help i don't know what i am doing

[pufferman]

i made a post and cant find it to see if there is any replies. just putting this here to see if i can find this one.:confused: :confused: :confused:

[pufferman]

is it safe to put a figure 8 puffer with 6 small malawi cichlids? they seem to be eating his food. the puffer eats shrimp pellets and the cichlids eat flake food for now untill they get bigger, i guess, can anyone help me on this

[davoz]

Well. I hope you can find this post. I would not put puffers with malawi cichlids. The puffers eventually will be killed as they are slow and although they have powerful jaws and teeththe african will constantly harras thema s the become bigger and more territorial. For feeding its also not a good idea to combine the two. Puffers like inverts and most malawis (if mbuna) need diets high in veggies otherwise the contract "Malawi Bloat" and will die.

[pufferman]

thanks for the advice, i will put the puffer in another tank. would it be a bad idea to put the puffer in with 1 male betta and 3 females. thanks for any info.

[SGypsyMermaid]

puffers like to bite chunks out of their tankmates...they should be kept alone.

[davoz]

Ditto the roles would be reversed if you put the puffer with the bettas.

[pufferman]

Is there any fish that i could keep with the puffer?

[EmilyAnn]

I currently have a figure eight puffer in with my green spotted puffer and three bumblebee gobies (which i love, they are darling, small, and fast) as well as a chinese algae eater (just temporary, but he's doing really well and looks physically more healthy in this brackish water than he did in fresh so i mihgt leave him in- also I had a medium sized chinese algea eater, but i had to remove him from the tank bc he wouldnt stop harrassing the puffs. I did have my male betta in the tank with the puffs for a few days, and at the time he was just harrassing them and chasing them, but then I noticed his dorsal fin was missing a chunk and had to take him back out. Why is it that all of my fish seem happier with slightly brackish water though? any reason?

[bevoman]

Many fish seem happier with a little salt in their water. However, if you truly have a brackish tank for your puffers, your freshwater will do poorly and die over time. I assume you are measuring you salinity with a hydrometer for your puffs. Green spots actually start off brackish as juvies in the wild but as they mature, they move toward marine. They should probably measure around 1.015. I have that exact mix, Emily, in one of my tanks and they do well together exept for the occasional bumblebee that gets bitten in half. If the tank is large enough, you could keep monos and scats in with them also. The puffs are notorious fin nippers and as davoz says can be very harmful to a fish if they can catch them. They can be a lot quicker that many people think. I personally would never put a freshwater puffer in with my cichlids for fear he would kill my cichlids instead of the other way around. Good luck and let me know if you have any more puffer questions.

[new guy]

ya i got a puffer (veary weird but veay cool fish) at my lfs and the guy said he was veary timid and he was scard i was going to put him with a angle fish but the puffer harased all my other fish and could go from motionless to the other side of the tank in no time flat (i think that is because to swin normaly the use ther dorsal wish is moved back all the way above the anal and ther anal insted of ther tail again i say veary weird but i think to put on amazing burst of speed they actualy use all 3 maby not but thats what i think) but he dyied a few weeks ago ( i think he was stresed in to small of tank and to many other fish) but at least i have learnd

[agez]

new guy: you need to check the last post date before posting, this ones feb- may ish! i geuss he already has the answers he needed? happy posting though! cya dude

[new guy]

glad to see your paying atention thou you poasted like 3 mins after me :D

[bevoman]

New guy,
That fish died because it needed brackish water. You said in a previous post it was a green puffer. They need brackish water.
Just a suggestion for the future, if you can't supply the fish with proper conditions, you probably shouldn't buy it. Just my opinion.