Newcomers To Brackish Fish

[Bubblingrey]

Hello! My wife and I have been debating getting fish for a while , so a bit ago we began doing a bit of thought and a bit of investment into a tank and other accessories (boy has tank technology made leaps and bounds sense i was a kid).

Anyways, we are growing near the end of our cycling process in our tank , the PH level is between 7.5 and 8, the SG of our tank is at 1.006 and the temperature is a consistent 79 - 80 degrease F. We also have a Fluval Filter without any carbon in it, and a powerhead within the tank as well, (using it for aeration and circulation). Oh and speaking of the tank it is a 20 gallon tank.

At the pet-store waiting for us I believe is a figure 8 puffer but the pet store is telling us that it is a green spotted one (looking at pictures i still think it is a figure 8 ). Now here comes the question: what could we put as a tank mate in with him ? We have read that they can co-exist with bumblebee goby; although, we do not know how many we could potentially put in. Or, should we look into getting another puffer to go in the tank with him. Can you mix a green spotted with a figure 8 (at another pet-store i have seen green spotted ones that look like green spotted ones form pictures)

Thanks!

 

[nmonks]

You can't reliably keep much with figure-8 puffers apart from other figure-8 puffers, so that's perhaps the way forward. Some folks have kept them with bumblebee gobies, so that's at least one option, but I personally find bumblebee gobies challenging to feed and prefer to keep them in quiet tanks without any aggressive feeders.

Figure-8s are easy to identify: they have two yellow circles on each side of the body. That's why their Latin name is Tetraodon biocellatus, the "biocellatus" part of the name meaning "two eye spots". One is on the caudal peduncle (the "stem" part of the body in front the tail fin) and the other midway along the body towards the dorsal surface. If your puffer lacks these, it's almost certainly not Tetraodon biocellatus.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Bubblingrey]

I don’t have the picture particularly of the specific fish at the pet store waiting for us , and i don’t recall the figure 8 on its back. Although the striking thing about this particular fish is that its body was mostly black (or completely black) with thin veins of yellow running through it , in a ring or vein like pattern.

Perhaps when we finally pick him up i will post a picture to help identify the species exactly, but as a note on the tank it said spotted puffer , not green spotted puffer. Also would a 20 gallon tank be to small for 2 figure 8’s if that ends up what it is ?

 

[jennybugs]

Ideally, it's 15 gallons of water for the first F8 and another 10 gallons per extra fish.

I'd definately recommend making sure 100% that you know what the puffer is that you're buying BEFORE you buy it and bring it home, and look into it's care and needs so you're fully prepared and secure in the knowledge that the puffer/s you get will not outgrow your tank Get the latin name of the fish to be extra certain! Too many LFS have puffers for sale that have turned out to be totally unsuitable for someone's tank, bought as an impulse buy because they 'looked so cute' when small

I have 2 F8s in a 30 gallon tank with 5 bumble bee gobies HERE is my diary with photos

 

[Bubblingrey]

We had gone to see it again and it is definitely a F8. We were prepared to have the tank set up for either kind, just had to wait longer to pick it up. It was really just dependant on whether we got more to go with him, to be honest. We already have everything set up for the F8's needs. We'll be thinking more seriously about whether we should even try Bumblebee gobies or just stick with what we have. Thanks for your help!