Can anyone give me any information on these fascinating and intriguing fish? What are your experiences with these puffers? And are they Brackish or not? What sized tank should they be kept in? Other info including good websites and info about these fish. All answers appreciated.
2007-06-27 06:53:49 · 7 answers · asked by hathj29 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
These are by far my favorite fish!!! You should buy more than one... preferably three or more as they seem happier with 'friends'. The one misconception with puffers is that they puff up. They do, but then they die. Puffing is the fishes last defense. They only puff if they are under too much stress, therefore, if you make them puff... they will generally die.
We had ours in a 20gal hex tank with 3 Archers. Of coarse they were all babies. With Archers you would have to move them to a bigger tank in time. Archers are cool... they will spit up to 6ft out of the tank at things they deem as possible food. They were cool. But, one night our power went out and we lost the bubbles in the tank for about three hours... when I woke up... the Archers were dead. The puffers were belly up on the top of the tank but still alive...barely. I burped their bellies and they all lived. (I took each in my hand and very very gently with my thumb rubbed up from their tail to chin on their belly and they burped basically and were fine after that)
They are brackish. They are nippers, but there are certain fish that they can go in with and they will leave alone. Their tails are usually nipped up from all of them nipping each other.
They are too cute for words- you can feed them Krill and they will literally jump out of the tank to get it from your fingers and then you can hear them crunching it under the water! They will eat anything they can fit in their mouth fish wise. So, don't give them tank mates that can fit in their mouths or they will be gone.
All in all... they are great fish. Brackish tanks aren't as hard to keep as some people let on. Get your fish from a reputable fish store - never Petsmart, petco, walmart - any of the commercialized places. A local fish store will have healthier fish and know more hands on stuff like who you can tank mate a puffer with, etc. If you live in Colorado or Nevada I can give you the names of a few great places to get fish and free info and help with your tank. Just email me and I will give them to you.
When we moved out of state we had to give away all our tanks as they would not survive the move, most likely. So our puffers (3yrs later) are still with a friend of ours as is all our fish.
They have wonderful personalities and are so much fun. We currently have a salt tank so we don't have the figure eight puffers. But I am working on finding a spot for a 'puffer tank'. Out of all our years as fish owners from fresh to salt.... I miss my lil puffers the most. If you get some... have fun.. they are really great lil fish. I think (if I recall correctly) the rule of thumb is 'an inch of fish per gallon'. So what ever fish you decide to get, find out how big they get at full size and do 'an inch of fish per gal'. I wouldn't go under a 20 gal for the puffer though. Make sure they have good filtration and air bubbles. Ugh... I could go on and on. Like I said, find a fish store you trust and they will set you up! Just stay away from the big chain stores... I have lost more tanks that way and the staff is usually not very knowledgable. You want to go somewhere that only deals with fish all day. That person will know far more than the check out girl that comes to bag your fish at a chain store.
Good Luck and Have fun!!!!
2007-06-27 07:54:55 · answer #1 · answered by The cat did it. 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The figure 8 puffer is a brackish water fish and is a fin nipper.
They grow to maybe about 2.5 inches and the minimum tank size i really dont know for sure because i have heard it is 15 gallons and another that said it was 30 so i dont know which is true. There diet consist of live foods and prefers snails and shellfish but i fed mine flakes and blood worms(freeze dried and live) crustacean foods such as brine shrimp, krill, mollusks, and earthworms.Temperature should be 72 - 79 F (22-26 C) They prefer a neutral pH and soft to moderately hard water. They require ample open space to swim, but also need places to hide. The Figure 8 Puffer can be aggressive to members of its own species, so care should be taken when housed together. Thats about all i can remember of what i know!
2007-06-27 14:19:00 · answer #2 · answered by oBEA5To 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Love mine, I have 3 in a 30 gal hex tank. I've never been big on ph and salt levels and these don't seem to be too picky about it. Realize they are brackish fish, so do need salt in the tank, and due to that you can't put any type of plecos or anything in it to keep it clean so algae grows fast. mine are kind of picky eaters, so mostly have to buy frozen foods for them. If you take very good care of F8's they will live 17 years.
http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m18/petsrus6/?action=view¤t=DSCF1350.jpg
2007-06-27 08:41:23 · answer #3 · answered by laurie aka petsrus6 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes they are brackish,and ideally should be kept in at least a 2ft tank with no other species,as they are fin nippers. in the wild they feed on snails,so feed live food if possible.
2007-06-27 07:05:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Very nice fish, but not for a community tank or for a casual aquarium keeper. Here's a really superior website with lots of great advice and information about them. Please see the links at the top of this page, in addition tot he info on this page. It should answer all of your questions and then some.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/fig8pufffaqs.htm
Hope that helps
MM
2007-06-27 06:59:49 · answer #5 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
very friendly fish, if i walked up to it while it was sleeping and said boo he/she idk would blow up and go flying in the air and they love to eat Minos. you will need a lid if you get one cause if they blow up they will go flying, and when they blow up they are inhaling air to make them look larger to scare away predators. they make these funny face when they blow up. you should get a 50 gallon tank.
puffer lovers.com
2007-07-04 08:59:33 · answer #6 · answered by RenjiXRukiaFan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am not sure which species of fish they are.
2007-07-01 00:11:23 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