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I have somewhat passive South American Puffer in a 29 gallon tank with four pearl danios. I also have two synodontis nigriventris in a 12 gallon tank who hide all the time. I would like to get two more synos (in hopes of making them more comfortable coming out in the open) and move them to the 29 gallon tank, but not if it would put them in imminent danger. Currently, my puffer is very small (barely over an inch). My synos are about 1.5-2 inches.

Does anyone have experience with synodontis nigriventris being housed with a puffer? The South Americans are much less aggressive than other puffer species and he hasn't touched the danios, but he seems to scout the bottom of the tank "hunting" so I'm a little concerned.

I wouldn't worry about them being eaten as much as I'd worry about them getting harassed and nipped. I'm no puffer expert, but AFAIK all puffer species lie to nip.

Dinyar

Colomesus (the most common South American puffer) is generally peaceful enough to leave your cats alone. You should have no problems as long as there is plenty of vegetation and shelter for the catfish to hide in.

That's what he is, colomesus asellus. The fish store had them in a tank with yoyo loaches and they didn't seem to be bothering them one bit (they were all scrambling at the front of the tank together wanting to be fed). All the other puffers are in tanks with just their own species.

The tank is lightly planted right now with a couple of pieces of driftwood for hiding, but I'll probably wait until I add more leafy plants to make sure they've got plenty of cover.

Of course, I'll watch them closely. That is, if they're not hiding all the time so I can see them!

PUFFERS ARE "FIN NIPPERS"!