RTR -- Just read your article on F8s. Answered 90% of my questions. Currently my F8 appears to be very happy. For the most part, swimming around the tank (12 gallon) exploring/hunting. I've made it fairly complex. As I stated earlier he was in basically fresh water so I added about 1 teaspoon of Instant Ocean per gallon. I tested with a hydrometer which goes down to 1.001 and it showed 1.000. This week when I do the water partial, I will add a bit more marine mix until I get it up to about 1.005 or so. Again -- THANKS for the article/advice.
My question. Now that I have the F8 in the 12 gallon I'm feeling like I need to get another 20+ gallon tank and get another. I know I'm probably projecting my human emotions, but I think it would have to be boring to go from a bare tank of 10 gallons at the fish store with about 10 others, to solitude.
That said, just tell me that he/she is going to be happy alone or tell me to go out and get the 25-30 gallon and another F8. Not that I need to spend any more money on this hobby or need an excuse to go to an LFS!
Would re-arranging everything after weekly water changes cause stress or provide more exploration options?
Oh, and about the substrate -- my tap is VERY hard. With the addition of 1 tsp of Instant Ocean/gallon, it's in the 250-425ppm range on my hardness test strip. Shall I take out the river rocks and switch to crushed coral or something similar?
Thanks -- Cooper
Singleton
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Myaj
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Don't raise your salinity too fast.. if you go more than .002 a week you can kill off your bacteria. So take it slow...
As far as getting more than one, most people say their puffers are more interactive and interesting when they are kept alone. If you get more than one, you'll almost always have some aggression issues. Three would be your best bet if you do decide to get more than one, as if you have two, the more dominant one will focus on the other and you could very well end up with just one again...
As far as getting more than one, most people say their puffers are more interactive and interesting when they are kept alone. If you get more than one, you'll almost always have some aggression issues. Three would be your best bet if you do decide to get more than one, as if you have two, the more dominant one will focus on the other and you could very well end up with just one again...
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Cooper
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I didn't mention this -- the F8 tank on my desk at work so we can spend a good 40 hours a week staring at eachother. The office is in a converted house with pleanty of storage and only 6 blocks from my apartment, making weekend maintenance quite easy! I just hope the F8 (as yet unnamed) enjoys country music. 
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RTR
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Smallest issue first - very hard water is a benefit, feel free to look that gift horse in the mouth. From my years-ago multiple-tank trials on F-8s, I came to suspect that they need the hardness/high TDS and much as the marine mix, and free from the tap is definitely a gift. I've never written it up as I never did do enough to be certain of that suspicion, and trials that take an average of 15 years do eat up tank space. That is however why I use OE-RFUG with aragonite(my usual choice)/coral rubble mixed with aragonite/crushed coral in all my BW tanks, especially light BW, as it helps keep the hardness up well past where the need quantities of marine mix would run, and it does keep it more stable. I still wonder if that is a hidden factor in my long-lifespan F-8s and even higher sp. gr. GSPs. On a practical note, I try very hard to avoid changing substrates on an established tank. If I set a new tank, I ponder variables at length. But once it is up, I do not plan on changing it for at least ten years, frequently longer.
LOL! I have never tested country music, but so long as it doesn't vibrate the tank it should be fine. Heavy metal I worry about a bit more...
I have never felt that any puffer was suffering from lack of company. In my F-8 trials, they did have sight of other con-specifics in adjacent tanks, but I have had some in solitary tanks out in the house, including some of the long-lifers. So long as there is some activity in the area (they can see out, and do respond to local activity), they should be fine.
Weekends without care are to me trivial. I had office tanks forever, rarely did any weekend care.
On co-housing I agree w/Myaj's comments. Two is for me rarely stable (top dog vs. underdog), three gives you a better chance. You may luck out and two compatables long-term (consider PP's two GSPs - they are larger but to me quite similar in personality), but you may not. For three I'd use something like a 40-long (US gallons) with a 4-foot footprint. The floor space does seem to matter, along with the visually complex setup (both for restricted line-of-sight and equally for objects to search). Some degree of re-arranging is likely beneficial, but try to maintain whatever the individual fish has selected as "home" or "bed" at least in similar configuration. Otherwise you just might promote some increase in territoriality.
LOL! I have never tested country music, but so long as it doesn't vibrate the tank it should be fine. Heavy metal I worry about a bit more...
I have never felt that any puffer was suffering from lack of company. In my F-8 trials, they did have sight of other con-specifics in adjacent tanks, but I have had some in solitary tanks out in the house, including some of the long-lifers. So long as there is some activity in the area (they can see out, and do respond to local activity), they should be fine.
Weekends without care are to me trivial. I had office tanks forever, rarely did any weekend care.
On co-housing I agree w/Myaj's comments. Two is for me rarely stable (top dog vs. underdog), three gives you a better chance. You may luck out and two compatables long-term (consider PP's two GSPs - they are larger but to me quite similar in personality), but you may not. For three I'd use something like a 40-long (US gallons) with a 4-foot footprint. The floor space does seem to matter, along with the visually complex setup (both for restricted line-of-sight and equally for objects to search). Some degree of re-arranging is likely beneficial, but try to maintain whatever the individual fish has selected as "home" or "bed" at least in similar configuration. Otherwise you just might promote some increase in territoriality.
Where's the fish? - Neptune
I'm a big believer in rearranging plants etc - you can tell that they're exploring their new surroundings. However, I keep their bed-log and feeding spot the same.
Also...I swear they like some arrangements more than others...some lead to no glass pacing at all, and when I change it, they start pacing.
Get another or two, but have an emergency tank just in case. After a year of harmony with Robert and Mags, I'm beginning to think I've got lucky, but I've still got the emergency evacuation tank in easy reach.
Pami.
Also...I swear they like some arrangements more than others...some lead to no glass pacing at all, and when I change it, they start pacing.
Get another or two, but have an emergency tank just in case. After a year of harmony with Robert and Mags, I'm beginning to think I've got lucky, but I've still got the emergency evacuation tank in easy reach.
Pami.