Puffers for beginners?

[MOsborne05]

I've been looking up info on puffers and can't seem to find much. I have a 26 gallon bowfront tank with some caves and plastic plants right now. I'm trying to decide what I want to do with it. Once I decide which fish I want in it then I will decide whether I want live or plastic plants. So, if there are any puffer owners out there I could use some help. I like the look of the green spotted puffers, but don't know how many I could have in my tank as they get 6". I am planning on getting a larger tank when we build our house, but that won't be for a couple of years. I also like the figure 8 puffers, but would prefer the gsp. How many figure 8's could I keep in my tank? I've heard they were messy fish so I don't want to overcrowd. Also, is there any scavenger that can be safely housed with a puffer?

Ideally, what I would like is a heavily planted brackish tank with anubias, cabomba, and hairgrass, plenty of rocks and driftwood for hiding places, 2 or 3 puffers, a pair of mollies and a scavenger. Any thoughts????

 

[JNevaril]

I keep GSP's......

I would only put one in a tank that size. 2 would be pushing it. They are very territorial and aggressive fish, and will kill anything that is not 'them'.

Those kinds of puffers, along with F8's need to be kept in BRACKISH water, no matter what the guy at wal-mart or the fish store says. The only puffer you can keep in fresh water is a 'pea puffer', and they're tiny.

They are very messy, and you must do your own housekeeping in the tank. There is no scavenger that will live in brackish water, or take the puffer's beatings.
I would definetly NOT keep mollies with them either....they will be annihilated by the puffers in no time.

puffers are really interesting fish with a lot of personality though, don't get turned off of them.......do your research before you get them too, it will save you a lot of time, hassle, money and energy.

 

[Lotus]

This site has a lot of good basic (and reliable) info on puffers: http://www.pufferlist.com/

There are quite a few freshwater puffers, but they're not commonly available. In general, puffers tend to be best on their own.

I keep a small tank with dwarf puffers, and I really do like them.

 

[f8fan]

I have three figure 8 puffers in my 25 gallon tank. You are right - they are messy due to what they require for food, however they more than make up for the messiness in their personalities. You need a great filter, as well as the time to do frequent water changes with a good vacuuming.

They do require brackish conditions. I keep my salinity at about 1.008 and my temperature up at about 80 degrees as they like their water a bit warmer. Here is a great link I refer back to a lot regarding brackish fish tanks:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html

Our tanks sound quite similar - I am admittedly overstocked in mine as I think the rule of thumb is ten gallons per figure 8 puffer. I keep their water as clean as possible with frequent water changes (2 a week at about 20% each time) and put the appropriate amount of MARINE salt back in the replacement water.

I can't help ya with plants . I have a black thumb. I have heard you can grow java moss. I did a google search and one site says you can keep Java moss, java fern, hornwort and water sprite.

Puffers need snails in their diet to wear down their teeth. If not then they overgrow and the pufs will starve to death . I have a really difficult time getting snails here where I live. I feed my puffs frozen krill, freeze dried krill, and frozen bloodworms. They won't touch flake food.

Puffers are all wild caught and tend to be infested with internal parasites when you get them at the LFS. A healthy figure 8 will have smooth bright backs of yellow, green, and black, and their bellies should be pure white and rounded. If their bellies turn gray then something is wrong and they aren't feeling right. Puffers at the store tend to be thin and gaunt due to the probability of internal parasites. Here is a great article in which the writer recommends Discomed, by Aquatronics
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i1/green_spotted_puppies.htm
Feel free to PM me with any questions and check out my little puffers in the link in my signature.
You are gonna love Figure 8s!!!!

 

[punkrockfish]

well these guys pretty much summed it all up for you. i kept dwarf puffers, and while they were small, they were some of coolest fish ive ever kept. they are messy and need about weekly 50% water changes, and while everybody says they need snails to eat (this is in regards to dwarf puffers only) i found that their teeth didnt grow the same way as other puffers and feeding them snails was more of a treat rather than required for their physical well being. www.dwarfpuffers.com has everything you pretty much need on them. whatever you decide to do, make sure you're getting the right water (fresh or brackish) for the right puffer.

 

[MOsborne05]

Thanks guys, I've been doing A LOT of research, I was on the computer for 5 hours last night looking up info on the littly guys. My neighbor is setting up a tank and wants my platies and cory cats, so I thought it would be a perfect time to set up a brackish tank.

