Brackish Puffer

[PufferLover1]

Hello. I'm new to this forum and am getting a 12-gallon tank for Christmas. I love puffers. They are the cutest. I want to get some for my 12g. The first puffer I saw was dwarf, and they are very cute. But then I fell for figure-8 puffers. I know they require 15g, but in hypothetical, could they be happy for a year? Then I could get them their own 29G. I could densely plant it, or leave it open-ish for swimming space. I will feed them live food, and change water as frequently as they require. (side question- how much marine salt?)
Thanks!

Ps. Please don't attack me. Just a simple"no" could suffice. thank you
Pps. Thanks for taking the time to glance at this thread.

 

[Sgooosh]

Hello. I'm new to this forum and am getting a 12-gallon tank for Christmas. I love puffers. They are the cutest. I want to get some for my 12g. The first puffer I saw was dwarf, and they are very cute. But then I fell for figure-8 puffers. I know they require 15g, but in hypothetical, could they be happy for a year? Then I could get them their own 29G. I could densely plant it, or leave it open-ish for swimming space. I will feed them live food, and change water as frequently as they require. (side question- how much marine salt?)
Thanks!

Ps. Please don't attack me. Just a simple"no" could suffice. thank you
Pps. Thanks for taking the time to glance at this thread.

hello! you could make the 12g a grow out tank for babies and later babies...
make sure to get some smaller fish as the baby ones may be more suitable for the small grow out tank.
densely plant might be good since they are aggressive? sorry idk much about your puffer

 

[PufferLover1]

Ok, Thank You!
I will use the 12G for a baby/ juvenile figure eight and upgrade when they grow out of it
Thank You for your response.

Brackish plants....Java ferns?? And substrate... Coarse or soft??

Thanks for your future response/ taking the time to view this thread.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

If you haven't bought the tank yet, perhaps buy a bigger tank now so you don't have to upgrade in a year. Even if you get a 20 gallon high it would give you more water and that can make it easier to keep fish because it dilutes nutrients more.

Marine salts can be expensive if you use a lot, however for a small brackish tank, it shouldn't be too bad. You would use the marine salts at about half strength initially and maybe increase it as the fish gets older.

If you live near the beach/ ocean, and the water is clean, you can collect it and use that instead of using artificial marine salts.

You will also need a hydrometer or refractometer to measure the salinity (salt level). A plastic chamber hydrometer is cheaper than a refractometer but not as accurate.

 

[FF_Member146894]

any smaller (such as figure 8, spotted congo, etc) puffer apart from the dwarf puffer need at least closer to 30 gallons in my experience

even with a single juvenile puffer, they produce so much waste that a 12 gallon will be overrun with nitrates before a week is up
realistically, you'd need to do large water changes every 2-3 days, which would be increasingly difficult with a brackish aquarium

you need a significantly larger aquarium to keep more than one in a tank (for bio-load reasons as well as territorial aggression)

soft sand substrate because most puffers enjoy laying at the bottom of the tank

I know very little about keeping brackish tanks, but I advise against it for a beginner puffer keeper unless you have previous experience with brackish aquariums (because of puffer's increased sensitivity to water conditions)

I say the better option would be to go for a group of 4, 5, or 6 dwarf puffers (in a densely planted tank) depending on the dimensions of your 12 gallon

 

[vanalisa]

Poor Sweet Little Niblit.
I'm sorry I didn't get you friends.
They said it would be fine with just one. I'm sorry I have other fish when I know you should be my one and only sweetheart.
I'm sorry, little Nibbly-Boo. Should I find a home for you with others? Are you young enough to negotiate in a tank with young Whipper-snappers?

I hope I've done okay by you, Sweet Nibbly. You are a dear sweet mini-killer and I hope you forgive me for your teeny 5g and maybe I will move you up to a bigger tank. Or do you want friends?

A penny for your thoughts, Sweet Sir Niblet.

 

[Sgooosh]

Ok, Thank You!
I will use the 12G for a baby/ juvenile figure eight and upgrade when they grow out of it
Thank You for your response.

Brackish plants....Java ferns?? And substrate... Coarse or soft??

Thanks for your future response/ taking the time to view this thread.

Maybe some hard brackish plants will work (idk anything abt brackish plants) hard enough for puffer not to chomp into
i dont know much about brackish plants LOL

Poor Sweet Little Niblit.
I'm sorry I didn't get you friends.
They said it would be fine with just one. I'm sorry I have other fish when I know you should be my one and only sweetheart.
I'm sorry, little Nibbly-Boo. Should I find a home for you with others? Are you young enough to negotiate in a tank with young Whipper-snappers?

I hope I've done okay by you, Sweet Nibbly. You are a dear sweet mini-killer and I hope you forgive me for your teeny 5g and maybe I will move you up to a bigger tank. Or do you want friends?

A penny for your thoughts, Sweet Sir Niblet.

