F8 advice

[AthrunZala]

I've chosen to now either have a f8. One of the main reasons is because they grow at max only about 3". Anyways can some1 tell me is it each week or month i have to feed it crunchy food And whast does the salinity level have to be for the f8s.

[LilGreenPuffer]

At least every other day, I would think, for the crunchy food... And according to the PufferPedia, you should have the salinity between 1.004 and 1.008.

[AthrunZala]

thx lilgreenpufer do u know what salt i should use and from what brand

[LilGreenPuffer]

You can use just about any brand of salt crystals. There's Red Sea, Kent, Instant Ocean...

[DCDN]

From what I've seen most people dont go above a salinity of 1.005. This is what I'm moving mine up to slowly and what most people seem to have.

[marksrush]

PufferPedia says 1.005-1.008. It doesn't hurt for it to fluctuate a bit; in fact, some people say it stimulates them and contributes to their overall health when you change up the salinity a little from time to time.

[LilGreenPuffer]

But never change it by more than .002 per week, or you'll kill your biofilter.

[By_a_coo]

do u know what salt i should use

Marine salt always, never buy aquarium salt, it doesn't make brackish water.

[marksrush]

[AthrunZala]

thx by_a_coo now i know what salt to use =D

[Pufferpunk]

Please read the F8 article in our Library. It tells you everything you want to know about them.

[AthrunZala]

should i get a f8 puffer or a dp?

[LilGreenPuffer]

Well, that really depends on your tank, your budget, and how much time you're willing to put into your fish.

[bazil323]

Yeah, what lilgreenpuffer said. It depends on what you've got and how much time/energy/money you want to put into it. If you have a tank that is 15g or less, I'd think more about DPs. If you don't want to take the time to fill a tub with water, mix in the salt, and let it sit overnight and match salinities, then I'd stick with freshwater like DPs. However, if you have a 15g or larger tank and want to put a little more effort into water changes (the whole salt mixing thing), then you might be ready for a brackish F8.

Do you have much experience with fish? If you don't, you might want to try a freshwater puffer fish since brackish and salt can be hard to understand, and it's a little easier to figure out water changes, etc., with a freshwater tank. However, if you do your research first, you it's not out of the question to jump right into brackish. I did, and it worked great. BUT, I spent quite a while researching and preparing before making the leap.