'Figure 8' with a pacing problem;

[TashaT]

It’s good to see the Forum back up and running!

My tank specs:
20 gallon / Species only / Brackish water

SG: 1.009
Temp: 78ºF
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
Ammonia: 0
H-pH: 8.2

Substrate: Crushed white arogonate / approx. 4� deep
Décor: Plastic / 1 large mangrove root system / 4 Valsneria, 1 Ambulia / 2 small pots buried as caves

Filtration: Fluval 204 / Media: Charcoal, Zeolite Charcoal, Bio-Max Rings
Heater: Top Fin, 100W, 8�
Lighting: Fluorescent daytime bulb

Water changes: 1 weekly / 50%
Water Conditioner: Am-Quel Plus
Salt: Instant Ocean Marine Mix

Species: 1 ‘Figure 8’ puffer (Tetraodon biocellatus) / Approx. 3� / Owned for 4 months

Feeding: Every day. Varied diet: Blood worms, regular shrimp, brine shrimp, oyster, lobster, clam, live pond snails, mosquito larvae & krill.
(I tired live ghost shrimp too – but he had no interest in them. He actually let them live in the bottom of the tank for two months until I relocated them to my FW 10G.)

My question to you all is this: He paces the end walls of his tank for HOURS at a time. I’m aware that some puffs do it for different reasons, (boredom, water params’, stress, etc…), but I have eliminated most of those issues!
I sporadically move his décor around while cleaning, to give him something different to helicopter around; his water param’s are all ideal; he’s alone in the tank and only has the light on for 8-10 hours a day; he gets fed a very diverse diet and isn’t showing signs of being over-fed; I make him hunt for his snails by dropping them in when he isn’t looking – thusly stimulating his predator psychology; and I even put a few Mollys in with him, for two months, to see if he was lonely… to no avail, because he kept doing the same pacing and ignored them entirely.

He eats well, swims fine, does take the daily tour of his entire tank, and seems to enjoy hunting. He has no visible ailments, exhibits no other strange behaviors, and is curious enough to come and see who’s looking at him.
But he paces the tank walls, left to right a few times, then up and down for nearly 90% of his time out and about! I’ve never seen him sleeping – ever… so when I turn the tank lights on in the morning, he’s already up and pacing. My roommate tells me he does it all throughout the day, and when I come home from work and go to feed him he’s still doing it.

Is this normal?
Should I go all-out and increase the décor so that he has even more to look at and explore?
Should I get another F8 to be with him?
Is there anything I can do to stop the ‘pacing’?

Someone please advise…

[chriscenter1]

for what it is worth my figure-8s do the same thing and my aquarium is pretty decorated.

[Pamela]

Add some more plants...can't hurt. I guess some puffs do it more than others. My two love their hollow log and Habitrail tubes, and don't pace a great deal.
We have quite a few visitors, and they have their favourite people - they come right to the front and stare at them when they're here.
Just give him as much stimulation as possible, I guess.
Pami.

[RTR]

You can try adding more current via a prefiltered powerhead.

[Pamela]

Or a bubble wall. I nearly died laughing the first time I saw Mags doing the puffer ride. I thought it was unintentional till she turned around and did it again a few times!
Really..they swim into it, get lifted up, come out and do it again! I think it can actually be called play, as it serves no function, and is an end in itself - fun.
Pami.

[susiejames101]

My F8 also loves her bubbles, I turn them off at night and in the morning as soon as the bubbles go on, off she goes on her bubble ride. Having said that, she does spend time each day pacing and I do worry a bit that she might be bored. She has a shrimp that she was supposed to eat, for company. he has been there for weeks now so I don't think she fancies him for some reason lol!!
Sue

[TashaT]

This weekend I will go out and purchase more decore, AND, a 'bubbler' to create the bubble wall.

Does anyone think I should purchase another F8 to put in with him? Or am I better to just increase hiding places and see what happens?

[Pamela]

Give the extra decor a shot...I don't think he's lonely...my two get on, but don't really interact. If you do opt for another fish, totally redo the tank's layout, so the existing fish doesn't feel his territory's been invaded by the new one.
Pami.

[The Fisherman]

I was just about to post a similar topic when i noticed this one, my F8 does the same thing, almost all day! it is a 10 gallon tank, SG at 1.005 and ive had my F8 for 5 months. I feed him ghost shrimp, snails, krill, and frozen clam. I dont yet have arogonite substrate, but im working on it. I rearange the terrain once every 2 weeks, and he seems to inspect it briefly, but there is know lasting interest, although he has taken a liking to a gravel cave with a piece of driftwood in front of it.( he sleeps there every night) He also seems to do a morning patrol of the tank right when i wake up, and turn his light on.
other then that he paces the sides of the tank all day! Is this normal, or is he bored?

[Jager]

only other thing to try is lowering the temp to 74 or 72 degrees over several days time. the cooler temps slow their metabloism down and keeps them from activly hunting for food all the time. it doesnt sound like thats the case here but its worth a shot.

[calger459]

My puffer does the same thing, and I seem to have run out of options.

I have a Spotted puffer (juvenile still, she's just over an inch long) in a 12-gallon tank. I keep the tank at med-high brackish (1 tsp. Instant Ocean/gallon) and her water tests fine. The temperature usually hovers around 78. I recently added a whole bunch of decor to try and stop her swimming up and down constantly, and I change the tank around everytime I change it. It only worked for about an hour. My previous puffer I owned for 7 years and she always paced. Then again, she was usually kept in a tank that was too small (started out in a 2-gallon! I didn't know what I was doing when I brought her home). I have a long air stone in the back that makes a lot of bubbles, but not as much as a bubble wall. It may be something to try.

My question is, is it really that bad for them to 'pace'? Especially when the seem determined to do it no matter what?

[Jayhawk]

On the pacing subject...Hoover the figure 8 lives downstairs in our rec. room/basement. I've noticed if I sneak down stairs and peak around the corner he is all about the tank exploring, playing in the current from the HOB filter (it's cute - kind of a puffer surfing kind of thing), and simply not pacing. However, once I appear, he paces...I think it's impatience. He wants to be fed, now dag nabbit, and his pacing seems to be his way of showing he's not happy with me.

Eric

[Pufferpunk]

How could 1 tsp salt/g possibly make med-high BW (which to me means SG around 1.010-15)? What SG is it at? For low-end BW (around 1.005), it takes roughly around 1 cup of marine salt/5gal.