The Puffer Forum

Thanks for that info. We tend to have more patience knowing that youth can be impulsive & overenthusiastic about stocking their tanks.

i dont know i just thought that in my tank with all the broken lines of sight and hiding places the puffer and monos might work well together considering they are both brackish and i do have more than adequate filtering for the 55 gallon tank, if the monos arent going to work with the puffer in this tank what fish would you suggest with a figure 8

buzz:

I'm not a Figure 8 owner, but I'm aware that others here have put them with Bumble Bee Gobies, Knight Gobies & Dragon Gobies. My impression is that sometimes these poor Gobies get picked on, or worse -- but as I say, I think others have had them together. Perhaps you should start a new thread, saying something specific like "Best Tankmates for F8's?" -- and hope that an experienced F8 person here will respond. If my memory serves me correctly, RTR and PufferPunk keep, or have kept, F8's with other fish -- I'd go with whatever they say. Don't be surprised, though, if others offer you the advice to keep it a species-only tank, as F8's are among the more aggressive Puffers!

I'll disagee mildly with the F-8 characterization. As puffers go, to me F-8s are quite middle-of-the-road - not so fiesty/waspish that conspecifics or certain other tankmates are automatically doomed, nor so easygoing that cohabitation is ever a given. Not a Fahaka, nor a DP, just a puffer.

But as with any mixed tanks including puffer(s), there are several different forms of incompatability which can cause problems. Aggression is but one of those. IME, feeding incompatabilties are more common if less dramatic.

I'm probably one of few to have had a bad experience combining my F8s with Knight Gobies. My guys make a game of picking on the Gobies. I finally lost one of them a couple of months ago. I'm fairly certain COD was a secondary infection due to long-time injury and stress.

I think it is important to resist the urge to stuff a tank full or to buy every fish you like. They are not puppies who love to live in crowded piles of friends. They are not reflections of our own emtional states...so if you feel bored or lonely do not project it onto your fish...they probally are not feeling like that. Getting them too many tankmates is not going to make you or them feel better. (I went through that learning curve 2 years ago)

It is better for the fish to have as much room as you can afford...this also makes cleaning easier.

If I had a 55 gallon to play with I would put in six figure eights and some cool toys and plastic plants for them to play with and in... and no other fish.