i want to buy 2 figure 8 puffers and would like to know some more info?
i have a 30 gallon tank and would like 2 figure 8 puffers
my tank is fully cycled. and the water is perfected. the tank has been running for 14 weeks now
i did have a few fish it there to help cycle the tank but wont be keeping them in the same tank as the puffers
i will be keeping them in brackish water not fresh water and want to know how i do this?
how much marine salt shall i add to the tank to set it up for the puffers?
do i have to leave the tank for a while before i add the puffers?
do i only add more marine salt when i do a weekley water change?
how much water shall i take out of the tank weekley during the water change?
i currentley have gravel,fake plants and an airstone is this ok for them?
any help is appreciated
10 points for best answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Common Name: Figure Eight Puffer
Other Common Names: F8 Puffer; Eyespot Puffer
Family: Tetraodontidae
Distribution: S.E. Asia & India: Asia: Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia. Brackish estuaries and streams
Water Parameters: Low-end brackish water (SG = 1.005 – 1.008); Temp:24-28C (76-84F) ; pH: 7.8-8.3
Personality/Temperament: Somewhat agressive, although less likely to predate tankmates than T. Nigroviridis. An active fin nipper that hunts for food.
Max. Size: 3 inches (8 cm)
Estimated Lifespan: 15 years
Sexual Dimorphism: Unknown. Cannot tell genders apart by eye.
Diet: Feed a varied diet of mollusks and crustaceans. Hard-shelled food is important to prevent beak overgrowth. Feeding and Diet article
Care: Despite other reports to the contrary, this species requires brackish water for good health. Introduce to a fully cycled aquarium, and maintain and a low-to-medium salinity. Strong filtration is recommended. A tank size of 15 gallons for one Figure 8 and
Breeding: While reports do exist of breeding in aquaria, it has not been properly documented and is extremely unlikely.
Minimum Tank Size: 15 US Gallons (50 liters)
Controversy exists over whether or not any puffers are actually true freshwater fish. I believe the figure eight to be one of the few that falls in that category. They originate in the freshwaters of the Southeast Asia region, and although they tolerate brackish or even full saltwater, mine have always done best in freshwater. They prefer a neutral pH and soft to moderately hard water. They require ample open space to swim, but also need places to hide.
Generally puffers are not well suited to a community tank because they tend to be aggressive. Even puffers who have previously been docile can become aggressive as they age, or if they are not well fed. I’ve had puffers who got along very well for long periods of time and then suddenly turned on their tankmates and chewed them to pieces. On the other hand, most owners have found figure eights more peaceful than any other puffers and some have successfully kept them in a community tank.
I currently have a figure eight puffer in a 55 gallon community tank with a wide variety of other fish. She has not bothered any of them during the past several years. In fact, she is so tame that she can be hand fed with the other fish, as you can see from the photo linked above under Related Resources. While I cannot recommend the figure eight or any puffer for a community tank because of the potential for trouble, they are a comical and interesting fish that are worth owing.
Diet
Their dietary needs are perhaps one of the more demanding aspects of keeping this fish. They will not eat flake or dried foods. Instead they must be fed live or frozen foods such as snails, shrimp, worms, daphnia, clams, and oysters. Some owners, myself included, have had success training their figure eight puffer to eat frozen foods.
Breeding
Little is known about how to breed Figure Eight puffers. If you have successfully spawned them, please write to me and share your experience.
there brackish
Hope this helps!
FishAddict !
and heres more > Contrary to all the above answers, Figure Eight Puffers are indeed freshwater fish. Fishbase.com, a scientific, peer reviewed amalgum of fish facts and data, specifically notes that they “not a brackish water species,” (see the ‘Biology’ header of the attached link). I realize a number of sites (Wikipedia, ThePufferList, etc.) list these fish a brackish, but these are based on a poor understanding of this fish’s natural habitat! These Puffers spend their entire lives in Southeast Asian rivers, unlike the similar Green Spotted Puffer (Tetraodon nigroviridis), which travel into estuaries, and later out to sea.
I like this guide for setting up a brackish aquarium:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html
The air stone isn’t really needed and is decorative anyway, it’s the surface movement that oxygenates. Make sure the décor is dense to give these curious fish plenty of places to explore.
Any other queries I would direct you to the experts over here:
http://www.thepufferforum.com
gravel is no good unless smooth pebbles, or sand, puffers do not have scales and can marr skin on rough surfaces. airstone is standard, fake plants are good too, now having two together in the same tank may be an issue, as they are aggressive towards one another, so you may want to observe them for a few days. You may want to go with the spotted puffers, same size as 8′s but can easily adapt to freshwater vs brackish. Also the spotted will eat flake, 8′s are very finicky. Blood worms they love, and make sure you have a healthy supply of snails, i use a 10 gallon to breed feeders and snails which you can get at any local pet store, a couple will turn to a few hundred in a couple of months. Snails help keep the puffers teeth from overgrowing, which they will keep growing if left untreated and could prevent puffy from eating.