The Puffer Forum

I bought a F8 puffer a week ago for my office. I was going to get a betta, and decided that a puffer would be more exotic and fun.

To start things off, the poor guy gave me a scare the other day. I was sitting in my chair typing away, when I heard this really strange scraping sound. I didn't think much of it right away, but then I looked at my webcam (I've got a live video feed setup in the office for everyone to view him), and noticed that he wasn't there!

I turned around to see that he had managed to jump out of the tank, and was lying on the floor! The scraping noise was him puffing up, with air none-the-less. I jumped out of my chair halfway freaking out, grabbed my fish net, and got him back in the tank ASAP. I think he was out of the tank for only a few seconds. Unfortunately, because he took in air, though, he floated upside-down when I put him in the water. I thought he was dead because he wasn't moving...at all...then I started seeing bubbles come out of his mouth. I grabbed the terra-cotta pot I'm using for his "cave" and put him in it to submerse him.

I kept an eye on him for about 10 minutes. Thankfully, he swam out of the terra-cotta pot seemingly unaffected. It's been a couple of days since that happened, and he's swimming around just fine. Needless to say, I've fixed his ability to get out of the aquarium.

My current issue is the fact that he doesn't seem to be eating. There was a guppy in the tank when we first got him, which I just noticed was dead and mangled at the bottom of the tank; however, I doubt the puffer attacked it since it probably would have been devoured in one bite... I also put 4 ghost shrimp in the tank, 3 still remain (from what I can tell). I can't find the fourth, so, he *might* have eaten it, but I can't be sure since the shrimp seem to be good hiders. Every now and again, I catch the puffer nosing the shrimp, but he never attacks them - in fact, the shrimp fearlessly climbs all over my poor puffer.

I've tried freeze-dried shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, and the ghost shrimp. He seems not to be interested in any of them. At the pet store, he was in a tank with 3 other puffers, and a ton of guppies. I wonder if he's still just getting used to his new surroundings, and recovering from the traumatizing experience of jumping out of the tank. How long should I be worried? He seems to swim around fine, he rarely hides anymore, and I find him spending hours staring at the coral backdrop that I have on the tank. He's also good and plump - so, it doesn't look like he's starving. I've tried everyday to feed him, so, it's not like I haven't given him plenty of chances.

After reading tons of posts, and documents in the library, I'm going to do some major decoration changes, etc. soon, but I don't want to do it too soon, since that might be traumatic - too much changing too fast.

Welcome to TPF!

Can you list:

Tank size, SG, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, how the tank was cycled, filtration, water change schedule, an additives.

Many puffers take time to adjust, especially after something that stressful. I would stop attempting to feed him for a few days, then try soaking a piece of freeze-dried krill in garlic to entice him.

lisalisa wrote:Welcome to TPF!

Can you list:

Tank size, SG, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, how the tank was cycled, filtration, water change schedule, an additives.

Many puffers take time to adjust, especially after something that stressful. I would stop attempting to feed him for a few days, then try soaking a piece of freeze-dried krill in garlic to entice him.

I don't have specific numbers at the moment, but last I checked, they were all within the norm for a F8. Tank is 10gal with a hanging filter on the back. I've only changed the water once at this point (50% change out). I've not added anything other than freshwater fish salt to the water.

Check out this article on figure 8's: http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/ ... uffer.html

Ammonia and nitrite need to be 0, and nitrAte <20. 10 gallons is too small for an F8, as 15 gallons minimum is needed to prevent stunting. Larger than 15 is better though. You need to add a dechlorinator (I use Prime) and freshwater aquarium salt does not make brackish water, only marine mix does. How did you cycle your tank? You will need a refractometer, or a hydrometer that reads low, to slowly raise your SG with marine mix, no more than .002/week.

lisalisa wrote:Ammonia and nitrite need to be 0, and nitrAte <20. 10 gallons is too small for an F8, as 15 gallons minimum is needed to prevent stunting. Larger than 15 is better though. You need to add a dechlorinator (I use Prime) and freshwater aquarium salt does not make brackish water, only marine mix does. How did you cycle your tank? You will need a refractometer, or a hydrometer that reads low, to slowly raise your SG with marine mix, no more than .002/week.

Well, looks like I have to take the salt back to the pet store...they handed me the salt that they say they used, which apparently is not the correct salt. Though, since my puffer isn't used to brackish water, I guess I'll have to slowly introduce it so I don't stress him with an instant water change.

Tank was cycled with instant-cycle stuff (so, I guess I did have an additive other than the salt, just forgot about it).

How long can he stay in the 10 gal before it starts to affect him? Just wondering if I need to rush out and find a tank ASAP. I've seen the minimum requirements for the F8 for both 10 gal and 15 gal, and I already had a 10 gal from previous fish I had years ago, so that's why I got it.

yeah, same thing happend to me, based on my research, i though 10g was enough. then when i found TPF ( a month or so after i finally got my F8 ), i discovered it was too small!!!!

i plan on upgrading , i just dont know when. i would right now, if i had enough $$$ and if my parents would allow it, last time i mentioned it , they werent real happy. guess ill have to tell them that its either a bigger tank, or a dead puffer.

i would also be intrested to know how long he can be in a 10g.

Oh yeah, BTW, my puffer's name is Fluffy. My wife and I came up with that...I love sarcasm.

Remember that your fish is wild-caught, so it's used to eating live foods. Check out the article on pufferfoods in our Library.

My F8, Elvis, is a snail eating machine. That 10 gal tank would make a fine snail rearing tank. That's how I'd use it. Then get a 20 gal long for the F8 - with a lid or hood - you now know they are jumpers. A 20 gal long glass tank is one of the best small tank bargains out there - IMO.

GreatPumpkinator wrote:Oh yeah, BTW, my puffer's name is Fluffy. My wife and I came up with that...I love sarcasm.

Our F8 is also named Fluffy! Nice name

Roflmao.....fluffy, almost as good as what my daughter name our three. Try some frozen blood worms. First put the cube in a small amount of tank water, let in thaw, and pour a few in at a time. If they see them floating to the bottom, they might think it's live and go for it. Also, if you have an LFS that carries them, I've only seen one fish that refuses California black worms (my achilles tang ), they are live worms, very small, do a search here....

Make sure to rinse those worms in a brine shrimp net. Don't just pour them into your tank. The extra "juice" they come in, will add to your nitrates.

My lil F8 is Geoff, he lives in his 15gal tank. Ive had him for oooh 3/4months now and couldnt part with him, or infact her! but I couldnt bring myself to say hes a she....lol

Well, I think he might be eating. There are only 2 Ghost Shrimp left in the tank... This is for sure now because I did a 50% water change-out today, and was able to do a thorough search of the tank. I didn't find any shrimp corpses, and none got out of the tank, so, I think it's safe to say that he ate them.

Yay.