Figure Eight Puffer Tankmates

[erik7281]

I recently got 7 F8 puffers from a friend. I had an empty 65 gall tank so I have them in there. Tank is cycled, low brackish water, normal levels, and temp blah blah blah

My question is whether this species of fish can tolerate its own species. Will they kill eachother? If no, are there anyother fish that can coexist with the F8 puffer? any schooling fish?

[mrgreen]

It depends on the individuals. If they are overcrowded they may go after one another. You just can't tell. I adopted an F8 a couple weeks ago and he and mu first F8 get along great! With so many in a 65 Id watch them. The min is 10 gal per f8. Keep up on Large water changes - an eye on your test kit levels etc. There should be a lot of decor to keep them occupied and to break their lines of sight. They tend to have an attitude of "this plant is mine....and that one.... And that piece of gravel... And that one too!". I wouldn't trust anything else alive with them that you don't want to sooner or later become munched.

[Pufferpunk]

If I were you, I'd re-home 2 of them. It's 15g for the 1st F8 & 10g for each one after that. Absolutely no tanks in that already overstocked tank.

library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

How did you cycle that tank?

[erik7281]

If I were you, I'd re-home 2 of them. It's 15g for the 1st F8 & 10g for each one after that. Absolutely no tanks in that already overstocked tank.

library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

How did you cycle that tank?

Why does it matter how i cycled the tank? lol I had lyretail molly in it prior to adding puffers.

You say my tank is overstocked yet in one of your articles you mentioned you have a 29 gall. tank with "two Figure 8s, sharing a 29 gallon tank with a few mollies and a dragon goby"....now thats seriously overstocked lol dragon goby alone require much more space than 29 gallons once reached adulthood

[Pufferpunk]

It's pretty much a Q I ask every newbie--alleviates a lot of guessing if problems come up. By cycling with a single lightly-massed fish & then adding 7 heavily-massed fish, there is a lot the bacteria has to do to catch up, so basically the tank has to recycle.

The mollies in my tank are down to 1. The puffers ate the rest. There seems to be smaller species of dragons. Mine is not larger than 7-8".

[mrgreen]

First, please don't be rude on this forum- especially to the forum owner.

Second- and this is tied in with "respect" (see above)- pufferpunk has been raising fish for possibly longer than you've been alive. I've been on this forum 10 months: she knows her stuff. That's why she can keep those fish I'm that tank. As a kid I'd ask my dad "if So-And-So is so good and doesn't follow the rules why do I have to?". He answered, "It's exactly that he •is• so good that he can."

[Pufferpunk]

Folks confront me all the time--I don't mind. I'm pretty thick-skinned & happy to explain myself further. If the OP doesn't mind doing 75% weekly water changes on his BW 65g tank & can afford all that $alt, by all means, he has the right to over stock it but I certainly cannot condone the addition of MORE fish in there.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Wouldn't there be a hormone/stunting issue, though? The hormones build up too much between weekly water changes, correct?

[Pufferpunk]

Hence the large weekly partials.