The Puffer Forum

Hey gals and gals, Name's Sylar. As the title says Im new to the forum. I currently own a baby 2" figure 8 puffer in a brackish 35gallon with barbs and danios. Im planning to buy a baby fahaka in the next three months and I was wondering what accomendations would I need for the little guy compared to a figure 8? Beside a farily larger tank. Thanks in advance, I'll post some pics of my figure 8 later on today.

LOL!! don't tell me you're from Bancroft!!

Welcome to the forum!!!

A Fahaka needs a really big tank... really big.

ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Lineatus/

I had a larger tank but the width is the key. Just because you have the water volume, doesn't mean it is ideal for one of these monsters.

How much salt is in your "brackish" tank? What kind of salt? Neither barbs nor danios are BW fish.

J-P wrote:LOL!! don't tell me you're from Bancroft!!
Welcome to the forum!!!
A Fahaka needs a really big tank... really big.
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Lineatus/
I had a larger tank but the width is the key. Just because you have the water volume, doesn't mean it is ideal for one of these monsters.

LOL, Iam from Toronto. I understand they will need a huge tank and I have a 90gallon in my cellar waiting for him, which is wider and longer than a 90gallon tall. I was wondering if the PH or salt content would be different for it compared to my figure 8's setup. Thanks for the link, appreciate it.

Pufferpunk wrote:
How much salt is in your "brackish" tank? What kind of salt? Neither barbs nor danios are BW fish.

Not really sure anymore lol, I use to have bumble bee gobies in the 35gallon. The danios and barbs have been in the same tank for roughly 2 years now. The salt didnt really seem to bother them so I just left the in there. I currently use Instant Ocean for the brackish water, generally I tend to use 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons. For substrate I have silica sand which is neutral, do you think it will be better to switch to a higher PH sand.

no salt... no salt, no salt..

90 gals is a tad too small. Even in my 210 I couldn't have one.

Fahaka's are pure freshwater, no salt. But you need a 120 gallon tank minimum


You really really need to know what the SG(specific gravitiy) is. With a hydrometer or refractor for the F8

Xray is referring to your BW F8 tank. You don't just toss salt in there. They do best at a SG of 1.005. That's roughly a cup of salt/5g. I don't think your FW fish would like it much in there...

xrayjeeper83 wrote:Fahaka's are pure freshwater, no salt. But you need a 120 gallon tank minimum
You really really need to know what the SG(specific gravitiy) is. With a hydrometer or refractor for the F8

Alright thanks, I'm a bit new to the puffer scene. I only kept my figure 8 for a month now, I always thought puffers were either BW or pure SW. Its pretty cool to see that a Fahaka is pure fresh water. Thanks for the feedback.

Pufferpunk wrote:Xray is referring to your BW F8 tank. You don't just toss salt in there. They do best at a SG of 1.005. That's roughly a cup of salt/5g. I don't think your FW fish would like it much in there...

LOL, my bad. Yes I do use a cup per 5 gallon, I current study culinery and I have to type up alot recipies. If tsp or tblsp keeps showing up forgive me. I will remove the FW though.

Glad you found us!
library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

Pufferpunk wrote:Glad you found us!
library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

A question I have always thought about was if it was possible to use kitchen grade non-iodize seasalt as a substitute for aquarium salt. I heard it was possible but I also heard it wasn't. I never tried it fearing it might kill my fish. Also should I switch my silica sand to CaribeSea Arogonite? I been reading today and it says it better for figure 8's. The only other puffers I had before this figure 8 was a group of 5 pea puffers.

marine salt only, no aquarium salt, no table salt.

The argonite would be good because it will keep your pH up around 8 which is ideal for fig 8s. Also you want to use Marine salt, not aquarium salt or iodized table salt, just marine salt.

can't say that argonite will be of use or not without knowing the pH of the tap water.