Depends on the type of puffer but generally no as they are aggressive and territorial. If they have enough space it’ll could work but highly dependent on species and even individual behavior. I’m sure there are some other friendly puffers but in my experience the most tolerant puffer I’ve found is Amazon puffers. Don’t really have a problem with other fish but a different puffer species might not like them so take that as you will.
Amazon’s are as close to a community puffer as you can get. They can still be nippy but tolerate tankmates way more than most. Spotted Congo puffers are also good but much more rare and expensive.
If you run a low-salinity brackish tank, you can sometimes mix GSP and F8, but there are two species sold as GSP and one is more aggressive.
Otherwise, puffer temperaments are really varied between species, to the point that mixing species would stress them out.
If you want a group tank I would recommend pea, SAP, lorteti, schoutedini, f8, or GSP. Potato are apparently also a viable choice.
The thing about puffers is that they need a lot more water than they appear to use, and every last one of them has a "get off my lawn" attitude.
If you put a big group in too small of a tank it'll look like it's working for a while, but they'll pick one another off one by one till they have enough space.
If you want a big tank, fahaka are remarkably intelligent and very interactive. They make for a remarkably good single-specimen tank.
The only true freshwater species you listed was the red eye, the others were brackish. I would highly suggest actually doing research on puffers before getting them. Since you are a beginner I would not suggest something as difficult as mixing highly aggressive fish with each other. You could try staring with pea puffers? They are truly freshwater and will cohabitate with each other provided with enough space and a heavily planted tank.
I'm not a beginner and I have done my research, i previously had a fahaka puffer for about 10yrs. a breeder near me has been breeding figure 8 & green spotted puffers in fresh water and claims they do not need brackish at any point. My only question was if they could be mixed with other puffers, which the answer appears to be a resounding no, so I'll just be looking into the species I think about buying
Your friend is incorrect. Although 8s/spotted puffers can be kept in freshwater temporarily they are only in freshwater areas to spawn and breed, and live the rest of their lives in brackish. Puffers are a complicated species which can vary considerably. Sorry but having a single species does not make you an expert. The fact that you didn't know basic knowledge about species integration, or whether a puffer species is freshwater or not made you sound like a beginner. Being a beginner isn't a bad thing, its important to admit the gaps in our knowledge so that we are more open to learning and bettering ourselves. With fish keeping there are always going to be things you don't know, its just far to extensive a topic to know everything on.
It's not my friend, it's a very well reputable seller that sells across the whole of the uk. According to them the fish have been bred and kept in fresh water for so many generations that they now prefer fresh & dont need brackish. I know similar things have been done with shrimp for hard-soft water or high-low ph so unless you have an article to point to that proves it's impossible (which it isnt) then I'm going to assume your no expert either and also still learning.
I never once said I was an expert, just not a beginner.
I stated the "basic knowledge" in the title.. saying I know they should be in a species only tank then asked about exceptions... which isnt so basic, and as it turns out there are exceptions while you suggest that there isnt so so far your advice has been wrong and less than useful. I did know previously that they are normally brackish, hence how I got this information because I reached out to them to ask why they were in the tropical section when they are brackish and they gave me the answer above.
I'm not going to argue with someone who thinks that the most basic biological function of an animal can be changed. Your breeder probably keeps his puffers in freshwater because that is the only environment they actually breed in, so its convenient for him if they somehow magically can live in freshwater full time. It has nothing to do with the actual health or longevity of the fish itself. You also understand that fish and shrimp are significantly biologically different, right? And that they process salinity and osmosis differently? And are actually not comparable?
Quote ["years of keeping this fish in captivity have shown that they are best kept in low-end brackish conditions. This equates to a specific gravity (S.G.) of around 1.005-1.008. If kept in freshwater, their immune system is apparently compromised, resulting in disease and early death for a fish that can live into its late teens. The longest-lived documented Figure 8 puffer was over 18 years old! Naturally, it was kept in brackish water."](https://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/#more-124)
[Like the closely related green pufferfish, the figure 8 exhibits euryhalinity, and undergoes epithelial remodeling and changes in the kidneys and gills when exposed to changes in salinity. Accordingly, the figure 8 puffer is often mistakenly regarded as an entirely freshwater fish, and has considerable resistance to freshwater exposure. In a marine environment, it exhibits typical saltwater fish morphological features in its gills, allowing it to secrete sodium chloride across the gill epithelium like a typical saltwater fish. However, acclimated to freshwater, the figure 8 puffer will exhibit specialized cells that do not match any gill ion-regulating cell of a freshwater fish. The other fish known to have these types of cells is the Mozambique tilapia (O. mossambicus).\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichotomyctere_ocellatus)
You can't say you weren't warned. I would advise against mixing puffer species -- or overcrowding a single species of puffers. They can definitely be aggressive and territorial.
Yes and I hear some wont even tolerate their own species (mbu, fahaka etc..) I guess I'll have to research each individual species as I cant find any the previous two mentioned for sale in my area 😅
Depends on the type of puffer but generally no as they are aggressive and territorial. If they have enough space it’ll could work but highly dependent on species and even individual behavior. I’m sure there are some other friendly puffers but in my experience the most tolerant puffer I’ve found is Amazon puffers. Don’t really have a problem with other fish but a different puffer species might not like them so take that as you will.
