Figure 8 pufferfish help

[jacpaq2000]

Can I keep a f8 pufferfish in a 10 gallon fish tank or will I need bigger.
Is there anything I can keep with it in that tank as a clean up crew? I was thinking of taking out my puffer and putting him in my 5 gallon Home Depot bucket every week and putting my rainbow shark from my other tank in to clean up, but that is simply because I can't think of any other way to clean up the chunks of meat left over. Also from what I read plants are a no go, right? Also how best I slowly a climate them to brackish water?



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[LayzorBeams]

I think an F8 could live in a 10? But i might be confusing it with a Dwarf Puffer...

Cleaning up is your job. Introducing a new fish for a few minutes is 100% pointless. They will be too stressed out to clean anything. The puffer wont do well being moved, neither will anything else.

These fish like meat. They will eat snails, shrimps, and small fish.

You need to do your part and get your hands dirty and clean up lol. Just sayin


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[Exigenn]

The only thing that might be ok are oto cats. and that wont do anything other them algae.

 

[GallonsOfFun]

No, sadly a 10 gallon wouldn't be sufficient and would be cruel to this fish. 15 gallons is the bare minimum but I personally wouldn't do anything less than 20. They are extremely active an inquisitive.

In terms of cleanup crew, I've owned Green Spotted Puffers in a brackish environment and simply put, no. There's hardly any brackish clean-up crews, the one I can think of (Colombian Shark) needs a huge tank, and snails will get eaten or harassed to death by the puffer.

In terms of plants, there are some than can tolerate low end brackish, which is the water the F8's require (thanks for doing your research on that, many put them in freshwater). Java Fern can work. Google it, there's a few articles.

The best way to acclimate is drip acclimation. Others have written articles about it much better than I could so just give it a quick google search, it's not difficult to do at all!

This is the best guide (and forum) to do with F8's. Won't find better puffer info on the internet than here: http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

However, if you already have the 10 gallon or are set on it, I would recommend 2-3 dwarf puffers (I'm actually about to do the same myself). The Puffer Forum also has excellent info on them.

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[Exigenn]

Amano shrimp maybe for the brackish? not sure if puffer would eat them though, possibly some gobies?

 

[GallonsOfFun]

Amano shrimp maybe for the brackish? not sure if puffer would eat them though, possibly some gobies?

I know amano shrimp generally work with dwarf puffers, F8's would probably eat them. F8's can go with gobies for the most part (reported success with Knight and Bumblebee) but the only "clean-up" goby I can think of is a dragon goby which gets too large for a 15 or 20. Maybe there are some I don't know if though.


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[Exigenn]

I tried lol

 

[GallonsOfFun]

I tried lol

Yep, been wrestling with this myself for a while! Brackish is a pain IMO. I'd do the dwarf puffers if it were me.


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[Exigenn]

Yea i just got one a bit over a week ago, hes like half an inch and cute as hell.

 

[jacpaq2000]

No, sadly a 10 gallon wouldn't be sufficient and would be cruel to this fish. 15 gallons is the bare minimum but I personally wouldn't do anything less than 20. They are extremely active an inquisitive.

In terms of cleanup crew, I've owned Green Spotted Puffers in a brackish environment and simply put, no. There's hardly any brackish clean-up crews, the one I can think of (Colombian Shark) needs a huge tank, and snails will get eaten or harassed to death by the puffer.

In terms of plants, there are some than can tolerate low end brackish, which is the water the F8's require (thanks for doing your research on that, many put them in freshwater). Java Fern can work. Google it, there's a few articles.

The best way to acclimate is drip acclimation. Others have written articles about it much better than I could so just give it a quick google search, it's not difficult to do at all!

This is the best guide (and forum) to do with F8's. Won't find better puffer info on the internet than here: http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

However, if you already have the 10 gallon or are set on it, I would recommend 2-3 dwarf puffers (I'm actually about to do the same myself). The Puffer Forum also has excellent info on them.

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I read online you need a bigger tank because they love to explore. If I changed the location of rocks and plants every few days/ weeks would that work. I already have the 10 but I could get bigger if necessary


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[sinibotia]

I think that even if changing things around worked, puffers are messy and you would have to change the water multiple times a week to keep the water clean. You should just get the bigger tank.

 

[GallonsOfFun]

Yeah, there's no way it would be ok in a 10, even with doing that. It's not just about interesting decor, it's also about swimming space and bio load for the water volume, which are actually more important.

The DP's would be perfect for what you are looking for, though. Their small size initially put me off but after seeing them in person, they're absolutely awesome. I'd get yourself a dwarf puffer or two, they'd be very happy in there. You also wouldn't have to worry about the pain of premixing marine salt and estimating how much to add back each water change.


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