pea puffers:
You have a big enough tank with lots of stuff to break the line of sight and divide up the space, right? They're cute as hell but can have the ferocity of a full-grown wolverine condensed into a tiny package when it comes to turf wars.

[SWilson]

Thank you so much @PotatoFish for your response.  I'm one of those people that asks the question Cory has answered a million times! - slaps forehead - (oh hey is Easy Green fish and shrimp safe BTW? :P) 

I had just heard elsewhere meds could potentially be harmful to plants, but maybe that's more salt.  It is a 55 gal tank so I'll be using a LOT more meds than w/a 10 gal, QT but I that's ok if it would be effective and plant-safe. (but if it came down to between live animals in my care or plants, I'd obviously do what's needed for the animals).

I actually haven't gotten them yet! Been trying to read up as best I can and figure out this quarantine plan (also my backup plan incase they do not get along).  Aqua Huna sells them in a group of 6 (assorted, unsexed), not ideal but my LFS doesn't carry them and if they ordered for me they would be wild-caught, whereas Aqua Huna told me he believed theirs were tank bred (shout out to their customer service for a one-day response time even though I've never bought with them and am not a retailer!). 

I'm hoping that 55 gallons, heavily planted and with driftwood and rocks will be enough space and hiding areas for that group of 6, and perhaps as a group kept together since juveniles they'll establish their own hierarchy.  I did read somewhere that some ppl think that where one male sexually matures faster in a group of dwarf puffers, it can affect the development of other males in the group - but I'm not holding my breath for that. 

I have a second planted tank (~16 gal) that's currently cycled and fishless - I may keep it that way in case I need it to spread the puffers out more, or I was going to give them to my lfs if I end up with too many males/aggression issues. 

[devind0446]

I've never kept pea puffers before but due to how aggressive they can be I don't think quarantining in 10 gallons (or other small tank) is a good idea. If it was me I would rather spend lots on meds and quarantine in the 55 gallon instead of potentially loosing a few puffers to aggression in a small tank.

I think the best thing is to probably feed them 1 or 2 times before medicating. In addition I would make sure you do multiple rounds of dewormer because internal parasites are very common in puffers.

Keep us updated when you get your puffers, I would love to see how they do!

[Brandy]

I have kept pea puffers--am doing so now. What you will be getting will likely be juveniles. Much like the tetras you see in a big box pet store, they will be housed in an overstocked condition in a realatively bare tank, which works because they are young. My little peas went into a planted 12gallon containing both snails and cull neocaridina shrimp, and they are perfectly happy there. The med trio was easy and safe to use in that set up. 

If I were planning on putting them in a 55gallon tank, I would quarantine in a smaller tank to save med expense. I would toss in some (small!) pest snails so that they can eat if they need to, but nothing will foul the water if they aren't ready. I would provide lots of cover in the QT--coffee cups and bowls can be useful if you don't have real decor, and floating plants are nice too. You may want to keep the light low, my guys like to lurk in shadows.

I do think you have to be careful to keep them in water during the transfer to the final tank. No running thru the house with a net like I might do with a guppy. 🙂 I understand puffers that attempt to inflate out of water can damage themselves.

[Cory]

We QT them regularly from aquahuna. You could feed them for a day then start QT. Or you could start from the beginning. When it comes to meds, there are no rules, you can do things a million different ways. Feeding during QT in an established tank is way different than a QT tote.

As you say, they could come in small, or giant. They could be really healthy or half of them dead. Could be 6 different diseases going on, or just fin rot. The problem with meds are you can't sum it up in a video or article. It's just like humans or animals, with thousands of things that could be at play, there won't be 1 thing that always works perfectly. But there are best practices that can handle most normal things. 

I think you could observe them when they come in, maybe they eat just fine day one, then day 2 they get meds, but it could be they are in rough shape and you need to go to straight meds.

[SWilson]

Thank you so much @devind0446 @Brandy and @Cory  - I'm going to take my time with this and keep researching the speices, but I am about as close to having my heart set on them as one can be and will for sure keep everyone posted!  I don't mind dosing the whole tank even if I have to buy more to have sufficient supply should I need them again.  I am collecting stickers here 😉

I'll just make sure I have a hospital tank ready to go in case they are indeed in rough shape. 

In case it’s helpful I did ask Aqua Huna when I emailed them last week about whether I should QT them all together or set up individual or small group QT tanks, and Gerry thought they should do fine QT'ing together because they're very small and came from the same tank together. I appreciate the confirmation that decorations/line of sight breaks should be implemented in the pea puffer QTs. I was actually just wondering earlier tonight if I could use coffee cups instead of pvc pipe. Haha

Edited December 22, 2020 by SWilson

[SWilson]

3 hours ago, Brandy said:

I do think you have to be careful to keep them in water during the transfer to the final tank. No running thru the house with a net like I might do with a guppy. 🙂 I understand puffers that attempt to inflate out of water can damage themselves.

Yes! I've read about this and even the pea puffers can suck in air and then you have to try to help them release it. It's a bit nerve-racking so it would be great to have to transfer them as little as possible.  If you have any tips on catching and moving them I'd really appreciate it!  In my mind, I would net them in the water and then sit the net in a cup then move the whole cup over to the other tank and release them underwater?   

(no rush on responding - I'm not getting them imminently)

Edited December 22, 2020 by SWilson

[Brandy]

@SWilson Yes, this is what I would do. If there is a temperature differential between tanks you can use a bag, but I would try to keep them underwater. I imagine assisting a large fish would be nerve wracking, pea puffers are so tiny I feel like it would be near impossible. Since mine came from ACO, they may have come from Aquahuna also--though I know they probably have many suppliers. They have been healthy little guys/girls, too young to sex, but I suspect 1 boy 2 girls. I have only had them about a month, but I had tons of questions about them before I got them. 🙂 I love this place! So nice to be able to talk things over. 

[SWilson]

56 minutes ago, Brandy said:

@SWilson Yes, this is what I would do. If there is a temperature differential between tanks you can use a bag, but I would try to keep them underwater. I imagine assisting a large fish would be nerve wracking, pea puffers are so tiny I feel like it would be near impossible. Since mine came from ACO, they may have come from Aquahuna also--though I know they probably have many suppliers. They have been healthy little guys/girls, too young to sex, but I suspect 1 boy 2 girls. I have only had them about a month, but I had tons of questions about them before I got them. 🙂 I love this place! So nice to be able to talk things over. 

Yes I agree! You’ve already responded to a couple of my posts and I’ve learned a lot from you so thank you in particular for being so generous with your time and knowledge! Hopefully someday I’ll be able to pay it forward!