I Need Help With A Figure 8 Puffer Fish

[sharz]

I have a 60 litre tank with 1 silver shark (about 3"), 4 red phantom tertas, 5 panda corys and a figure 8 puffer which is about 3 or 4".
I bought the puffer yesterday and he already killed one of my panda corys (he bit its tail off) and im scared he might eat everthing else so i wanted to just ask what you guys think of the whole set up.. n what i should do. i was thinkin to see how it goes as its the 3rd day iv had him now n everythin seems fine. and i wanted to know if my tanks to crowded because i wanted to buy another silver shark lol or maybe a red tailed shark as i really like the sharks. ohh and i wanted to get some puffer dwarfs or maybe 2 loaches. all opinions would be apreciated thanxxxx

 

[nmonks]

Hello and welcome to the board!

Yes, your aquarium is overcrowded. Very overcrowded. And you've also made some bad decisions choosing fish.

To start with, fish don't come in "sizes". A silver shark, by which I assume you mean Balantiocheilos melanopterus, is a schooling fish that gets to over 30 cm in length. So, it needs to be kept in groups and that group should be kept in a large aquarium with lots of swimming space. Your aquarium is something like ten times too small; a 600 litre (150 gallon) aquarium being a much more realistic choice for this species. You three-inch specimen is not a small silver shark, but a baby one, and will get to ten times the length (and therefore one hundred times the mass) of the fish you have now.

Secondly, the figure-8 pufferfish Tetraodon biocellatus isn't a freshwater fish; it's a brackish water fish. While compatible with some brackish water fish species, it can't be kept in a freshwater community tank. Now, because adult figure-8s are only about 8 cm in length, I suspect your bigger and more aggressive fish is actually something else, probably Tetraodon fluviatilis. Juveniles of the two species are often confused by retailers. Tetraodon fluviatilis is much bigger (around 15 cm when fully grown) and notably more prone to biting, in part because its natural diet in the wild includes the fins and scales of other fish. Tetraodon fluviatilis is another brackish water species, and is usually kept alone or alongside other puffers.

There is no chance at all that the puffer you have will settle down or live a healthy life in this aquarium. Indeed, the silver shark is on borrowed time as it is. You have a lot of serious thinking to do. The silver shark needs companions of its own kind (at least two more specimens) as well as a far larger aquarium. The red phantom tetras and the Corydoras are compatible, but note that both species prefer somewhat cooler than normal conditions, so should be kept around 24 degrees C at most, and ideally as cool as 22 degrees C. Obviously, you can't keep them with tropical fish that need warmer water and expect either type of fish to do well. When cool water fish are kept too hot, they are disease-prone and die prematurely; when warm water fish are kept too cool they are disease-prone and die prematurely as well.

Do make an effort to read about fish before buying them. You've made the common mistake here of grabbing the first fish you see and throwing them into a small aquarium. As invariably happens, you've now ended up with a selection of fundamentally incompatible fish.

Cheers, Neale

 

[bitteraspects]

actually figure 8 puffers can be easily acclimated to fresh water as they are often found in full fresh water in the wild.
however, the rest of the information was spot on.
you really need to research your fish before buying them. if youre not prepared, its not fair to the fish to be put in improper conditions at the fault of a keeper who didnt do the research beforehand. please let this be a lesson to you for the future. unfortunately, this is one of the first lessons learned by novice fish keepers, and usually at the expense of the poor fish. its tragic, but it happens. its all a part of the learning process. just take in the information, learn from it, and move forward. in the end it makes you a better fish keeper.

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Tetraodon fluviatilis, is that the ceylon puffer? I bought one of these from my lfs a while ago, it was sold as a different kind of puffer, which was also a brackish fish. But I was assured it was a freshwater fish! Needless to say after a day or 2 he looked in awful condition and I had to re-home him.

 

[bitteraspects]

most lfs will keep them in brackihs water, and if thats the case they will need to go into a brackish tank or slowly acclimated back to fresh water.

 

[nmonks]

actually figure 8 puffers can be easily acclimated to fresh water as they are often found in full fresh water in the wild.

