The Puffer Forum

ok well last night i lost my first figure eight puffer that was in my semi brackish 60 gallon community tank, and well i fell in love with puffers and am gonna find a home for my guppies so i can get another puffer.

first off i jsut wanted to make sure a ten gallon tank with a flurite base and sand substrate with live plants would be a good home for a single figure eight?

second off the same filter media that i was using will be okay for brackish right?

what other fish are good to have with a single figure eight puffer? maybe a bumble bee goby? gohst shrip? and how many of thge fish that can go with a F8 should i put in the tank?

i hope i can set up a tank that will do a puffer justice.

thank you very much
~cobra173~

Minimum recommended size is 15 gallons, if you want to go witha few tankmates i'd go with a 15. You might get away with a 10 keeping a really good eye on water parameters.

Filter media should be ok whatever its going from, fresh to brackish or whatever, should be fine.

ok well i need some help here then, i want the most PERFECT tank i can make for a puffer with a ten gallon. i dont care if i have any tank mates u just want a good established puffer. so can you guys tell me what you would do with a ten gallon?

i was thinking flourite base, sand substrate, planted, brackish. anything else i should plan on?

what color sand is best? or does it really matter.
any specific plants?
i would like snails and i know they do to, but which ones?
is thirty bucks a good price for flourite? i think he said its twenty pounds.
and any help that im missing would be great

You are going to have problems with most plants in BW (search for a list of BW plants). Better substrate for them is aragonite sand.

http://www.plantgeek.net/ has a pretty long list of plants that can go brackish. I'm setting up a 50gal brackish planted tank and decided to go with the eco-complete substrate.

Most aquarium snails won't tolerate the salt, not to mention the puffer will eat them.

IMO you and your puffer will be much happier long term if you spend the extra $15 and get a 15gal tank.

i know id love to go with the 15 gallon but i already have a complete cycled and running ten gallon. so ill probbably just get one puffer and nothing else

i know how u feel.

Why not get 2 or 3 Dwarf Puffers (freshwater) instead of cramming a F8 in a tank that's going to be too small for it? It's not that we think you can't take care of it, it's that the puffer needs the space, and by putting him in a 10g instead of a larger tank, you might do damage to the puffer.

If you're worried about cycling, you can EASILY instant-cycle a 15 gallon tank without any extra money (except for the tank's actual cost). Simply transfer the gravel and filter (without rinsing any of it out) to the 15 gallon tank and voila, the tank is already cycled. However, if you don't keep any fish in the tank for 1-2 days, that bacteria will start to die, and the tank will become less and less cycled.

For snails, I currently have both an Apple snail and a Zebra snail in my brackish tank, and they seem to be doing just fine.

I've heard that you can more-easily keep Java fern and Java moss in low-end brackish tanks. Puffers and snails like to nibble those plants, so keep that in mind when you put them in the tank.

Hope you make the right decision, and good luck!

If you only have room for a ten gallon, get a 15 high or a 20 xtrahigh, MUCH more water for diluting waste, same fooprint, and thus hoods and stands, as a ten gallon.

check craigslist if money is an issue, i got a 20 gallon with a working light, heater, substrate, power head, and filter for 40 bucks. my fig 8 is living in there now. I'd get alot of java fern too and look at some plants that will do well in brackish. so far my dwarf sag and val are doing pretty well but idk how long that will last in the brackish water. my puff is definitely getting bored though. I need to pick up some plants asap.

Anyways, moral of the story, put out a wanted ad on craigslist. Turns out there are tons of people looking to get rid of old aquariums for some quick cash.

edit: I just noticed you have an extra 60 gallon you want to decide what to do with, you might be able to get 3 figure 8s in there assuming they'd get along.

How much do 15 highs go for?
Also I have a 20 X-HIgh, it's a pain to do W/C in, Especially if you have a nppy puffer.

15 highs are under 25$ on long island, last I priced them.

Figured they'd be around 20, thanks Nick!

we are sort of drifting off topic here.

unless the cobra is done with the questions.