The Puffer Forum

Ok, so I have several tanks just begging for fish... puffers, to be exact.
Two of which are a 35 gal tall and a 30 gal long. I am setting one up for SAP's and one brackish. The question is.... Which tank should be brackish and should I put in F8's or GSP's? I know F8's prefer length to depth, but what about the SAP's? Do they have a real preference?
Obviously, I'm at the planning stage, so before I go out buying substrate and cycling, I need to figure out who will be living where.
Thanks in advance!

Oh, is there an online store any of you reccomend for buying fish? My favorite LFS that would order fish for me closed last year and I'm only left with PetFart.
Thanks!

Length is most important for the SAPs - they are from fast moving rivers, and love flow, a long tank with a clearing near the front and a powerful powerhead moving water longways in that clearing would be my "ideal" for them.

I agree. I had a 33xl (4ft long tank) with a very high current going straight across the length of the tank, and my SAP's would zoom into it full speed, swim around and repeat. They would have liked an even longer tank to exercise against the current in, if they could have had it.

Figure 8's do more of the up and down, explore around type of swimming, so they'll be fine in the 35's, but the SAP's much, much prefer distance swimming.

Thank you both, so much. I was leaning toward the F8's anyway, just because they're a little more relaxed than the GSP's.
Can anyone reccommend a store from which to order fish?
Thanks!

Are you sure you can't find them anywhere? Check the smaller mom & pop shops. Always best to support local shops & see what you're getting.

Be sure to read the articles on this species & on Fishless Cycling, in our Library.

I kind of missed that you were asking about GSP's as well.

For the 35 gallon tanks, you could go with either 3 Figure 8's in low brackish, or a single GSP starting in low-mid brackish and increasing as it ages. More of a personal preferenence as to if you want several smaller fish or one big one.

I've had tanks for most of my life and have/had these puffers. My overall favorites are the SAP's, then the DP's then the F8's. Mostly due to their interest in me. The GSP doesn't seem to care one way or the other unless you've got food. The one on my avitar was begging for shrimp. Of course, it could just be the individual fish and not the species. They all come with their own personalities.

I've check out all my local shops and they can order them, but I know where they're coming from... Sunpets in Atlanta. They're fine, but no guarantee on the fish, at all. Also, I don't want my fish put in with the general population and most of the local shops don't have room to isolate them for a day or two.
I'll probably end up having them ordered by a local shop, but since my favorite closed down last year, I'm looking for alternatives.

I cycle my tanks for 30 days (fishless) while my new fish hang in QT. I always treat for internal and external parasites for 30 days. There's few things in life as bad as killing fish you've had for years because the "new kid" brought in a disease. Even though these guys will all go in their own tanks, it's easier to treat them in a smaller tank while their new home cycles.

Thanks for all the input and advice! I'll post updates when I find my new friends.