Why is my puffer not aggresive?

[KingKuba]

Everyone says, puffers are aggresive, watchout for your fish. this and that.

I have F8P right now, its decent size. 3-4" atleast. its such a whuss, doesent chase anyone, doesent attack anyone:sad

it runs like hell from my convict which is smaller.

I'm feeding him shells and shrimp mostly cause he won't eat anything else, not even blood worms. Soon i'll get him some snails I think.

What's wrong with him?

[MonoSebaelover]

Convicts and Puffers require totally different water conditions so should not be housed together. Puffers require brackish water and convicts hate salt. So they should be seperated and puffers are not really aggressive to other fish. They won't kill them they generally will just fin nip other fish.

[Dangerdoll]

Although most puffers require salt or brackish conditions, not all do. Figure-eights are FW puffers and can tolerate brackish, a little salt will do them best. Not all puffers exhibit aggressiveness, I
believe there is 1 or 2 that cannot be housed with anything else including it's own species because of the aggression...... however, I've found with some puffers (and it varies), the aggressiveness and/or fin-nippish behavior is clearly an individually characteristic.

I'm no expert on convict's though but I would agree though about housing the convict and puffer together, the convict is too aggressive and may cause damage to the puffer being it's so timid. I don't know about fig-8's but generally, puffers release a toxin when dying or injured and if the convict does good damage, that could be the end of all of them.

[cdawson]

Figure eights are brackish fish, please don't try and add to a myth that's done enough damage already. RTR has kept puffers for over 40 years I think he knows a little more than the average hobbyist.

[cdawson]

Figure eights are brackish fish, please don't try and add to a myth that's done enough damage already. Sure, some puffers are FW but figure eights are not one of them. Even most pet shops know well enough to put their figure eights in brackish water.

[Dangerdoll]

I wasn't adding myth anywhere..... I said they do best with a little salt.... but they are listed in a lot of places as a freshwater fish.... I never discounted anyone's practices on keeping puffers and their needs, certainly not RTR's so I don't know where that came from.

[Pufferpunk]

Although F8s have been known to be captured in FW (which is why Fishbase lists them as such) It is not the best condition for them to be kept at in captivity. Low-end BW (1.005-10) is best for they health, growth, coloring & all around well being!

[RTR]

If anybody can point to keeping F8s in FW for >18 years, I'd really like to know about it. In BW my longest-lived were 18+, 16++, 16, & 15+ years. All were light BW. So, my conclusion is that under my care they are best in BW.

But I'm willing to learn from anybody's alternate techniques...

[vance]

rtr. im going to get three figure 8 puffers tommorow or the next day. depends which day the lfs has them delivered. i a m going to put them in a 29 gallon already cycled tank. i have been slowly raising the salt content in this tank for the last week and a half. it is at 1.005 right now. since you have kept these guys for a long time could you please srite me back with any experience or suggestions. thanks.

[Pufferpunk]

Make sure that's the same SG the puffers are being kept at the lfs you're getting them from. It's easier to raise the SG later, then spend 5 hours acclimating them from FW to 1.005.

http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/8puffer.shtml

[vance]

thanks for the info. good article. thanks pufferpunk

[RTR]

Agree w/PP. Its better to have them in water comparable to what they been in the LFS to start, then build up. My LFS formerly had them in very barely salted water (as in Ich treatment levels ~1 tsp per gallon). I think/hope I've trained them better.

PP has already given you the article, so that is my basic technique.

[cdawson]

Originally posted by cdawson
Figure eights are brackish fish, please don't try and add to a myth that's done enough damage already. RTR has kept puffers for over 40 years I think he knows a little more than the average hobbyist.

WTH?! I edited this message and corrected myself and it made another message?! wierd.