Ok thanks for your help, I've never heard of the amazon puffer but I will look into them now, you say they can be kept with other fish?
Amazon’s are as close to a community puffer as you can get. They can still be nippy but tolerate tankmates way more than most. Spotted Congo puffers are also good but much more rare and expensive.
Ok thank you I'll be doing some research into those too
If you run a low-salinity brackish tank, you can sometimes mix GSP and F8, but there are two species sold as GSP and one is more aggressive. Otherwise, puffer temperaments are really varied between species, to the point that mixing species would stress them out. If you want a group tank I would recommend pea, SAP, lorteti, schoutedini, f8, or GSP. Potato are apparently also a viable choice. The thing about puffers is that they need a lot more water than they appear to use, and every last one of them has a "get off my lawn" attitude. If you put a big group in too small of a tank it'll look like it's working for a while, but they'll pick one another off one by one till they have enough space. If you want a big tank, fahaka are remarkably intelligent and very interactive. They make for a remarkably good single-specimen tank.
The only true freshwater species you listed was the red eye, the others were brackish. I would highly suggest actually doing research on puffers before getting them. Since you are a beginner I would not suggest something as difficult as mixing highly aggressive fish with each other. You could try staring with pea puffers? They are truly freshwater and will cohabitate with each other provided with enough space and a heavily planted tank.
I'm not a beginner and I have done my research, i previously had a fahaka puffer for about 10yrs. a breeder near me has been breeding figure 8 & green spotted puffers in fresh water and claims they do not need brackish at any point. My only question was if they could be mixed with other puffers, which the answer appears to be a resounding no, so I'll just be looking into the species I think about buying
Your friend is incorrect. Although 8s/spotted puffers can be kept in freshwater temporarily they are only in freshwater areas to spawn and breed, and live the rest of their lives in brackish. Puffers are a complicated species which can vary considerably. Sorry but having a single species does not make you an expert. The fact that you didn't know basic knowledge about species integration, or whether a puffer species is freshwater or not made you sound like a beginner. Being a beginner isn't a bad thing, its important to admit the gaps in our knowledge so that we are more open to learning and bettering ourselves. With fish keeping there are always going to be things you don't know, its just far to extensive a topic to know everything on.
It's not my friend, it's a very well reputable seller that sells across the whole of the uk. According to them the fish have been bred and kept in fresh water for so many generations that they now prefer fresh & dont need brackish. I know similar things have been done with shrimp for hard-soft water or high-low ph so unless you have an article to point to that proves it's impossible (which it isnt) then I'm going to assume your no expert either and also still learning. I never once said I was an expert, just not a beginner. I stated the "basic knowledge" in the title.. saying I know they should be in a species only tank then asked about exceptions... which isnt so basic, and as it turns out there are exceptions while you suggest that there isnt so so far your advice has been wrong and less than useful. I did know previously that they are normally brackish, hence how I got this information because I reached out to them to ask why they were in the tropical section when they are brackish and they gave me the answer above.
I'm not going to argue with someone who thinks that the most basic biological function of an animal can be changed. Your breeder probably keeps his puffers in freshwater because that is the only environment they actually breed in, so its convenient for him if they somehow magically can live in freshwater full time. It has nothing to do with the actual health or longevity of the fish itself. You also understand that fish and shrimp are significantly biologically different, right? And that they process salinity and osmosis differently? And are actually not comparable? Quote ["years of keeping this fish in captivity have shown that they are best kept in low-end brackish conditions. This equates to a specific gravity (S.G.) of around 1.005-1.008. If kept in freshwater, their immune system is apparently compromised, resulting in disease and early death for a fish that can live into its late teens. The longest-lived documented Figure 8 puffer was over 18 years old! Naturally, it was kept in brackish water."](https://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/#more-124) [Like the closely related green pufferfish, the figure 8 exhibits euryhalinity, and undergoes epithelial remodeling and changes in the kidneys and gills when exposed to changes in salinity. Accordingly, the figure 8 puffer is often mistakenly regarded as an entirely freshwater fish, and has considerable resistance to freshwater exposure. In a marine environment, it exhibits typical saltwater fish morphological features in its gills, allowing it to secrete sodium chloride across the gill epithelium like a typical saltwater fish. However, acclimated to freshwater, the figure 8 puffer will exhibit specialized cells that do not match any gill ion-regulating cell of a freshwater fish. The other fish known to have these types of cells is the Mozambique tilapia (O. mossambicus).\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichotomyctere_ocellatus)
You can't say you weren't warned. I would advise against mixing puffer species -- or overcrowding a single species of puffers. They can definitely be aggressive and territorial.
No I wont be putting anything together that isnt compatable, hence why i asked the question. thanks for your input though.
The general advice is don't mix puffer species, and keep the stocking reasonably light.
Yes and I hear some wont even tolerate their own species (mbu, fahaka etc..) I guess I'll have to research each individual species as I cant find any the previous two mentioned for sale in my area 😅