a little f8 puffer help please

[kevinjgray88]

i have a little f8 in a 5 gallon tank. i am now being told it needs 10. but i dont understand why so much for one fish. will he be ok in the 5? if not please explain why thank youhttp://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/images/smilies/new_kodomagnam.gif

 

[Jason7894561230]

Its okay i would say i have a 10 galloen and i have 5 sepera and 5 black phantom apparently they both need 10 golloens each but i have had no problems

 

[kevinjgray88]

Its okay i would say i have a 10 galloen and i have 5 sepera and 5 black phantom apparently they both need 10 golloens each but i have had no problems

ok thanks finally someone who says its ok for the f8 in a 5 gallon. i have heard they produce alot of waste so how often should i change the water and what percent at a time

 

[Jason7894561230]

Well not too often you dont want to lose the good bateria but i would say about 15% every week or so and gett the waste out

 

[mfdrookie516]

well, contradictory to your info, live aquaria says minimum 30 gallons. Just because the fish is little does not mean it will stay that way. A danio will easily fit in a 5 gallon tank, but needs the swimming room that a 20 long or bigger would provide. I'm not an expert by any means in brackish fish, but i do know the la is a great source for stocking.

Tropical Fish for Brackish Aquariums: Figure 8 Puffer

 

[dkpate]

+1 for Rookie.
You would be fine living in your bathroom too, but you wouldn't have much room to move around.
I change the water in my tanks 50% a week. In my tanks with more waste (mystery snails) I change it 50% twice a week.

 

[Aquarium1]

+2 I'm glad everyone is using metaphors similar to the horse in the basement one I made up lol. btw maybe do some googling/Researching so that you can meet any requirments you may not be providing. I'm not trying to offend you, just wanted you to make sure that you know whether or not your taking the best care that you can for your fish. Hth

 

[7Enigma]

Well not too often you dont want to lose the good bateria but i would say about 15% every week or so and gett the waste out

Jason, I don't want to sound rude but you have no idea what you are talking about. The advice you are offering is not good. The F8 puffer requires brackish conditions and ideally 30+ gallons as mentioned. Puffers are Goodyear balloon-shaped and are very messy eaters. They require very good water conditions and this is not possible in a small tank. They are also very intelligent fish and need room to explore.

Water contains little to no bacteria that matters for the nitrogen cycle. You can drain your tank to the bottom and fill it back up and lose no biological activity. 50% minimum weekly water changes are the mantra for puffer-keepers. Remember these are scaleless fish and so are more susceptible to disease and cannot take the same types of treatment if they get sick.

Kevin, I would seriously recommend you return the fish to the store you bought it. Unless you plan to upgrade tanks in the next month, it is not worth it. If you really like puffers I would recommend a dwarf puffer. They stay small (max size ~1-1.5") and are strictly freshwater. A 5 gallon tank would be acceptable for a single puffer (though I have mine in a 10 for more room to explore). Please consider this...

 

[kevinjgray88]

Jason, I don't want to sound rude but you have no idea what you are talking about. The advice you are offering is not good. The F8 puffer requires brackish conditions and ideally 30+ gallons as mentioned. Puffers are Goodyear balloon-shaped and are very messy eaters. They require very good water conditions and this is not possible in a small tank. They are also very intelligent fish and need room to explore.

Water contains little to no bacteria that matters for the nitrogen cycle. You can drain your tank to the bottom and fill it back up and lose no biological activity. 50% minimum weekly water changes are the mantra for puffer-keepers. Remember these are scaleless fish and so are more susceptible to disease and cannot take the same types of treatment if they get sick.

Kevin, I would seriously recommend you return the fish to the store you bought it. Unless you plan to upgrade tanks in the next month, it is not worth it. If you really like puffers I would recommend a dwarf puffer. They stay small (max size ~1-1.5") and are strictly freshwater. A 5 gallon tank would be acceptable for a single puffer (though I have mine in a 10 for more room to explore). Please consider this...

Ya i already brought him back i wanted the best for him. So now i have 2 red and 2 green danio is the 5 good for that

 

[7Enigma]

Ya i already brought him back i wanted the best for him. So now i have 2 red and 2 green danio is the 5 good for that

Glad to hear it Kevin, you did the right thing. I'm not too familiar with danios but I seem to remember they like to be kept in larger groups with lots of horizontal room to swim. Do a google search on danio care and research a bit.

Check out my signature, I just updated the puffer tank with a pic. She even decided to pose for you!

 

[Aquarium1]

Really, Danios like a 20g tank, because they love to swim. But I have 2 in a 10g, and when I was very uneducated in fish keeping I had 3 in a 2.5g lol.

 

[mfdrookie516]

i would not put them in anything smaller than a 10g, but they really need a 20 long. they need alot of swimming room. the only thing that should be put in a tank smaller than 10 gallons is a betta.

 

[DragonFish71]

+2 I'm glad everyone is using metaphors similar to the horse in the basement one I made up lol. btw maybe do some googling/Researching so that you can meet any requirments you may not be providing. I'm not trying to offend you, just wanted you to make sure that you know whether or not your taking the best care that you can for your fish. Hth

Kinda like my metaphor of a full grown 6 foot male living in a small dog kennel.

 

[Aquarium1]

i would not put them in anything smaller than a 10g, but they really need a 20 long. they need alot of swimming room. the only thing that should be put in a tank smaller than 10 gallons is a betta.

Yeah +1. That was a mistake on my part and I wouldn't put a danio in a 10 gallon again. I wouldn't put anything but a betta in anything smaller than a 10g either (except my qt.)

 

[dkpate]

Kevin, I am really glad you did the right thing! +1 for you!