F8Fan: Your tank is about the same size as mine and I want to get 3 f8's and a pair of molly's. Do your f8's bother the molly's at all, and did you introduce them at the same time? Also, with 3 f8's and 2 mollys in a 25gal, what kind of upkeep do you do (water changes how often, gravel siphoning)? Have your molly's ever had babies in the tank, and if so did the f8's eat them?

I haven't quite decided whether I want real or plastic plants. I was thinking of going with an aragonite (?) substrate and lots of plants and caves for hiding. Just a couple more questions: How long does it take marine salt to disintegrate? I used fw salt once for my sick guppy but it was large pieces and took a while to disintegrate, is marine the same way? What kind of snails do you use to "treat" f8's, are they just regular old snails from the lfs? Also, I have one filter in my 26gal, I think its a bio-wheel 170 or 200. Would I need to get another filter or could I just get a bigger one? What size filter would you guys recommend, and would I need a powerhead??? I just got the Drs. Foster & Smith catalog today so I'm checking everything out *twirlysmi

The only lfs that has puffers is PetSuppliesPlus, but I don't really care for their fish because they always have dead ones in the tank and they never look that good. I never really paid much attention to the puffers but they were always right at the glass watching people and I remember thinking how cute they were, but I, like most people, thought that they were mean.

 

[JNevaril]

to dissolve marine salt, make your water up the day before....the warmer the
water, the faster the salt dissolves.....

to make brackish water with the SG of 1.010, I use 4 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon of water, stir it around in the bucket, and then plunk an airstone hooked up to an air pump to mix it overnight. re-check the salinity before you put it into the tank.

Get a good hydrometer...marineland makes a good one for about 12-13 bucks.

marine salt is a lot different than FW aquarium salt.....a finer grain, so it dissolves faster.

 

[MOsborne05]

Do any of you guys have bumble bee gobies with your puffers??? They are cute little fish and I've read that they stay pretty small. Are they hardy, or territorial? Some sites say yes, some say no so if anyone has some I'd love to hear your opinion.

Also, anyone have live plants in a brackish water aquarium? If so, what substrate did you use? I've read that you should use aragonite for brackish, but will live plants do well with aragonite, or should I use flourite instead????

 

[f8fan]

F8Fan: Your tank is about the same size as mine and I want to get 3 f8's and a pair of molly's. Do your f8's bother the molly's at all, and did you introduce them at the same time? Also, with 3 f8's and 2 molly's in a 25gal, what kind of upkeep do you do (water changes how often, gravel siphoning)? Have your molly's ever had babies in the tank, and if so did the f8's eat them?

I have had my F8's and mollies together for months....one of the mollies died a month or so ago and yup, the puffers made no mistake in eating the dead fish, but they haven't actually "attacked" a live molly at all. In fact, I have a baby molly that is about three months old now that is co-habitating quite nicely with the puffers and adult mollies....they all co-habitate quite nicely in my tank...not to say it's the same for everyone, or that my puffers wont suddenly attack and kill the mollies, but so far so good a year+ into it.

I do a water change two times a week at 20% each time (five gallons a time) and add MARINE salt back to the new water. I mix the new water/salt with a broad mixing spoon and make sure it's fully dissolved. I use "instant ocean" if that helps at all....I have a marineland biowheel 170 and a large sponge filter for extra biological filtration. I vacuuum the sand surface about once a month.

Do you have a hydrometer? It's a purchase I would recommend very soon.

I have looked at bumblebee gobies a lot online but with my current overstocking situation I never looked into purchasing them.

 

[MOsborne05]

I haven't purchased a hydrometer yet but it's on my list of things to get, as well as a bigger filter, MARINE salt for a BRACKISH aquarium (I understand ), a powerhead, new heater, mag-float, substrate, live plants, and eventually the fish. First I've got to clean out my aquarium, after my neighbor takes my fish. I'm still debating on whether I want molly's or bumblebee gobies, but I am definitely going to get the Figure 8's!

I've been doing a lot of research and just ordered back issues of Aquarium Fish magazine that contain articles on puffers, bb gobies and brackish water.

 

[f8fan]

Morgan, you are gonna love F8's!!!! Please feel free to PM me or IM or email me at puffer8fan@yahoo.com with any questions! I love seeing a new brackish tank owner in the forum and I am at your service to help you, or answer any questions you might have
Kelly

 

[MOsborne05]

Thanks, will do. I just ordered the Aqualog book on Brackish water fish, so that, along with the magazines, should help me out a bit. There isn't much info out there on brackish water aquariums or puffers, but you guys have been very helpful.