The Puffer Forum

I know I'm getting a head start on this. But one day, hopefully when I get my own place in a year or so I would like to add another tank to my zoo. As much as I want to do a planted community tank, I would ALSO like to do a figure eight tank.

I love GSP, but think that the management of the salinity and the constant changing and monitoring would be very hard for me. Plus if I do another saltwater tank, it's going to be my big one

So I'm curious to see other people's figure 8 set ups.
How do you make them pretty? Since they're a brackish fish, can you even do live plants (I'm a big live plants fan!)?
How big of a tank do you have? Do you keep one or more puffers? Any tank-mates?

I have definitely been bitten by the puffer bug! Everyone that comes into my room LOVES the DPs and will stare at them for ever. Puffers are truly irresistable!!

i have a 10 gallon. no tank mates and currently cycling. i'm planning on adding a background in the near future.

I don't have a full tank shot of my setup but one thing I will say is plants can be done if done right. Not sure how long it takes but start the tank with freshwater and very very slowly raise the sg up to the desired level, maybe over 2 months. Now that my tank is established the plants just don't seem to do well in there, but have heard if acclimatized very slowly it will work. Here is a link of brackish plants for you to think about

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=8

I have one F8 (he did have another with him twice, but they each died for other reasons. I've given up on getting another F8 because they seem to have problems with parasites where I'm getting them). He has 5 mollies and 8 bumblebee gobies with him. He doesn't bother them at all, though the mollies will chase him for a few seconds. I rearranged the tank so there are more hiding places, and it's better.

He's in a 44 gallon corner tank. I don't have any live plants, but I want them. There are actually many plants that live in brackish water, I can't think of them offhand besides java fern and java moss. You have to very gradually acclimate them to brackish though. That's partly why I don't have any live plants in there; I just don't have a good place to put them while I raise the SG. Also, my lfs has a very limited selection (like 4 kinds of plants!).

I have plastic plants, rocks, rock "caves", lava rock with a hole to swim through, a bubble curtain (loves to swim through it), a piece of dead coral, fake columns.
I added another rock "cave" and several tall fake plants and have rearranged the decor, but this'll give you an idea of what I have: