The Puffer Forum

Okay so I'm upgrading to a 29 gallon tank and was debating on whether or not to let the fig 8 have the whole thing or try to add some tankmates. BBG's are cute but small and I really think Karu would eat them. I like Dragon Gobys, they are interesting looking but i'm not sure about tank size. There seems to be some debate on what these guys need. What's the consensus around here? Yes, no, maybe, bad idea, good idea.....

If not a Dragon Goby are there any other species that might work or should I just let Hikaru have the whole set up to himself. Maybe a knight goby? A fish that isn't a goby lol? I love flatfish or soles if you prefer and I know of a few species that would be compatible with the tank size but i'm not sure with the fig 8. I would think a sole would want a sparsely decorated tank for swimming space on the substrate instead of heavily decorated like the fig 8 needs. Oh and I know I have enough room for another fig 8 but I really don't want two. I heard that being kept singly makes them live longer and have a better relationship with their owners.

To be honest...I would love to have the dragon. I've been reading up on them all day long so I know I can take care of their special feeding problems etc., I'm just not sure about tank size. As far as stocking it would just be Karu (fig 8 ) and maybe 1 or 2 other gobies, or the dragon.

Any and all advice/personal experience appreciated

P.S. sorry if this should have gone into the brackish tank section, i put it here since everything is dependent on the fig 8

I keep one with my 2 F8s in a 29g tank. So far he hasn't seemed to need a larger tank. You just have to make sure it gets enough food. Worms falling from the cone feeder seems to do the trick.

Excellent

That's what I was hoping to hear PP. I had hoped you would reply, I knew you kept one with fig 8 but I didn't know what size system. Feeding shouldn't be a problem. Karu eats food off forceps. He'll rarely take after food that accidentally falls, he'll just look back up at the now empty forceps like okay now refill it. So hopefully he won't eat the dragon's food before he gets a chance to chow down. The cone feeder sounds good too, I'll look into one of those. I assume that your fig 8's leave the dragon well enough alone? I know it's going to be risky no matter what I put in there. *shrug*

All my BBGs are gone but the dragon's fins are all intact. Sounds like you have a real spoiled brat on your hands.

Oh you can say that again lol

So I found a better deal on a bigger tank. Found a 39 gallon with stand and all the works, pump, filter, deccor for 50. I was stunned. And the best part is it's running right now and has been for a few years so it should already be cycled! I'm going to bring a bag so I can keep whatever filter media they are using in water for the trip back home. It has five tetras in it right now but they will be moving to another tank. So if I can get it home and filled up in time I can hopefully save some of the bacteria. Then slowly up the salinity to 1.003 where my fig 8 is and make the move. So here's the question though I have definitely decided on a dragon since I have more tank space should I put him in and give him time to settle before I add Karu? It might be best this way since I can gurantee the poor thing will be in fw at the lfs. Then I can adjust both him and the tank to the proper salinity. I'm also going to order some SafeStart and add it too before I add the puff just to boost it up a bit. Unfortunately for both me and the puff his current tank is being wacky again with test readings I'm not really sure why. It stabilized and now we're back to medium levles of ammonia and nitrite. A huge water change fixed it but i'm not sure what caused it. I guess the bacteria weren't as set up as I thought. Regardless we are back to 0 across the board.

Thanks for the advice PP and sorry about your BBGs