Figure 8 Puffer Your Views On How They Should Be Kept?

[BETTY BOO]

ive been reading up on figure 8 puffers for the last few months but ive had an interest in them for the last 3yrs.

ive read so many people say there 100% only brackish
others have said they are 100% freshwater
and others say they are fine in freshwater as juveniles but should be converted to brackish later.
all the info i have read have come from figure 8 puffer owners and not from lfs.i dont ever bother asking them.
anyway why is there so much different advise??
are they 1 or the other or are they both??

some people say how would a tank bred puffer know how a wild puffer lives???
some say a clownfish in the wild knows exactly what an anemone is where as you stick one in with a tankbred clown and there like what the heck is that? im not saying i agree or disagree.i would just love to hear your views on them and your experiences on keeping them.so many people say they have had success in keeping them both ways so there comes the confusion.

ive decided to keep them myself.my lfs get them in freshwater so i have decided to convert them to brackish in the next month.they get them in at 1 inch.do you think me keeping them in freshwater for 3/4 weeks then slowly turning them brackish will be fine?? i pick them up sat morning.

 

[myenigmaself]

Sorry I don't have references, but here's my understanding:

Figure 8 puffers should be in low-end brackish water. That is the type of water they have evolved in and it is the type of water their biology is best suited for. They can tolerate fresh water, but they won't be as healthy (it will cut their lifespan and make them more susceptible to disease).

There may be some truth that juveniles should be in even lower end brackish to fresh water, however almost all figure 8s you find in a LFS are adults.

This understanding comes from having kept figure 8 puffers for 3 years and all the research I did when I first got them. Lots of info from nmonks too.

 

[iliveinazoo]

I don't think that they've ever been collected in anything other than freshwater conditions in the wild but myenigmaself hit the nail on the head with disease susceptibility, they will do best in low salinity water SG1.003-SG1.005@25DegC will be fine.