Are F8s schooling fish?

[erik7281]

Ive noticed that my seven F8s tend to swim together across the tank. Not only that, they sleep together as a cluster, and sometimes I see them all at once swimming up and down the side of the tank... does this mean they are schooling fish?

[RTR]

No, they are solitary hunter-predators. Most juveniles school for protection (a general thing, not just puffers), but with sexual maturity they split up and establish hunting territories which they protect from others of their own kind. In the wild, that does not much if any much if any real damage - the territory holder has a big advantage. In captivity the loser cannot leave the area, so gets damaged or even killed.

That said,in captivity a group of juveniles housed together stand the best chance of staying together without conflict when they mature. But I don't have much history of success with co-housing them after maturity. One by one I've had to remove dominant fish as they mature, but I admit their tanks were not large enough to co-house them comfortably after maturity. How big is their tank?

[erik7281]

i currently have them in a 65-70 gal tank (not exactly sure). I know it may be over stocked (after adopting a couple from a friend). I have 2 filters running, good aeration, water parameters are normal, except nitrates are around 5ppm (i think is my tap water), theres plenty of caves, rocks, and plants...but for some reason they stick together, rarely do I see them separated. The only time they get a bit agressive is during feeding time. I guess they get too excited when i throw in a jumbo krill.

[Pufferpunk]

Mine don't hang out together at all. I'm not sure they even like each other but I know they don't hate each other.

[RTR]

Nitrate of 5 ppm is not bad for a puffer tank. Check your tap sometimes - titers are best compared to the source water.

And yes, it is a little crowded, but not awful. More room would be better, but your water sounds pretty good from the nitrate level.

Adult independence such as PP's F-8s show is the common state for adults, but at least they do tolerate each other.

[bazil323]

Mine were the same, tolerating each other but by no means hanging out together, buddy-buddy. Grun was pretty much adult when I added Schnitzel, so that may have played a part. But, like RTR already said, they may school/group as juvies but eventually split into solitary individuals as they mature.