Another F8?

hobbes · Post by **hobbes** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:28 pm

Hey everyone, new to the site. I've had my F8 puffer, Hercules, for about a day now and I love him! He always buzz's around the aquirium exploring his enviorment. Its always fun watching him eat too. Hes been doing fine and seems to be still healthy. He doesn't mind his other tankmates either. Thats why I was thinking of getting another F8. What do you think? Probably bad right? Nipping & things like that?

Well I was observing the tank at the LFS where I bought Hercules and all the F8 puffers there seemed nice. The owner said he had no problems with them since he got them. None of their fin's were damaged and their belly's were so plump. I was really impressed with that LFS when I saw its other fish too. It was probably because the store just opened and is brand new. Well I don't want to go fish crazy and buy a bunch of more fishy's but I was just wondering what you guys suggest. Yes or No? Cautions?

-Hobbes

Thanks for reading and everything else.
P.S. - This site is very helpful.

Post by **Hilly** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 5:00 pm

Have you read the article on F8's in the library, that will give you a lot info, heres the link:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/ ... uffer.html

Also your tank will need to become brackish if it already isnt. I'm not sure how his tankmatesw will do in those conditions but i'm sure someone will tell you shortly if they are all compatible or not.

I dont think your 20 gallon is big enough for another one though.

hobbes · Post by **hobbes** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:06 pm

Wow thanks for the site, I must of missed it while I was browsing around the site.

And yes, my tank is already brackish, thanks for asking. The LFS told me that those fish could all work well with my F8 as long as I fed it well.

Hmm.. About that 20 Gallon. Would it work if I upgraded to a 50 Gallon? My brother has the tank that he was preparing to breed swordtails with. I can probably get my hands on that tank sometime soon.

Thanks for the advice and link.

-Hobbes

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:53 pm

Do not add another fish to the 20 gallon. It's at capacity as is.

You can find some condensed figure 8 info here: http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/brackp ... ?puffid=13

If possible, I would suggest using the 50 gallon for the F8 and leaving the other fish in the 20 gallon. You could comfortably house 3 of them together in the 50.

You're lucky to find a place that has healthy looking specimens. But try to resist picking more up until you have a proper place to house them.

A few other questions, Do you have a hydrometer to measure your salinity? What is your current SG? What kind of salt are you using to make the water brackish? What kind of filtration do you have?

hobbes · Post by **hobbes** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:13 am

Yeah I've decieded not to get another Figure 8. I went back to the LFS to buy some ghost shrimp the other day and saw that the other F8's were... lets just say not so well. The LFS owner said that the filter went poop at night because of a big rock getting it clogged. Unfortunately the Knight Gobies and F8's couldn't take 8 hours without a filter. I came there extra early and noticed that they were cleaning up the mess. At least I saved one of the F8's right?

Yes.
SG - 1.01
Nitrate - <20
Nitrite - 0
pH - 7.1
Tempature - 78degreez

As for Hercules right now, he looks as healthy as can be. I try not to overfeed him. He goes for the crushed snails I give him all the time.
((If your wondering why I crush the snails, its because their trumpet snails))

hobbes · Post by **hobbes** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:45 am

Oh and I got bio-wheel filtration for 30 gallon tank. At the time I supposed the bigger the better. Right?

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:47 am

That's really tragic that when some good healhty specimens actually arrive at a store and they go to waste like that. :s

Rider · Post by **Rider** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:30 am

What's the name of store and where's it located?

Y.

lisalisa · Post by **lisalisa** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:55 am

I think your SG is a bit high; I'd personally like to see it ~1.005. I think your tank mate selection is great, albeit a little crowded maybe. I would also use a buffering substrate to get that pH ~8.
Ever thought about breeding snails like pond or ramshorns?

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 12:40 pm

yeah, is your SG 1.001 or 1.010?

hobbes · Post by **hobbes** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:37 pm

The store is called AquaTek and its located in Austin, Texas. I posted it up on the favorite stores thread-place-thingy.

Their a pretty neat store for being open in late 2004. I guess thats why some of their filters are old. -_-"

Oh btw, my SG is 1.001 sorry about that typo.

I have thought of breeding ramshorns but I can never really identify them at the Petsmart. AquaTek doesn't sell any pond or ramshorn snails, which is a bummer. I have a 5 gallon tank, would that work with ramshorns? I'd probably need to look into it more if I REALLY had a bit of desire into doing that, but for now I'm just happy with my 20 gallon right now.

I usually get trumpets(which i crush before feeding) and these other small-circular shelled snails at Petsmart for free. I'm about to go to Petsmart today and see whats for snail.*COUGH* i mean.. for sale.
LOL.. Also I got another question. Do Figure 8 Puffers eat brine shrimp?

Thanks for all the help.

-Hobbes[/u]

Raphael · Post by **Raphael** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:39 pm

5 gallons would be perfect for a Ramshorn breeder tank.

hobbes · Post by **hobbes** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:52 pm

Thanks for the heads up Raphael!

Lisa - Yeah about my tankmates, they seem perfect for eachother. The first 3 hours I put them in it was very interesting to see how they would interact with eachother. I think the two Orange Chromides are males now that their red tip on their fin is showing. Anyways, when the Orange Chromides saw the F8, they immediately started to follow him around. It was pretty funny, it was as if Hercules had a possie! ^^

After awhile the two Chromides left him alone and just became good friends with each other. They eat,hide,sleep under rocks together. As for the F8, he pretty much always exploring and eventually encountering a couple annoying ghost shrimp. My Violet Goby(King Neptune)just hangs out in his cave, usually ready to eat at night or early in the morning.

Just wanted to fill you guys in! Thanks for tips and reading.

Oh yeah! -- Orange Chromides' color is coming in perfectly. The LFS clerk said that they would grow up and look beautiful. I guess he was telling the truth because now I can really see their yellow shades coming in. At the LFS 1 of them looked kinda pale and u could almost see through him. I guess now hes being better fed.

-Random

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 7:12 pm

You can see a picture of a ramshorn (as well as lots of great puffer food ideas) here: http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/puffer/food.html

lisalisa · Post by **lisalisa** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:19 pm

F8's will eat brine, but it is very poor nutritionally. Read what was posted above ^^.

The Puffer Forum

The Puffer Store

Another F8?

Another F8?