The Puffer Forum

Hi,
I have been thinking about getting a Figure 8 for a couple of weeks now and I have been reading uip on them.
I have a tank which is about 20 US Gallons. I want to get 1 or 2 F8 puffers and possibly some Bumblebee Gobies.

Would I be able to have 2 F8's in this tank? and if so how many Bumblebee's should I go with?

Many Thanks in advance

Gavin

20 US gallons is the minimum for 2 F8s - 10 gallons each, in theory. I think it'd be too crowded with some BBGs.
You could try 1 F8 and a BBG, or just two F8s.
Maybe if you got some titchy baby F8s you'd be ok for a while, but you'd have to upgrade the tank once they got over - say - 2 inches long, as space and bioload would become an issue in a tank that size.
I've got my two in a 20UK gallon long (v. impo...they like to swim about)with shallow substrate, and I look sometimes and can't wait to move them into a 35UK gallon that's waiting...we have to get some new furniture for it first, though.
It's good that you're doing your homework first...we see some absolute disasters here with unprepared keepers, and keeping big, dirty fish in a small tank is a major source of hassle.
Cos puffers are rounder (more fish per inch, as it were) and messier eaters than most, their size and appetite leads to a lot of pollution, which is doubly bad cos puffers are mega sensitive to pollution.
So....to sum up, either two F8s and be careful with water and be ready to upgrade, or one F8 and one BBG, or get a bigger tank and have two F8s and a couple of BBGs.
If you stick with the 20, though, you gotta be extra diligent with water quality, is the tank a long rectangular one? Puffers prefer longe tanks so they can have more territory each, and plenty of room to patrol.
Pami.

Pami - I've not kept BBG's before, but don't they stay 1" or so? I would have thought 1 Figure 8 and 2-3 gobies would work out...but I could well be wrong.

I have only Hoover in a 20 long (that's my figure - and one by himself is quite fun...even if he has some ghost shrimp he cohabiting with right now (they were supposed to be dinner, but the shrimp seem to confuse and frighten him).

Eric

Thanks for the replies.
My tank is about 60cm long(wide), about 30cm deep and 50cm, in height.
How long would it take a Figure 8 to get to about 2" long. Judging my current progress, within a yuear or so I am likely to have another bigger tank as I already have a 180L one as a community tank.

The 1" per gallon rule is for slim-bodied fish, not great gut-buckets like puffers...more fish...more waste. Every cell is metabolising and kicking out waste, it's not just the volume of poo, it's the invisible waste going into the water, and puffers make more than most. And they leave food on the floor, AND there's the stuff coming out of their gills when they eat a big clam...etc etc. And they kick off and are territorial..............
The 1" rule is totally wrong for puffers.
Pami.
Sorry Jayhawk..misread..thought you said don't they SAY 1" or so.
Still, at least I cleared the great 1" debate up good .
Pami.

Pami - it's always good to get that 1" per gallon rule out of the way...

I was just thinking that 3 BBGs would about equal in mass another Figure 8 and would likely be much less messy than a second Figure 8. But...the big old caveat is I've never kept BBGs!

Eric