Small brackish setup

[andrew14]

I'm new to brackish and the livestock, and I have a few quick questions about the feasibility of potential (small) brackish tank setup.

I read that F8 puffers are only 3-4 inches at adult size--true?
Any chance I could put one in a clean, established, cycled, moderate to heavily planted 5 gallon tank?
What SG do they prefer?
Could I put one with 2-3 bumblebee gobies in the same tank?

[kass]

Theres a great article on them in the library. It should answer all your questions and more.

[andrew14]

Okay, I read this:

"Tetraodon biocellatus or the Figure Eight Puffer, tends to live longest when kept as individuals. A study done on keeping Figure Eights demonstrated that individuals live much longer than those housed together. The oldest individual in the study lived more than 18 years! However, they have been kept with Bumblebee Gobies (Brachygobius nunas). These Gobies stay very small and generally keep to themselves. They are also excellent scavengers and do a good job of cleaning up the mess that the Puffers often create when eating. Figure Eight Puffers and Bumblebee Gobies are a good mix because they have very similar environmental requirements. Both will do best in lightly brackish water with a specific gravity around 1.005. It must be noted that occasionally, especially in a tank that is under-decorated, Figure Eights will decide to taste their Goby tankmates."

So would y'all agree that I could keep one F8 puffer and 3 bumblebee gobies in a 5 gallon light brackish tank with some hiding places and it would probably work out alright?

[puffernuke]

No. A fig 8 needs at least 15 gallons alone. Please reconsider this. for good info on this go to:

http://www.pufferlist.com/

In a 5 gallon your only choice will be a freshwater Dwarf Puffer.

[andrew14]

that's what I thought...just making sure.

[perek]

Yikes that 5g is TINY. 15g is a bare min for those F8s.

[Pufferpunk]

Please read that article again.

[Malie]

Please read that article again.

in Andrew's defense... I went back and read that article before i was going to post something of the same sort. The article never explicitly states that a f8 needs 15 gal. I know, I've read it twice now. It does say they need the same size tank and SAP, and links to that article, but unless you follow the link, you'd never know that they need a 15 gal. To prevent someone from having the misconception again, maybe someone should add a note to the articles to include the 15 gal requirement.

Just to be clear, I am not saying that the lack of info means someone can ignore the tank requirement for any fish, I'm just saying don't call someone an idiot (even implicitly) unless you're sure that really are one and not just misinformed.

[Pufferpunk]

Sorry, I guess I should read it again.

[RTR]

And I need to edit it. That info should be there.