Buying A F8 Puffer

[bosshogg2003]

Hi all I need some advice, so what’s new!

I have a 90-litre tank in my office/spare room that is currently housing 1 x plec and 2 x angelfish until I transfer them to my 250 litre tropical tank.

My intention is to buy a F8 puffer for my 90 litres and keep it on its own. I have a fluval 2 filter in there at the moment but have a fluval 3 left over from going external on my large tank. I intend to use the filter media from the smaller filter to seed the larger filter.

I have an air stone and rocks etc, but from reading posts I need to buy more rock to provide hiding places and interest for the F8.

I have researched the feeding and I suggest buying various live food from my lfs and keeping in my beer fridge (yes I have more than one hobby) until needed, I had thought about buying various bags of food and combining in one large jar, I also intend to buy cockles and muscles from Sainsbury’s and keep in the fridge as these I believe are also needed for the teeth. Is frozen better(yes the beer fridge has a freezer compartment)

Ok. My problems are as follows and where I need the help

1. I will be buying the F8 from my local Maidenhead shop will their water be fresh or brackish?
2. If above is fresh I understand that I need to increase the specific gravity to around 1.005 with marine
salt, but over what period and quantity?
3. What quantity and frequency do I feed?
4. I am also worried about algae build up so how can this be controlled
5. Live or fake plants?
6. Temperature seems to be a bit vague dependent on salinity?
7. Any other considerations, like do they go for you when changing the filter?

Sorry for asking so much but I believe that it would be unfair for the fish not to.

 

[Flumpus]

I've had a figure eight for about a year and a half now, so I'll try to answer what I can based on my experiences...

1. I will be buying the F8 from my local Maidenhead shop will their water be fresh or brackish?

Depends on the store. Mine were from freshwater, and while I've never been to Maidenhead, most come in freshwater as juveniles from what I understand.

2. If above is fresh I understand that I need to increase the specific gravity to around 1.005 with marine
salt, but over what period and quantity?

It's not really an urgent problem. Figure 8s live in freshwater in the wild, so can easily survive for months in freshwater at home with no ill effects. Personally, I cycled the tank at 1.005, and just acclimated the figure 8 to that specific gravity immediately. If you don't want to do that, just raise the salinity slowly with water changes (take out water, put in saltier water). Never put the salt directly into the tank.

3. What quantity and frequency do I feed?

I feed what all the fish in the tank can eat in about five minutes, every other day. At first I fed everyday, and I had quite the fat little puffer. He's slimmed down a bit now, but isn't skinny. He looks healthy with what I'm feeding. Also, you mentioned live food. This isn't really necessary. I've occasionally fed live shrimp, but mine eats frozen mysis, brine, clams (on the half shell), plankton, and bloodworm, no problems.

4. I am also worried about algae build up so how can this be controlled

This is a tough question. You can use live plants to control the algae, but I've embraced it. Once you have a nice carpet of algae on the rocks and back glass, it looks pretty natural. I would suggest just keeping up with water changes, using some live plants if you'd like, otherwise don't worry about it, and just keep the front glass (and sides if you want) clean with a magfloat.

5. Live or fake plants?

I tried fake plants and they got kind of nasty after about a year. I ended up grabbing some java moss from my freshwater tank and put it in there. It's growing slowly, but it is growing. If you want to use live plants as a means to control algae, check out the pinned topic.

6. Temperature seems to be a bit vague dependent on salinity?

I keep my tank at 78.

7. Any other considerations, like do they go for you when changing the filter?

Mine doesn't go for me when I'm doing water changes. In fact, he's a pretty friendly fish. He loves to watch me when I'm working at my computer late at night.

 

[bosshogg2003]

Thank you very much for the reply its exactly what I needed to know.

Off to Maidenhead on Friday then!!

 

[little mojo]

Thank you very much for the reply its exactly what I needed to know.

Off to Maidenhead on Friday then!!

Thanks very much for this helpful advice. These are some of the questions I wanted to ask.

On what is said, I think I am feeding my 2 fig8's too much! I feed them a small quantity of frozen mosquito lava twice a day with the occasional small bit of mussle as a substitute. They seem ok but I must admit I wouldnt know what a fat puffer looks like. I do a gravel clean and 20% water change most weeks (and never leave it longer then 14 days) and add a very little aquarium salt to the water but havent yet learnt to check salinity. I keep them somewhere between 76 - 78 (my temperatures not too easy to read). They seem happy enough.

 

[kjharve]

Thank you very much for the reply its exactly what I needed to know.

Off to Maidenhead on Friday then!!

Thanks very much for this helpful advice. These are some of the questions I wanted to ask.

On what is said, I think I am feeding my 2 fig8's too much! I feed them a small quantity of frozen mosquito lava twice a day with the occasional small bit of mussle as a substitute. They seem ok but I must admit I wouldnt know what a fat puffer looks like. I do a gravel clean and 20% water change most weeks (and never leave it longer then 14 days) and add a very little aquarium salt to the water but havent yet learnt to check salinity. I keep them somewhere between 76 - 78 (my temperatures not too easy to read). They seem happy enough.

F8s are usually very good at letting you know if they're not happy. Their colours will fade and they will be very withdrawn. If they seem happy then you must be doing something right.

