The Puffer Forum

I have a 16 bowfront (about 15.9g I think) and I wondered if it was too small for a F8 puffer. It's 18.5x12x16.5. I would decorate it well and get a really good filter for it. So it would be nice. But it would still be rather tall and not long.

Typically you have upper, middle and lower strata fish. Many puffers are none of these. They utilize the entire tank.

I personally have never kept an F8, but I can't see why that tank wouldn't keep a solo F8 happy. I'm sure others will chime in and offer decor ideas etc.. or maybe correct me

Looks good to me. Be sure you have plenty of filtration*160 or so gallons per hour on that tank for 10x/hour turnover rate* and plant it nicely. These guys get bored very easily. Just thought I would put my $0.2 in

Okay. I'll get some kind of puffer toys and decor and switch it around for interest. I won't be getting one for awhile I don't think. Gotta line the pockets a little first so I can afford all that expensive shellfish to give them.

lol expensive not at all i feed my gsp regular shrimp from the store un cooked but normal ol shrimp i can get like 9 for a buck and just freeze them and thaw when im ready to feed them to fish...

I have 2-15g high tanks (20w x 10d x 18h) and I thought about putting my F8 in one when I first got him but I figured it would be pushing things a bit too much. Keep in mind that a regular 15 is minimum to house a figure eight and it has a footprint of 24".

I would think that a really young F8 would probably do better if he grew up in one though, idk.

That tank has inadequate swimming room for me. I would never house an F-8 in that tank. There is a big difference between ~18" and 24".

Yeah I would agree. I thought a lot about it over the last few days. And I had already decided I'm going to use the 15g as a shrimpery and my 29 for the puffer. I was thinking about using the 29 for a mini fish community but I want a puffer more.

sounds like a good plan to me

eraagne wrote:Okay. I'll get some kind of puffer toys and decor and switch it around for interest. I won't be getting one for awhile I don't think. Gotta line the pockets a little first so I can afford all that expensive shellfish to give them.

LOL, one lil F8 won't eat you out of a fortune of food!

Pufferpunk wrote:

eraagne wrote:Okay. I'll get some kind of puffer toys and decor and switch it around for interest. I won't be getting one for awhile I don't think. Gotta line the pockets a little first so I can afford all that expensive shellfish to give them.

LOL, one lil F8 won't eat you out of a fortune of food!

At this point I have trouble buying gas and dog food. More because of my poor spending habits then any financial crisis. So I gotta make sure I have the money to buy shrimp, clams and such I don't want the little thing to go hungry for a few days because I didn't presave for him. I only work part time atm and go to college.

Nevermind the salt you'll need for weekly water changes.

Shell on Mussels = $3.50 a bag at Walmart (would last you weeks)
Shell on shrimp = $5.00 a bag at Walmart (would last you weeks)
Frozen Peas = $1.08 at Walmart (would last forever)
Frozen blood worms = $5.00 Pet stores/Petco/Petsmart(would last a few weeks)
Worms/Nightcrawlers = $3.00 a tub at tackle shops (Would last up to 2 weeks)

Poor people can own, feed and maintain puffers = Priceless!!!!

I feed and clothe a family of 5 with $200 every 2 weeks and My puffers never go hungry!

If yo buy some salt in bulk..it will not be that big of an issue with an F8 being so low brackish

Well I'll probably go to shoprite. But it's good to know they aren't that hard to afford. It'll still be awhile before I get one though. I got plenty of other fish tanks to work on. Plus I gotta buy 100+ dollars worth of plants. 50+ worth of filtration. For all my tanks not just the puffer Plus I'm an art student so lots of materials ect ect. Plus I want to make sure a puffer fits into my schedule.

For an F-8, the cost of food is the investment in a 10 gallon tank and a simple filter and you can rear your own lifetime supply of fresh live snails. I used out of date fish food but a smallish container of inexpensive food will keep them going for moths and be better for the F-8 than the other foods available as staples. Some variety is desirable,but it need not be a big part of the diet.