Gourami vs. Figure 8 Puffer

[GouramiFanatic]

I've been debating on whether or not I should get a Dwarf Gourami for one of my 10 gallon tanks at home or if I should get a Figure 8 Puffer. One day I decide I'd like to get the Gourami, and then the next day I'm thinking that the Puffer would be better. I already have a pair of Dwarf Gouramis in my aquarium at work so I do have some experience with them. I have none with the Puffer though. Is there anything that I should know about them that they probably won't tell me at the lfs??

 

[GIMojo]

dont puffersn fight with other fish?

I remember i had a few puffers few years back adn they always attacked my other fish. i like puffers but im afraid of their aggresive behavior. or do all fish like attacking goldfish

 

[Pacifico]

Mojo already hit the important thing to know about puffers - they aren't (usually) good "community" fish. There are always exceptions, but in my experience, they're fin-nippers that are best kept alone/in species tanks. However, I've never kept a Figure-8... So maybe they are one of those "exceptions" I mentioned earlier.

 

[GIMojo]

go... here

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/otherfish1/p/figure8puffer.htm

ive done a bit of a google up and they are aggresive

 

[Pufferpunk]

Were you just thinking of 1 fish in there? If yes, then the F8 is much more personable & fun to keep than any other fish! There is much more care involved though--they are BW fish & don't eat flakes for starters.

See:http://www.thepufferforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=64

 

[TankGirl]

It sounds like you are talking about a single resident for this tank and if so, then I'd give the puffer a try, assuming you are comfortable with the particular BW conditions and feeding issues. I have kept DGs in 10gals and they are surly little fellows, not really permitting other tankmates and seeming to prefer more space.

If you don't want to go brackish you could consider 4 dwarf puffers in the 10.

 

[greenmaji]

Do the dwarf puffers not have the aggression issues that the other puffers do.. ie you can house more then one of them together in the same tank? :?

 

[Fluff]

I keep two dwarf puffers in a ten gallon and they hang out together and get on great together.

 

[TankGirl]

They do have aggression issues, no doubt about it, but I kept them with tiger barbs for a while in a 15gal while the barbs were relatively small, and the only problem I had was the barbs getting the food before the puffers, but I resolved that issue. When I went to net the barbs out after they were getting too large, the stress of this event was enough to cause a major brawl among the puffers, and only one survived. It was an ugly sight.

 

[greenmaji]

OUCH!.. I think the one fish per tank might be a good idea.. how big a tank would a dwarf puffer be comfortable in..

 

[Pufferpunk]

At least 5g.

 

[GouramiFanatic]

After much debating, I decided to just keep away from both the Gourami and the Puffer. Instead, I've decided to go with Tetras. I've since added (4) Von Rio Tetras and (4) Neon Tetras. They were added over the course of the past couple of weeks. So far, there have been no illnesses or apparent distress. Although, they seem very sensitive to the light on the aquarium. They all race to the terra cotta pot and hide. As soon as the light is off they come back out again. So, for most of the day the actual aquarium light is off, but the room light and windows give off enough light anyway.

Thanks for the advice!
- Mandy

 

[JohnPaul]

So far, there have been no illnesses or apparent distress. Although, they seem very sensitive to the light on the aquarium. They all race to the terra cotta pot and hide. As soon as the light is off they come back out again.

That seems a bit odd for the tetras, unless your light is unusually bright. However, something you could try is getting some floating plants. That would "break up" the light and might induce the fish to come out even when the aquarium light is on.