I feed my F8s once a day and have one day a week when I don't feed them at all. Are the mussels you feed them in the shell? If not, it might be an idea to introduce some food on shell once or twice a week. Prawns are easy enough and frozen cockles can normally be found in pet shops. Snails are ideal but can be harder to get your hands on.

It sounds as if your temperature is about right and I wouldn't worry too much about the level of salt in the tank. The very nature of brackish water means the level of salt can vary. Mine tends to range between 1.002 and 1.007 sg - I don't add salt at every water change, until salt gets low.

Hope this helps.

 

[little mojo]

Thank you very much for the reply its exactly what I needed to know.

Off to Maidenhead on Friday then!!

Thanks very much for this helpful advice. These are some of the questions I wanted to ask.

On what is said, I think I am feeding my 2 fig8's too much! I feed them a small quantity of frozen mosquito lava twice a day with the occasional small bit of mussle as a substitute. They seem ok but I must admit I wouldnt know what a fat puffer looks like. I do a gravel clean and 20% water change most weeks (and never leave it longer then 14 days) and add a very little aquarium salt to the water but havent yet learnt to check salinity. I keep them somewhere between 76 - 78 (my temperatures not too easy to read). They seem happy enough.

F8s are usually very good at letting you know if they're not happy. Their colours will fade and they will be very withdrawn. If they seem happy then you must be doing something right.

I feed my F8s once a day and have one day a week when I don't feed them at all. Are the mussels you feed them in the shell? If not, it might be an idea to introduce some food on shell once or twice a week. Prawns are easy enough and frozen cockles can normally be found in pet shops. Snails are ideal but can be harder to get your hands on.

It sounds as if your temperature is about right and I wouldn't worry too much about the level of salt in the tank. The very nature of brackish water means the level of salt can vary. Mine tends to range between 1.002 and 1.007 sg - I don't add salt at every water change, until salt gets low.

Hope this helps.

Thanks very much. I hadnt thought of food on shell and will give it a go.

 

[kjharve]

Just one more word of advice:

If you're keeping your fish food in your beer fridge, just be careful if you're having a bit of a session. Although beer into the fish tank would not be good, a mouthful of mosquito larvae has to be worse!!!

 

[Flumpus]

Just to add to the whole food on a shell thing... I feed clam on the half shell once or twice a week, and while the puffer doesn't really HAVE to break the shell to get to the food, there are a lot of broken shells in the tank, and he's the only one that could be doing it. It's also fun to see other fish try to get in the shell and eat the clam. One of my knight gobies got the shell on his face, and swam full speed into the side of the tank. It made this really loud sound and was one of the funniest things I've seen my fish do.

 

[bosshogg2003]

Just one more word of advice:

If you're keeping your fish food in your beer fridge, just be careful if you're having a bit of a session. Although beer into the fish tank would not be good, a mouthful of mosquito larvae has to be worse!!!

Ermm I don’t fancy the tasty mouthful you suggest, but if I am that puffered or similar I think I would deserve it!!

Thanks for all the replies I am definitely happier with what I know now. I don’t like lfs they give so much bull, best to ask here I think.

Only a day or so to go before I get my F8 I can’t wait.

 

[MadCatter]

1. I will be buying the F8 from my local Maidenhead shop will their water be fresh or brackish?
2. If above is fresh I understand that I need to increase the specific gravity to around 1.005 with marine
salt, but over what period and quantity?
3. What quantity and frequency do I feed?
4. I am also worried about algae build up so how can this be controlled
5. Live or fake plants?
6. Temperature seems to be a bit vague dependent on salinity?
7. Any other considerations, like do they go for you when changing the filter?

It's good that you ask lots of questions It keeps your fish as safe and healthy as possible!

I've found that the F8s that I've kept (at one point had up to 3, but they ate so much I couldn't afford them all!), have been extremely hardy. Obviously, the slower you can acclimate, the smoother things will go, but i personally wouldn't be too concerned with the speed unless you just toss them in (bad idea). I haven't had any luck with live plants in my tank (they've all had to be moved to my 5 gallon freshwater), but it's worth a try as they have worked for others. I keep my temperature at about 78 degrees as well. My f8 is quite the pansy, and I have to be careful how often I mess with the water/tank decorations because it stresses him out just when I'm thawing out a cube of food and only a couple fingers are in the tank.

It's a good idea to have plenty of live/frozen food items to try out, as they can be picky sometimes. I wish I would've started out trying to feed my puffers with something a little less appetizing... unfortunately, now he is hooked on live ghost shrimp only. He did eat tubifex once recently because the lfs ran out of ghost shrimp and I didn't have any left in my tank - but they were just tiny bites and not really enough. Plus - the F8 will need something 'hard' to eat for it's beak.

 

[bosshogg2003]

Got my F8 today, he’s a little shy at the moment but I have been keeping the light off. He’s starting to investigate about a third of the tank, but I have read somewhere that it can take a week or more for them to settle.

One thing though I didn’t realise they regurgitate food, when I got him he had just been fed, you can imagine my reaction watching him later, luckily he’s in my office so straight on to Google!

Thanks again for all the help