figure 8 puffers

[willowthepoet]

What's the smallest tank you would recommend for a figure 8 puffer?

I know they stay small, but i don't know if my soon-to-be-empty 3 gallon is tooooo small.

If it is, what do you suggest for the 3gal? (and please don't say a betta...)

 

[penpitt]

the 3 gallon is too small.F8's need at least 15 gallons each. Other then the 'B' word I have no idea for the 3 gallon. To me it would seem too hard to maintain water quality with any amount of fish

 

[nitrous]

i have 2 figure 8 puffers in a 15 and they love it

 

[FishLover14]

I have succesfully housed 3 figure eight puffers in a 10gallon tank, but i had lots of hiding places, frequent feedings, and lots of water changes. A 3 gallon is too small for anything but a Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta).

JMHO

 

[willowthepoet]

Well, I have 3 guppies in there now and they're fine. My water quality is stable and I do water changes twice a week when I get a free moment. The guppies are going into the 10 gallon when my 29 is cycled, and the inhabitants of the 10 are going in there.... so I'll have this empty tank regardless.

I was thinking maybe dwarf puffers instead. A guy at the LFS says he has them in a 3 gal... but I'd probably only get 1-2 of them.


How big do the figure 8's get anyway? I thought they stayed small... like under 2" but I'm probably wrong.

 

[Hrafnkel]

You could probably put 2 or 3 african dwarf frogs in the 3 gallon.

Figure-8 puffers get about 3", but they're big bodied and need space. I'd say 10gal miniumum for one.

 

[Snuffleupagus]

I had a dwarf puffer for some time in a carefully arranged 2.5 gallon with a ghost shrimp, and they seemed to do fine. I felt bad for him eventually though, and moved him to a 5 gallon. I can't necessarily say that he seems "happier" or anything in the larger tank, but it makes me a little more comfortable. Even so, I think a dp wouldn't do too bad in a 3 gallon, and they're really cool fish. Their only drawbacks really are their notorious viciousness and their refusal to eat freeze-dried foods. Mine loves frozen bloodworms, though.