# Figure eight puffer



## Ugenstugen (Jan 6, 2004)

How fast does a figure eight puffer grow? I have access to several that are about 2 in. How many of them could I put in a 72 gal tank? What water conditions (temp., ph, etc.) do they prefer? Any info will help...Thanks


----------



## Ugenstugen (Jan 6, 2004)

Anyone...


----------



## r0d1mus (Jul 5, 2004)

Im not sure of the growth rate..... but they do best in brackish water...


----------



## Ugenstugen (Jan 6, 2004)

To convert a freshwater tank to brackish tank, do you just need to add a little salt? I am not sure of how to make a tank brackish...


----------



## SLANTED (Dec 7, 2003)

If you have fish already in the tank, you don't want to change from fresh to brackish too drastically. Start with a table spoon of salt for every 5 gals of water and go from there. Here is a good link to brackish water environments and fish.

brackish water aquarium


----------



## mpdt (Jul 16, 2003)

If the FEP's are doing well in freshwater then don't add salt. I converted my FEP to freshwater so I didn't have to buy any more salt. He's doing great. As for growth, Most FEP's get from 3-5 inches. If you had enough hiding spots in your 72g tank then I would say about no more than 8 with no other fish in the tank.


----------



## Pufferpunk (Mar 9, 2004)

F8s grow to 2 1/2-3". That's it. They are slow growers. In a tank that size, you could have a lovely assortment of BW fish in there w/F8s. 1 F8/10g. Gobies are good tankmates for them. To make a tank brackish, you need _marine _salt & a hydrometer. You can't raise the SG (specific gravity, a measurement of salt) more than .002/weekly water change, if the tank is already established. If it is newly set-up, you can cycle the tank at whatever SG the puffers are kept in at your LFS (most are mistakenly kept in FW







).

Here's a great article on them: F8 puffers


----------



## mpdt (Jul 16, 2003)

I have sold FEP's at 4" before at LFS I work at. And yes they can live in freshwater.


----------



## Pufferpunk (Mar 9, 2004)

Many times ceylon puffers (T fluviatilis) have been sold as F8s, mixed in with the batch. I've found 2 myself. They look very similar. F8s do not grow that large.


----------



## mpdt (Jul 16, 2003)

Yes they do.


----------



## EnFuego (May 27, 2004)

I'm going to have to agree with pufferpunk on this...I have done quite a bit of research on puffers and the majority of what I found says that they reach a max of 3".


----------



## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

fig 8 puffers are bracksih, you need to use instant ocean marine salt, it is basically half salt, half fresh. ph from 7.5-8.3 salinity .0008-.0011. i say you can keep around 10 in that tank, just keep an eye on them, they can be little fin nippers, but usually are pretty peaceful. if you can find more than a few, jacks aquarium usually has about 3-5 in each of their stores, they have many stores, so you can just go on a puffer pickup day one day.


----------



## Pufferpunk (Mar 9, 2004)

> i say you can keep around 10 in that tank












At least 10-15g/F8. You can always add gobies for more interest.


----------



## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

figure eights harsh only get up to 3 inches. ive never ever seen one bigger.

yes...they CAN live in freshwater...for a period of time. if you decide to keep it in freshwater, then your puffer wont be kickin' it for too long. they need more and more salt as they mature. or else your puffer will die years before he is supposed to.


----------



## Pufferpunk (Mar 9, 2004)

Actually after many years of research, keeping several tanks at a time, it has been found they do best in low-end BW (around 1.005-8), for their entire life. Occasionally, a F8 will be found larger than 3" (w/o tail that is), but not often enough to consider this the norm.

See: F8 Puffer


----------



## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

I think people confuse the fact quite often that just because a fish may happen to grow a bit outside of its regular thought of size, it means it's possible for EVERY single one of that species to do the same... By the same token some fish stay smaller. Does that mean none will grow bigger?


----------



## Pufferpunk (Mar 9, 2004)

I think part of the problem is that some folks include their tail in the measurement. Of course there are fish that will grow outside the norm, just like people. Look at Andre the Giant!


----------



## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Yeah. The tail is definitely part of the issue I think.

Where exactly is the cut-off for measurement? Like the area/technical name? Just curious.


----------



## Pufferpunk (Mar 9, 2004)

Generally 3".


----------