I used to believe this was the case, but it's actually not true. While they certainly are freshwater fish in the wild, in brackish water aquaria they are longer-lived and less disease-prone than when kept in freshwater aquaria. In this they resemble a lot of fish that may be mostly or entirely freshwater species in the wild but aren't in captivity (bumblebee gobies, mollies, knight gobies, orange chromides and green spotted puffers to name a few).

Tetraodon fluviatilis, is that the ceylon puffer? I bought one of these from my lfs a while ago, it was sold as a different kind of puffer, which was also a brackish fish. But I was assured it was a freshwater fish! Needless to say after a day or 2 he looked in awful condition and I had to re-home him.

Yes, Tetraodon fluviatilis is sometimes sold as the Ceylon puffer. It's a freshwater fish in the wild, but very sickly under freshwater conditions in aquaria.

Cheers, Neale

 

[bitteraspects]

sorry, but im gonna have to disagree with you. but a little research will point the OP in the right direction. nuff said.

 

[nmonks]

Disagree if you want, but my book, Frank Schafer's book, and Klaus Ebert's book all strongly recommend that Tetraodon biocellatus be kept in a brackish water aquarium.

Honestly, I used to share your opinion. It's an argument that been gone over and over on the forums and mailing lists. Partly the problem came about because the figure-8 puffer was assumed to be Tetraodon palembangensis, a species that actually does come from (and require) freshwater conditions. So information from the freshwater species got applied to the brackish water one. But even allowing for that, Tetraodon biocellatus does inhabit freshwater habitats in the wild, as reported, for example, on Fishbase. The balance of experience though implies that maintenance in freshwater aquaria doesn't work 100% of the time, so if you want to keep this fish, the safest approach (which is how, as an aquarium writer, I have to work) is to keep them in slightly brackish conditions. SG 1.003-1.005 is ample, so we're not talking a lot of salt. But a little does make all the difference.

Cheers, Neale

sorry, but im gonna have to disagree with you.

 

[jennybugs]

Sharz, I wouldn't ignore Neale's advice as he does know what he's talking about and is very experienced in these matters

 

[kewskills]

.

 

[nmonks]

jennybugs, kewskills, your comments are very kind!

But please, don't take my word for what I'm saying, listen to others too! Funnily enough, the needs of the figure-8 puffer is one of the things I've been totally turned around on. It was listening to aquarists with lots of experience of these fish that changed my mind.

Cheers, Neale

 

[sharz]

thanx for all the replys people. i know the silver shark gets really big but i coildnt resist him coz im in love with the sharks.. i thought if anythiinnng i can just sell him or give him away when he gets to big. so about buyin a red tailed black shark.. is that not recomended then because of the whole overcroweded matter? and 1 more thing, the puffer has a greyish/blackish belly n i heard this means somethings wrong with him.. but it seems to b changing all the time like last night it was perfect white! n now its grey again! and nobody mentioned anything about puffer dwarfsss

 

[nmonks]

Dwarf puffers: not a chance. They are not community fish.

Red-tailed black shark: no way. Needs much more space than you have. Highly territorial and aggressive. Even a 250 litre aquarium will be dominated by these fish, let alone a mere 60 litres.

Grey bellies on puffers: yes, often means sick/stressed. Many reasons why this would be in your aquarium; wrong water chemistry, poor water quality, inadequate swimming space.

Look, it's important to get the fundamentals right. This tank is barely big enough for guppies, let alone the demanding species you seem to want to maintain. Asking questions is great, and we're all happy to help or we wouldn't be here. But the idea is to ask the questions before buying the fish. Giving away a silver shark isn't nearly as easy as you think, and if you've got a fish that needs to be kept in a group, why keep just one? Being "in love with sharks" is nice, but how about treating those sharks properly. If you simply like sharks, then get some books, a poster, a toy shark from the Natural History Museum. If you want to keep a shark, then appreciate its needs, and set up a tank around them.

Cheers, Neale

 

[jennybugs]

Agreed, you need to rehome the unsuitable fish asap

You wouldn't keep a baby in a box with the mind of giving it away when it outgrows the box, especially when you've been told/know the baby will outgrow it anyway...not even if the baby looked so cute in the box and you really wanted one so to hell with it, would you?

 

[sharz]

ok thanx.. i really want to keep the shark so i think il just get a bigger tank.. btw i apreciate your help Neal but the 'Natural History Museum' comment was not apreciated and uncalled for to be honest.