Newbie here...thoughts on pea puffers vs. figure 8's ??

[Sharon1]

Just wanted to pick your brains on the topic of pea puffers and figure 8's. Pros/cons?? Still deciding which way to go. We like them both !

[Pufferpunk]

How large is the tank? Are you ready to do brackish for the F8s?
library/puffers-in-focus/dwarfpuffercare/
library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

[TwistOfF8]

I'm keeping dwarf puffers now (5 in a 15 gal tank), I used to have figure 8's. Here are the pros and cons I'm aware of:

Figure 8
Pro
- Colourful and beautiful to look at
- Small size, one can be kept in 15 gal though you should add 10 gal for each additional fish
- Fun to watch, busy
- Can be kept with other fish species such as mollies or gobies

Con
- Require brackish water. If sold in fresh water you will have to increase the salt gradually
- If you want live plants it can be harder to find species for brackish water
- F8's do better when kept alone. If you want other F8's it's best to buy them all together as they're less accepting of their own species later on

Dwarf (Pea) Puffer
Pro
- Fresh water species, no salt or special equipment required
- Can be kept in groups, as long as there are a lot of hiding places and cover to break line of sight and provide territories
- Social interactions are fascinating to watch. They change colour according to mood, sometimes they set up territories and defend them fiercely and sometimes they float in a little shoal together. You can watch while they rapidly shift colours.
- Always busy and active.
- Great for nano tanks. I keep 5 in a 15 gal Fluval Flex tank.
- They have been known to breed in captivity, can be sexed
- compatible with live plants, I recommend using live plants to help keep the water clean (see below)
- teeth do not become overgrown, no need for dental work

Con
- Water must be kept pristine as these little guys can be sensitive to water quality. Do at least one 50% water change per week. Double filtration helps as well (example: hang on back filter + sponge filter).
- Tiny size means they can get sick and die fast (clean water helps). That said, I've had mine for over a year. They do respond well to Melafix/Pimafix if there's an infection.
- They occasionally nip each other and must be monitored for wound infections. I found one of my guys inflated this morning, luckily he deflated on his own and seems ok now.
- it's very easy to accidentally suck them up while doing water changes. I use a white bucket and I go over it with a flashlight before dumping it!
- NOT compatible with any other tankmates! NO exceptions. They kill snails, even snails bigger than they are. They bite chunks out of bigger fish, even plecos or other armoured catfish. If you have algae problems you will not be able to add an algae eater or snail. Again - live plants help with this.
- Picky eaters. Mine will ONLY eat frozen/thawed bloodworms. This was a problem for me once when my LFS ran out of bloodworms.
- Small size means you'll need to get close to your tank to get a good look at them.

[PufferLover76]

Not completely true about the Pea puffers. I have 3 of them in my 15 gallon Fluval Flex along with a platy, a swordfish, an algae eater, plecostomas, and 4 pond snails. They are thriving and getting bigger every day. They get along with everyone. I have lots of vegetation, one ornament that looks like a pile of boulders that is tall and has openings in it. I have three live planted plants and a floating hyacinth as well as salvinia. I also have other rocks that are real including one that is a lava rock which the puffers love picking at. I have wood as well which my water flows over to slow down the momentum into the aquarium as puffers don’t care for fast flowing water I also have a few coconut shells placed slightly on one another. My water is pristine and no I don’t do water changes etc. I have learned in the last almost 40 years of having an aquarium that the less you mess around with an aquarium, the better. As for the pea puffers, yes you can keep them with other fish. You just have to do it right and provide lots of interest and hiding spots. They love to eat the snail eggs and baby snails which is perfect as they do love live food. I provide my algae eating fish with algae wafers as a nice supplement. I wish I could post a pic here of my aquarium. I just love watching them all interact. Also note that the pea puffers are quite smart and live up to 4 years. Their eyes also move independent of each other. Kind of like an aquatic chameleon as they also change colour accordingly. They are awesome pets!