Figure 8 Puffer And Rope Fish

[dixiegirl916]

I just started a 30 gallon fresh water tank. I am really excited because this is my first fresh water tank. (ive only done salt so far) but i want a figure 8 puffer and a rope fish, but can they coexist together? Im going to line the tank with plants, and i already have some drift wood in the tank. after i get everything, im going to slowly add salt and make a brackish tank. (i know they live better and longer in thoes conditions) but i was wondering if any one had any advice on the subject.
Also if you know of any fish i can put with a puffer and rope fish let me know. right now i just have 5 tetras in the tank so i can start the nitrite cycle.

thanks
Kristina

 

[simonas]

Hi Kristina

I keep both fish but in seperate tanks. My fig 8 is in a bracksih tank with waspfish and knight gobies and they are nasty little buggers sometimes, really nippy however I am just about getting away with it

As far as ropefish are concerned I have 4 as they prefer being in groups, You would probably find one on its own quite miserable as they do miunigle wth each other and rest in a twisted knot, plus mine are about 15 inches long and have potential to get bigger so your tank wouldn;t be big enough!! Mine are in my 150 gallon and they use all the space to swim around in as they are quite active

Im not sure for definate but I also do not think rope fish are brackish fish.

Personally I wouldn;t recommend the mix and I certainly wouldn;t recommend one ropefish for your brackish tank

 

[nmonks]

Ropefish certainly do occur in slightly brackish water, but to be honest, I'd not keep them above 10% seawater salinity, around SG 1.003 at 25 C. It's generally best to keep them in a freshwater tank, though at a low salinity, you could mix them with knight gobies, mollies, etc.

But as far as keeping them with puffers -- no way! I agree 100% with simonas above; I have seen both bichirs and ropefish literally fin-less thanks to being mixed with nippy fish. These armoured fish are too slow to react, and once puffers have learned there's an easy meal in the tank with them, they tend to be persistent.

Figure-8s are best kept with gobies and the like, and perhaps some of the more punchy brackish water species like orange chromides and Florida flagfish. They shouldn't be kept with obvious targets, even though they are, by puffer standards, pretty well behaved.

Cheers, Neale