Figure 8 Pufferfish in Reef?

[Zakary2003]

Hey everyone!
On Monday I was watching LiveAquaria's biweekly LiveDive livestream and they had a pretty interesting fish up for grabs: a figure 8 pufferfish that was living in full marine salt and had been for 6 months. It was only $23.99.

I didn't buy him because I needed to do more research, but unfortunately my research turned up mixed results.

Can figure 8 puffers live a full life in salt water? My research seems to lean towards the idea that they either can't be transitioned or that they will die of organ failure long-term, but this one has been fine for 6 months. Is it just dying really slowly or are those claims online wrong? Does anyone have experience with this fish in their tanks?

Also, would it really be considered reef safe with caution like the livestream stated? I know they might eat small shrimp, but what about coral and other fish? Would short spined urchins like my pink sea urchin be safe? What about marine snails like astrea and trochus snails?

How would it handle the intense flow in a reef tank? My tank is a mixed reef, so there are low flow areas and very high flow SPS-tailored areas. Would it be like saltwater guppies and mollies, where they get tossed around to near-death?

Also, the general consensus online is that a single puffer will do well in tanks of around 20 gallons for brackish water (some even go as low as 15 gallons). Is this also the case for saltwater reefs too? Would you say that's a good minimum tank size, or is this another case like clownfish or bettas where the tank size recommendation is way too small?

Finally, if I did want to get a fish currently living in brackish water and convert it to saltwater, what is the best way to do so? I've done it with mollies and guppies before in the past with very low mortality, so would the process be the exact same for a pufferfish?

 

[rhitee93]

I don't know much about the Figure 8, but I have a green spotted puffer that has been doing fine for over a year in my reef tank. Similarly, the GSP is usually a brackish fish that migrates to more of a marine environment at it gets older. Mine was in full saltwater at the LFS, and has done well so far.

Cute little bugger too.

 

[fishywishy]

They can be acclimated to live in full saltwater but I don’t think it’s good for them long term. In the wild they only stay in saltwater for a very small amount of time.

they are not reef safe because they will most likely go after small inverts.

20 gallons is good, but I think a 15 gal would be too small.

If you want a puffer I would go for a green spotted puffer or valentine puffer.

Best way to acclimate a brackish fish to saltwater is too drip acclimate the for a very long time.

 

[Zakary2003]

If you want a puffer I would go for a green spotted puffer or valentine puffer.

I like the idea of a green spotted puffer but valentines don't quite do it for me. I like the traditional pufferfish body style.

Are green spotted puffers more suited for reef tanks? They're brackish too right?

Best way to acclimate a brackish fish to saltwater is too drip acclimate the for a very long time.

So pretty much exactly like the guppies and mollies my dad and I used to keep. Good to know. We would drip acclimate a few hours a day for a few days in a row and it worked well.

 

[rhitee93]

My understanding is that green spotted puffers actually do better long term in a full marine environment than if you leave them in fresh water, but as you say the info out there is conflicting.

They are not generally considered reef safe, but mine has been fine. However, I have a snowflake eel as well, so I don't have any shrimp or crabs anyway. I suspect the puffer would go after shrimp.

 

[fishywishy]

I like the idea of a green spotted puffer but valentines don't quite do it for me. I like the traditional pufferfish body style.

Are green spotted puffers more suited for reef tanks? They're brackish too right?



So pretty much exactly like the guppies and mollies my dad and I used to keep. Good to know. We would drip acclimate a few hours a day for a few days in a row and it worked well.

They’re still reef safe with caution and will probably go after small inverts but spotted puffers are definitely better suited to a marine environment than the figure 8.

And yes, they are brackish.

 

[EchoPear]

OP, did you end up going with a green spotted puffer? I was contemplating the same, I have a 33 Long mixed reef in fallow, thinking of doing a puffer once fallow is over

@rhitee93 how big is your green spot currently and is he still leaving your corals alone? How do you manage the algae with no cleanup crew? Have any urchins that he has tried eating? I’ve got two tuxedo urchins the size of ping pong balls

 

[Zakary2003]

OP, did you end up going with a green spotted puffer? I was contemplating the same, I have a 33 Long mixed reef in fallow, thinking of doing a puffer once fallow is over

@rhitee93 how big is your green spot currently and is he still leaving your corals alone? How do you manage the algae with no cleanup crew? Have any urchins that he has tried eating? I’ve got two tuxedo urchins the size of ping pong balls

I did not. If you try it, let me know how it goes.

 

[rhitee93]

@rhitee93 how big is your green spot currently and is he still leaving your corals alone? How do you manage the algae with no cleanup crew? Have any urchins that he has tried eating? I’ve got two tuxedo urchins the size of ping pong balls
[/QUOTE]

It is still quite small. Probably about 2" long nose to tail. It's more than double the size of when I got it, but seems to be pretty slow growing. The puffer has never given me any issues eating any of my coral or snacking on my clams. That may change as it gets bigger. Time will tell.