The Puffer Forum

what would be a good tank mate for a fig 8 in a 20 long?

A pair of Bumblebee gobies.

Maybe a trio of bumblebees (whats just one more little goby )

knight goby perhaps.

I had back luck with a knight goby in a 20 long with a figure 8 (the knight goby was pretty aggressive around feeding time and I didn't want a stressed puffer).

My Figure 8 resides with a single algae magnet - he still hates that magnet, but it only disturbs him once per week...

If I were going to try live tankmates, I'd opt for the bumblebee gobies myself.

Eric

Interesting. I have had 2 bb gobies living with 1 knight Goby and a couple of F-8's, for almost 2 years with no troubles at all.

Does your knight interact with the BBs at all? My knight seriously didn't like my puffer to be out in sight when food was in the tank. Maybe just individual differences in personality, but I've heard others say knights can be nippy if they don't have other knights to play with.

The knight was a cool fish, so I do wish it had worked out better in my tank.

Eric

Knights quarrel amongst their own species when they are in groups, their own species keeps them pre-occupied and allows other species to be housed in the same tank.

My knight interacts with no one in the tank. Very solitary...only comes out at feeding times...and in no way takes food away from the bb gobies or the puffers.

Perhaps I just got a mellow dude.

Maybe so.

I've had 12 grass shrimp with my F8 in a 30 gal long for almost 4 months & it seems to work ok - the F8 doesn't (yet) see them as food and the shrimp are constantly cleaning. The shrimp are very agressive when I feed the F8 and they steal his food at every opportunity - even taking it from his mouth. He then chases them down and takes his food back - which is the most natural "hunting" he has to do. Two of the shrimp are carrying eggs - if I can catch them, they'll get isolated.

Four months is quite some time for those grass shrimp! My figure 8s lasted a couple of weeks...and then they started disappearing and Hoover didn't seem to need to be fed for a week or so...

Eric

I put the same number of shrimp in with my GSP with a very different outcome. After a nocturnal orgy of destruction, he could barely move. I won't put more than 2 shrimp at a time in with him again.

My two knights (male and female) barely notice my figure 8 even exists. From what I've read about these fish from other people who keep them, they seem to do better with other tank mates if there is more than one knight.

That said, a 20 long would be a bit small for a figure 8 and a few knights.