Tankmates for my figure 8?

[xrayjeeper83]

i dont know, I think it was pretty funny LOL

[pufferpuggirl]

you would!

[xrayjeeper83]

what can i say, ive got a twisted sense of humor lol

[Aquarist]

IMO, if you decorate the tank heavily,. with many broken lines of sight, & add the other BW fish in there before the puffer for a couple of week, it might be OK to add the puffer. Here's a good list of tanks mates: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html

Thanks for that link. I may try the F8 with some bumblebees. If he eats them though. A figure 8 alone in a 55G is going to look strange

[RTR]

The tank loading suggested in the off-site reference is absurd, and IMHO terrible aquarium keeping. Please do not do that to your fish.

Whether or not you keep your fish with other F-8s depends on its maturity. If it is pos-puberty,you would likely fail. If it is pre-puberty, you might succeed. But the chances are it is at least a bit stunted, so may end up the low man on the pecking order.

Bumblebee gobies would be a good addition (in a larger tank of course).

If you opt for DPs in the 55, start with a much smaller number and allow the population to grow by breeding in the tank. That way you could well develop it as a very long-term relatively stable tank, with a bit of thinning periodically.

[Aquarist]

The tank loading suggested in the off-site reference is absurd, and IMHO terrible aquarium keeping. Please do not do that to your fish.

Whether or not you keep your fish with other F-8s depends on its maturity. If it is pos-puberty,you would likely fail. If it is pre-puberty, you might succeed. But the chances are it is at least a bit stunted, so may end up the low man on the pecking order.

Bumblebee gobies would be a good addition (in a larger tank of course).

If you opt for DPs in the 55, start with a much smaller number and allow the population to grow by breeding in the tank. That way you could well develop it as a very long-term relatively stable tank, with a bit of thinning periodically.

How is he stunted? Hes only 5 gallons under the so called "Minimum" tank size and has 12x/H turnover rate with weekly WC's. I dont see how he could be stunted. O.o

[Aquarist]

Also. Can I use Playsand in the tank? Or what kind of sand is best? I decided on moving the f8 to the 55

[JRC3]

I use pool filter sand and so far I love it.
search.php?keywords=%2Bpool+%2Bsand&ter ... mit=Search

[Pufferpunk]

I suggest aragonite sand for BW fish, to keep the pH steady, at around 8.

[RTR]

+1 to PP's comment on aragonite sand.

Re:potential stunting. If keeping F-8s in 10 gallon tanks gave the same mature size as does a 15, we would not have set 15 as the minimum size, but would have said ten gallons. The tank is significantly smaller, the water volume significantly less, the swimming room reduced. Reductions in water volume, swimming space, etc. are direct causes of stunting.. Growth in fish is fastest pre-puberty. Post-puberty, growth slows markedly. Fish which are kept in too small a set-up for a year are unlikely to ever reach their full normal size. This the great fallacy of "moving a fish up in tank size as it needs it" - that is too little too late. Fish need space while they are young and fast-growing, or they will never make the size they could and should.

HTH

[pufferpuggirl]

You know, that really does make sense. I never gave it that much thought, but it gives me a whole new out-look on how I should be keeping my puffers in the future. Thanks RTR.