Fig 8's.. few questions?

[Gordi]

hello! can fig 8 puffers live in fresh water? if you did keep one in f.water would it die or just not be as happy!

how big do they grow and how long does it take?

can they be keptwith any other type of puffer or fish?

would a well planted tank with good lighting and sand substrate be a nice environment for one to live in?

also are they lively fish, good to keep?

[crazedpuffer]

Hi! F8s can live in FW for a time but if they live there whole life in FW they are not nearly as happy or healthy and die much faster. I believe they grow to be 2.5 inches but I could be wrong. It would be best to keep them in a species tank. IME they are very lively fish and fun to keep.


I also have a question regarding F8's. How do they do in full SW? Yesterday I saw a puff that looked just like a F8 in the Sw section. Is it possible it was just a close relative?

[Gordi]

but they would be ook? the guy in my pet shop has loads in fresh water n says they will live fine in it! also could you mix one with a redeye puffer? or

have a redeye puffer and x2dwarf puffers?

[crazedpuffer]

Honestly I don't know how long they would last in a full FW environment. Either way I wouldn't chance it because it will cause problems down the road. I wouldn't mix any the puffers above. What size tank do you have?

[Boxermom]

No, they cannot be mixed. Please don't get a fish unless you are willing to take care of it properly, providing the appropriate home for it. For a F8, that means low end brackish, 1.005-1.008. Not freshwater, not saltwater.

[manutius]

There have been many people keep these puffers in both FW and low BW. The puffers that lived longer, were less stressed suffered from less disease were those kept in BW. IMO they should be kept in BW 1.005 if you want them to do well. As for tank mates a definate no-no as they can be feisty and will cause damage to or kill other fish. They may be tolerant of BB gobies but the jury is out for me on that one and of course that would be a BW tank anyway.

LFS are notoroiusly badly informed when it comes to puffers, mine also believes that F8 are FW but then proceed to tell me that they put marine salt in all there tanks so figure that one out

So in short keep them on their own in BW, you will need to get Marine salt mix and bring the salinity up slowly. Read the F8 profile in the pufferpedia for info

[Myaj]

I would not keep a Figure 8 in freshwater, even very hard, high pH water (certianly not soft water).

I don't know if I can honestly remember ever meeting ANYONE who has kept a figure 8 in freshwater and kept it alive for more than 6 months or a year. If kept in brackish water properly, they can live 10+ years. Its not hard to figure out which way is better for them.

And no, generally they don't mix well with other fish.

[coldmachineUK]

You need brackish water to ensure good healthy stress-free happy little puffers.

I've kept my pair of F8s in with a pair of female black mollies, in low end brackish (1.003-1.005) successfully, but I wouldn't chance them with anything like BBGs, and certainly not with other puffers. And, it'd be a risk with the mollies. You may find them 'tasting' at first before they realise molly fin is not as nice as bloodworm...
I'm lucky that mine got on with the mollies, but puffers have differing personalities and yours may not be so kindly! I recently lost one of my mollies in that tank (the pair were poor quality stock to begin with), so it remains to be seen if the puffers will gang up on the remaining one. Be prepared - if you keep tankmates with an F8 then make sure you have an escape plan for your fish if you decide to risk it.