Tankmates....

[Krickette]

I have a figure 8 puffer that I've had for...I guess about a year now. He's been all alone for almost that entire period. He used to be so friendly and curious, but then I went away for the summer. My boyfriend kept the tank going for me, but with just an automatic feeder and nothing more. I changed the water when I came to visit and that was that. Now I've finally got him back but he's just not the same. He climbs the walls constantly and doesn't show much interest in the outside world like he used to. He used to beg for treats when I came to the tank and act all cute. Now he just ignores me, or swims away. I wonder if he's bored or lonely...
So I was thinking about getting him a tank mate. He's fairly small, maybe 2 inches to the tip of his tail. (I say he, but I have no idea.) I've heard of others having luck with bumblebee gobies, but I've never kept them before. My tank's well established and I keep it very clean, especially now that I've got it back with me. It's a 20 gallon, and it just seems so sad to have only one fish in there. I'm so used to tanks full of livebearers and community fish, haha.

Anyway, I was wondering if any of yall thought it might be an ok idea? And if so, what types of fish would you recommend and how many?

[JRC3]

I wouldn't add any tankmates to a 20g and the pacing may be caused for several reasons...

What brand/model of filter is on the tank?

How much and how often are you doing water changes?

Have you tested the water's PH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates?

Do you have any salt in the aquarium?

Specifically what are you feeding him?

Specifically how is the tank decorated and does it have a background?

[Krickette]

I have a whisper in tank filter, I think it's a large? I hadn't done a good water change in over a month just because I had been out of town and super busy, but I just did a huge one when I moved the tank back to my place. When I tested all my parameters were good so I didn't think to write them down, I will do that again soon though. I do have salt in the aquarium but I can't tell you the salinity off hand. I lost my hydrometer in the move and have to go buy a new one. Right now he's eating bloodworms and freeze dried shrimp, he's kind of retarded about his snails and doesn't seem to see them, so I usually drop them onto a tray but I lost my tray, too, haha. He is rather chubby right now though so I haven't felt the need to give him any snails just yet. The tank is decorated with plastic plants and rocks and a piece of coral that's very old and before I started putting it in fishtanks had just been decoration on a shelf.
He used to climb walls every once in a while back before the summer, but it wasn't as constant as this...

[JRC3]

Did you test the water before or after the current move. And/or did you test it before or after the water change that was done when you visited? Also are you using a liquid test kit or dip strips? If you used a liquid test did you shake the bottles and test tubes exactly as described in the directions?

I would say that most of his problem has been the poor water conditions that he's been living in. The lack of water changes, the automatic feeder, and the marginal filter have probably all contributed to this.

If he doesn't have anything to swim through to explore and hide in, small flower pots are cheap and you can break out the bottoms and kinda stack them to achieve this.
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As for the snails, just drop them in the tank and he will find them on his own. In fact once he discovers them he'll probably look for more snails and this will give him something to do.


library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

Good luck.

[Pufferpunk]

IMO, you could add 3BBgs in there. Although, you never know for sure if he'll eat them one day or not.

Read: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article55.html

[Krickette]

We modified the auto feeder, it wasn't dropping tons, just 2 shrimp a day or so.
And I use a liquid kit, I shake the bottles and titrate just like in chemistry.... I didn't do it right before I moved him but I did it after the last water change I did and it seemed fine. I will go ahead and do another test now.
I love the stacked pots! I want to do something for him but I can never decide what. He used to have some tall plants with bamboo in the centers but they were getting disgusting so I threw them away. I will have to keep an eye out for good pieces to put in there for him. I did notice him improve after I added more plastic plants not long ago. That's part of why I thought a tank mate would help, give him some stimulation even if he does eat it. Heck, that's what I did for my crawfish (until he got too bored and crawled out to fight my dog...he lost.)

[RTR]

+1 to all the above comments.

The fish was stimulus deprived and poorly maintained in your absence, and although he survived it, I am not shocked that he has been bored and depressed -both physiologically and psychologically. It will take a period of time with good care and good upkeep to get his normal interactive behavior back. Keep up his water quality and do some minor tank rearrangements from time to time as part of vacuuming. He will recover and return to his old, more friendly ways.

PP: yeah, rub it in! We will get them all back....

[Pufferpunk]

RTR, I thought you submitted that for our Library?