about puffer fish

Question
i want to buy a puffer fish and am going to buy a 20 gallon or a 30 gallon tank. I really like green spotted puffers and figure 8 puffers. my dilemna is i dont know if these are big enough tanks and will they get along with any other fish or the same species? also since i have not been running a tank, how long do i need to keep the tank running before i buy it, and is it ok to put these in as the first fish?


Answer
Hi Jayson,

The minimum tank you'd need for a figure 8 puffer would be a 10G. Remember you don't want more than about 10" of fish in a 10G. A GSP would probably need a 15G but I can't see that a small drop would effect it in the long term. I'm not a great fan of so called 'over-stocking' --- it depends on your filtration system.

There is no such thing as a completely trustworthy puffer. Young puffers can seem completely docile at first but then become more aggressive as they mature. Pufferfish are very inquisitive so they will nip at anything that interests them. This means fish such as Bettas, Sailfin Mollies, Guppies etc are prone to be being harrassed.

The smaller puffers tend to show territorial aggression quite a bit. Dwarf puffers in partuicular are hugely territorial so they are best confined to species tanks. If kept well fed figure 8's can settle into a community aquarium. However, be warned they are prone to going a bit mental every now and then.

GSP's are skilled hunters who will take no time in clearing out a community aquarium. Dwarf's get to around 2" whilst full GSP's will hit 4" with ease.

They will prefer a neutral pH and soft to moderately hard water. Even though most puffers will tolerate brackish conditions, I've found most thrive in Freshwater.

Puffer fish are incredibly delicate fish, they are scaleless and lack gill covers. Species of pufferfish are often mis-sold as 'hardy' however they are particularly susceptible to nitrite and ammonia. They will also not tolerate treatment which contains copper.

You need to run your Aquarium for four weeks before adding Puffers. However, I added a Pignose Puffer to a new tank the day I bought him by adding live bacteria which you should be able to purchase at your LFS. Condition water for chlorine/ chloramines like you usually would.

Basically to sum up, they won't do well in a community set-up but with a little care you could take the risk on F8's. They aren't really good first fish but it can be done.

Good luck!!

Tom

(sorry if I sounded a bit arsey, I'm just really knackered!)