new figure 8 puffers

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A

aimsz88

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Nov 7, 2004
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hi all,


just got figure 8 puffers and have had them for a few days now...just had a few questions.

now i know theyr'e brackish, so i've been slow dripping them into a .002 difference in salinity so far (going to take it really slow). they seem a bit uh, lethargic. they were more hyper when i brought them home, but i've heard they're not that active to begin with. are they adjusting to new surroundings and water or are they getting sick?

also, the lfs said they fed them live worms...and i am trying to feed them frozen brine until i can start breeding them live brine shrimp and live snails. they're not that interested in the food, frankly...and love taking food into their mouth and spitting remnants back out. is this ok?

because now they won't really eat that much. are they ok?


thanks for any advice!
 
R

RTR

AC Members
Oct 5, 1998
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Braddock Heights, MD
What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate readings?

Frozen brine shrimp are of low nutritional value, do more pollutution than nutrition.

Try frozen bloodworms and/or frozen krill until you have snails for feeding them. It thay doesn't work, use live ghost shrimp.

But first be sure the water is okay.
 
A

aimsz88

AC Members
Nov 7, 2004
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water parameters

temp 78 (planning to add heater to bring over 80 degrees)
1.002 SG

ammonia 1 ppm
nitrite .5 ppm
nitrates 40 ppm

and after i did these readings i went and changed 30 percent of the water. =). are these ok?
 
Puffernewbee

Puffernewbee

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Dec 9, 2004
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I agree with RTR, what are you readings on ammonia, nitrites and nitrates?
just saw your posting after posting mine. Need to get the nitrates down as well as the ammonia. Wait a few hours after the change and test again.
Want your amminia below .5 and the nitrates below 20.

Also, how many do you have and what size tank are they in?

Where they in fresh or brackish at the pet store? My LFS keeps theirs in brackish tanks. If your LFS did also, they may not appreciate the lower salinity.

Figure 8's from what I have not been readily bred in captivity so almost all (possibly all) are wild caught. You may want to try some live ghost shrimp to see if you can get some reaction out of them. They are not used to non moving dried foods. You should also go to your LFS and see if you can get snails from their tanks. My local PETSMART lets me come by every Wednesday and pick the snails out of their tanks which helps both of us. I get free snails and they get someone to clean their tanks.

My F8 has never had a problem with food. He loves the frozen bloodworms (sucks them out of an eyedropper like spaghetti) and snails. His favorite is probably the ghost shrimp which he chases all over the tank until he gets it.

Good luck
 
Last edited:
R

RTR

AC Members
Oct 5, 1998
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Braddock Heights, MD
No, all three are much too high. You need to do another 50% water change and perhaps another immediately after that. Those ammonia and nitrite levels can kill the fish. Puffers do not handle those well at all.
 
A

aimsz88

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Nov 7, 2004
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ok, what about...

thanks, rtr, will do those water changes immediately. i did another one already last night after those numbers i gave you, but it seems like they should be lower. what are the upper limits of good numbers for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?

oh, puffernewbee, i have three of them in a 10 gallon. lots of plants for them to stay away from each other, but they like hanging out together for some reason. although they like to attack the gravel cleaner. they chomp and attack it.

the lfs says they bought their f8 puffers from a source that keeps them freshwater, and in the fish store they keep them freshwater too. i figure they're better off brackish so i'm working on that.

will call petco about snails. thanks!
 
Liz

Liz

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Mar 25, 2005
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I am guessing that three in 10 gallons is overstocking, considering you need 3 gallons per dwarf puffer and those are only 1".

Just an uneducated assumption though.

Even just from reading some posts on here it sounds like you should only have one for a ten gallon.
 
Oddball~

Oddball~

Brackhead
Nov 18, 2004
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Dallas, TX
Liz said:
I am guessing that three in 10 gallons is overstocking, considering you need 3 gallons per dwarf puffer and those are only 1".

Just an uneducated assumption though.

Even just from reading some posts on here it sounds like you should only have one for a ten gallon.
Click to expand...
Not sure what DPs have to do with this, but you are right, only one puffer per 10 gallon
 
Liz

Liz

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Mar 25, 2005
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I was just saying that DP's are smaller than f8's and you're only supposed to have three of them in a 10 gal, and if the f8's are bigger than I was assuming it wouldn't be okay to have the same number in the same size tank.
 
A

aimsz88

AC Members
Nov 7, 2004
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you're right

yeah, you're all right...

i shouldn't have listened to the lfs. i knew that dwarf puffers were about 3-4 per 10 gallon, and just got sidetracked by how cool the f8 puffers were. i wasn't thinking, and the guy at the lfs was very convincing.

i'm pretty obsessive compulsive at times, and i don't think i can take my puffers back, so i just have to settle with keeping my tank pristine until i can setup my new tanks to move the puffers around. i hope that'll do for now. *sigh*.

they're not eating these days so i'm raising live brine shrimp for them. rtr said they were not very nutritious, but i'm working on setting up my snail breeding tank, so hope they can do ok until then.

what do you guys think?
 
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