View attachment 149424View attachment 149425View attachment 149426

aww i hope he gets more friends in a bigger tank, ive heard you can keep em together adn taht they like company

 

[PufferLover1]

Hi and welcome to the forum

If you haven't bought the tank yet, perhaps buy a bigger tank now so you don't have to upgrade in a year. Even if you get a 20 gallon high it would give you more water and that can make it easier to keep fish because it dilutes nutrients more.

Marine salts can be expensive if you use a lot, however for a small brackish tank, it shouldn't be too bad. You would use the marine salts at about half strength initially and maybe increase it as the fish gets older.

If you live near the beach/ ocean, and the water is clean, you can collect it and use that instead of using artificial marine salts.

You will also need a hydrometer or refractometer to measure the salinity (salt level). A plastic chamber hydrometer is cheaper than a refractometer but not as accurate.

Hi! I'm posting this update so you guys know I'm not about to stuff a figure 8 in a 12 gal. I am going to my LFS and looking at dwarf puffers & figure eight puffer. I have the ability and space to buy a 20g high, so will most likely buy that. And if I don't I will go with dwarf puffers in 12g. The 12g comes with a filter, but the 20g is supposedly crazy strong so tetras have issues with it... Would a figure eight have those kinda issues? Or is the stronger filter better because they are so messy??

any smaller (such as figure 8, spotted congo, etc) puffer apart from the dwarf puffer need at least closer to 30 gallons in my experience

even with a single juvenile puffer, they produce so much waste that a 12 gallon will be overrun with nitrates before a week is up
realistically, you'd need to do large water changes every 2-3 days, which would be increasingly difficult with a brackish aquarium

you need a significantly larger aquarium to keep more than one in a tank (for bio-load reasons as well as territorial aggression)

soft sand substrate because most puffers enjoy laying at the bottom of the tank

I know very little about keeping brackish tanks, but I advise against it for a beginner puffer keeper unless you have previous experience with brackish aquariums (because of puffer's increased sensitivity to water conditions)

I say the better option would be to go for a group of 4, 5, or 6 dwarf puffers (in a densely planted tank) depending on the dimensions of your 12 gallon

I believe my aquarium shop sells you tank water for tanks because they want the fish to be in "familiarly waters" or something. And I have a friend who knows a lot about brackish. Thank you for your advice! I will NOT put a figure eight in 12g. After research and your help, I realize that it is cruel and wrong to have such a beautiful puffer in a small space.


Thanks to all!!!!!

EDIT:: The tank kit does not include a heater...Recommended heater brands? Thanks!!!!

 

[Colin_T]

Most power filters can be adjusted to reduce the flow.

Get a 100 or 150 watt heater that has a minimum 12 month warranty (2 yrs is better if you can find one with it). Avoid 25, 50 & 75watt heaters because they usually have issues. The 100 or 150 watt heaters seem to have less issues. A 100 watt will do a 20 gallon high but a 150watt will do the 20g high or a 30 gallon. If you are upgrading the tank then a 150 watt heater could be used now and on the bigger tank in the future.

I don't know what brands are available in the US but I used Rena Heaters for yrs and they never caused a problem. Eheim do pretty good heaters.

 

[FF_Member146894]

Hi! I'm posting this update so you guys know I'm not about to stuff a figure 8 in a 12 gal. I am going to my LFS and looking at dwarf puffers & figure eight puffer. I have the ability and space to buy a 20g high, so will most likely buy that. And if I don't I will go with dwarf puffers in 12g. The 12g comes with a filter, but the 20g is supposedly crazy strong so tetras have issues with it... Would a figure eight have those kinda issues? Or is the stronger filter better because they are so messy??

I believe my aquarium shop sells you tank water for tanks because they want the fish to be in "familiarly waters" or something. And I have a friend who knows a lot about brackish. Thank you for your advice! I will NOT put a figure eight in 12g. After research and your help, I realize that it is cruel and wrong to have such a beautiful puffer in a small space.


Thanks to all!!!!!

EDIT:: The tank kit does not include a heater...Recommended heater brands? Thanks!!!!

a filter that comes in a tank "kit" will most likely not be good enough to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0 for puffers (I've tried before)
buy your filter separately and look at a filter that is rated for more than twice the volume of the tank (if you're looking at hang-on-back filters I would go with a fluval aquaclear)

I don't know anything about brackish plants maybe @Colin_T can tell you more about that

also, how are you cycling your tank?

 

[Colin_T]

Most plants can survive with low levels of salt but when the salinity gets up to half strength seawater, use plastic plants because the real ones die.

 

[Sgooosh]

Most plants can survive with low levels of salt but when the salinity gets up to half strength seawater, use plastic plants because the real ones die.

what about sea algae?

 

[Colin_T]

Most marine algae are hard to keep in aquariums and require a salinity that is the same as sea water. There are very few algae/ plants that grow in brackish water with half the salinity of sea water.