Can You Keep A Puffer Fish In A 28L Tank?

[maisy12345]

Hi, I saw a puffer fish at my lfs, it was only about 2cm long ,the man said it would grow to about 7cm,but was carnivorous so wasn`t a community fish and had to be kept on own ,can i keep it in my 28l tank?

 

[kizno1]

Its probably likly to get alot bigger than what he said, but if you can get a Dwarf puffer that would work perfectly in the tank aslong as theres no other fish in there.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks for that ,no i`d keep it on it`s own ,without shrimp even as i suppose it would eat them.

 

[Duz]

Depending on the type of puffer fish it might grow to about 7cm but it might just as eaily grow to be bigger (in other words I'm not too sure ). I know dwarf puffers grow to about 2cm (just under an inch). But like he said puffer should be kept in a single species tank. Do you know what the name of the puffer fish was? Or did it just say puffer fish?

 

[Kelly-Jo]

This is exactly what I'm hoping to do with a 30L later this year, except with a dwarf puffer

 

[maisy12345]

Hi,have just phoned up lfs and they`re called figure of 8 puffer fish ,he said they grow to 2 inches long ,and that i could keep about 5 in my 28l tank ,any comments on this?

 

[ZoddyZod]

Hi,have just phoned up lfs and they`re called figure of 8 puffer fish ,he said they grow to 2 inches long ,and that i could keep about 5 in my 28l tank ,any comments on this?

Figure 8's are a brackish water species, they need marine salt added to the water to stay healthy. They also reach 3 inches so I think a 29L will be a bit small for them. Puffers are generally inquisitive and need an 'interesting' environment (they get 'bored' without lots of objects to investigate). By restricting them in small tanks you will not be providing the optimum captive environment.


oh, and I am talking about keeping ONE in a 28l.....you certainly can't keep 5 of them in a tank that size.

 

[Swizz]

Personally I wouldn't keep one in a 28L. I had five myself a few years back, and they where in a 55g tank. They can become quite messy also, so a good filtration system is needed too.

 

[maisy12345]

Also ,is there a dried food you could feed them on ,supplemented by bloodworms.,as i don`t fancy feeding them all those others?

 

[maisy12345]

Hi ,totally confused ,some of you say i can ,some say i can`t ,and some say tropical ,some brackish [how do you get brackish water ,is it difficult to do,by the way,also can i feed flaked or dried food?

 

[ZoddyZod]

Hi ,totally confused ,some of you say i can ,some say i can`t ,and some say tropical ,some brackish [how do you get brackish water ,is it difficult to do,by the way,also can i feed flaked or dried food?

Brackish water is basically somewhere between fresh and full marine/salt water. You would need to buy marine salt and add that (at measured levels) to the water. You will need a refractometer to measure the water and ensure it is at the correct level of salt content.

I stand by saying that a 28l aquarium is not big enough for 1 figure 8 puffer.

For food, you need to provide snails in the diet. The reason for this is that the puffers teeth are fast growing and without something hard to grind them down (snail shells) you may well find that you need to perform 'dentistry' on the fish by trimming the teeth by hand. Not sure if these fish take to flake/dried foods.

You might try asking about figure 8's in the brackish water sub-foum of this site.

Also found this link which has some good info
http/www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/jan09/figurepuffer.htm
Not sure I'm allowed to post a link to this site, but it's not a forum so assume so???

 

[Swizz]

I also understand that a figure of 8 Puffer will need at least a 13-15 gallon tank, then each additional Puffer, add another 10 gallons on to that.

 

[STEWARDSONS]

my brother had a green spotted puffer on his own in a 30ltr biorb. it out grew it so he now has it in a 95ltr tank.

something to note is these fish are brackish fish and they create a lot of poop, even one on its own.

in regards to feeding they are savages

 

[StandbySetting]

The only species of puffer suitable would be C. travancoricus or C.imitator, with C. travancoricus being the most commonly sold, both are Dwarf species, and are fresh water, 28L Is no way near big enough for a figure of 8 puffer, nor could you keep a Green Spotted Puffer.

Personally, I find Dwarf Puffers boring, their behaviour is interesting for a few weeks, but you'll rarely see them, I'd keep 2 in a 28L but make sure it is well planted with lots of hard scape, and when I say well planted, I mean 70+% substrate coverage.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks for all your replies ,i think i`ll keep looking for something more suitable and interesting.