I've sinned again...

Heehee I'm SO excited! I fell in love with "figure of 8 dwarf puffers" today and ordered 2 for my biorb which I will now have to turn into a brackish tank They won't be ready for 3 weeks yet so I've got time to set it all up and research the water although I think I read enough today.. can't take anymore in! Anyone got any experience of brackish tanks?

 

Yes - they are exceptionally easy to take care of. As long as you maintain the salinity they'll be fine. Actually, some people even say to make sure it fluctuates - though it's unnecessary, it does bring up the point that they live in constantly changing salinity in the wild so it probably wouldn't be that bad if it did change.

Salinity recommendations differ, try and find the average of what is said to be used for your puffers.

 

Ah thanks Marc - you got a load of fish!

 

Working on getting more, too

 

I've been tenpted by them before myself But not having the room or the brackish water has stopped me for now. I belive they need more room than the bio-orb though. Heres a link with really good pictures too

Carol

 

Carol I'm so glad you showed me this site... its amazing what conflicting websites you can read! Some say f8's only get to 3 cm's (maybe got their inches and cm's confused) and some of them say not to mix them with anything else whereas this site says "Only mildly aggressive to peaceful, figure eight pufferfish are among the better candidates for a community tank".I might try them in the big tank with the platys and glassfish as there is still plenty of space in there. My biorb is the 8 gallon version so I calculated that there is enough space for 2 but it would be nicer to put them in the big tank and have another betta in my biorb

 

Sounds good to me for the puffers. NOW the Betta.... is the bio-orb open so the betta can get to fresh air to breathe?
Carol

 

Yes its got the breathing holes at the top - its where Taro lived ;D

 

I've seen those kind of fish at Petco, they were so cool looking.

 

Hey CherI Ann! Which ones are you referring to?

 

I wouldn't put the puffer in with the platys.  Mildly aggressive is way understated.  You'll see a lot of fin nipping and agressiveness towards other fish.  Dwarf puffers, not figure 8's, are more suited for a community tank.  Check this site out:

 

Yeah I have been reading and asking a lot at the lfs etc and I think the puffers are gonna go in the biorb for now and then then when they get bigger I'm gonna get them their own tank cos I don't want them biting the platys etc. I had dwarf puffers before and they were not suitable for a community tank either - they were vicious little creatures but SUCH characters ;D

 

Juts reading that link you sent me Smillermom - it contradicts a lot of what the other site said. no wonder so many people get fish-keeping wrong > There just never seems to be a definite yes or no with many fish and its all so confusing! Anyway my rant over lol

 

Puffers are okay as long as the other fish have plenty of hiding spots and plants in your tank. I'd hate to hear you had a massacre! Dwarf, not figure eights! They are suited more for community tanks. Bigger tanks.

 

Well I have to put that plan on hold now anyway :-[ I phoned to check they were in today and the lady said they were all really sick and none expected to survive but she didn't say what was wrong with them. She said they won't get another delivery for a few months and they don't have a supplier for dwarf puffers anymore so I'll have to track some down somewhere else.

 

I'm sorry, I know how you were anxious for tehm.
Carol

 

Thanks Carole... maybe it just wasn't to be. I am doing the rounds of the lfs's every few days to see if there's something that catches my eye but nothing so far. I am really looking for another betta too but none of them have any character! :-\