Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought a Figure-Eight Pufferfish and put him in my 30 gallon fish tank with 2 Pearl Danios and and 3 Orange Danios. He's been swimming up and down the walls a lot and has eaten a lot of snails but barely any of the live Blackworms I offer him. He only eats the Blackworms when I put them right in front of his face and even then he only eats one or two. Please Respond.

Snails are perfectly fine for him. I actually think they are a perfect diet for the figure eights, and it helps keep their teeth trimmed. Still continue with the blackworms though, they are also good for his diet. I find that variety leads to a healthy life. Maybe he just prefers the snails?

You may have to watch out for fin nipping, as the puffer may pick on your danios. Other than that I think you will enjoy him quite a bit. They are quite personable.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

My only concern is that there are not enough snails in his tank to support him. He was fed black-worms at the pet store which I do trust a lot. He said that they normally go down and to the worms and ate them like pasta. As for the Danios he does not seem to be bothering them. I have also heard that the Puffers hunt in packs in the wild. I'm not sure if this is true because I have mostly heard they are solitary. I also tried feeding him crabs but he took no interest.

He died because he wouldn't eat . RIP Houdini.

I'm sorry to hear yo lost your puffer. The first puffer I got once I was on my own died after a week, he wasn't eating and was stressed. Of course after that sad experience I researched them and there is only one truly freshwater species of puffer and they are the Dwarf or Indian Puffer and they are only 1/2 to 1in max. All of the other supposed freshwater puffers require brackish water to thrive or survive extended period of time. Don't give up, I now have a gorgeous 47 gal brackish tank and the 3 puffers I have I've had for 5 years. Also, Figure eights are very aggressive and need a tank of at least 29 gallons, and they do best in species tanks or sometimes with other aggressive brackish fish, but don't hold your breath, all puffers are naughty unless they are sick.
Good Luck! Try again they are worth it!

When I went to the pet store he told me that their puffers hadn't been doing so well either. one had just died that morning. It might have been something wrong with the fish.

He died because he wouldn't eat . RIP Houdini. I checked the water and everything was fine. I have no idea why he wouldn't eat.

I'm sorry for your loss. He may have been stressed.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."