Figure 8 Puffer in a 10 gallon?

[Olympia]

Just confused. TFK profile says 10 gallons for a figure 8 puffer, but I'm seeing larger (20 gallons) recommended on other sites.
Is our profile outdated? Or is 10 gallons fine for a single figure 8 puffer (and 2-3 bumblebee gobies)?

[Varkolak]

10gallon per fish means in a 20 gal you will have 17-18gal of water with gravel and decorations, so 8-9 in a 10 gallon, it would be a tight squeeze for a 4 inch fish to be in a little tank like that so I'd recommend not having gobys or getting a 20-30gal instead, the gobys need a large bottom surface area to set up territories anyways and as they get older you will end up with them fighting too much and 3 might become 1

Better off just getting a larger tank

[Olympia]

Nerr the gobies are already here lol. They got booted out of my tank for eating a shrimp and are sitting in a 4 gallon tub right now.
Trying to decide if I should just take them back to the store tomorrow or go through with this. I've had them for over a week and they have not damaged each other. They are already mature and full grown. Do you keep gobies? I have never heard of two bumblebees killing each other....

A 15 gallon is all I can do. If that's not enough for a figure 8 and my two gobies then I guess I'll take them back unless I think of a freshwater purpose for them. Another option is celebes rainbows, I know I can get those and they're nice too.

And please don't tell me a 4 inch fish is a tight squeeze in a 10 gallon. I'm a betta keeper, that logic makes no sense to me. I keep my female betta who is psychotic in a 2.5 gallon, she's probably 3 inches now, and no one on here will tell me that I'm doing something wrong. :s

[Varkolak]

I've looked into bumblebee gobys before but decided against them, supposedly they will set up territories similar to Bolivian rams and not allow any fish to come near it. Since you say yours are adult you know how large they are, I saw an adult at a store recently that was every bit 2 inches long and an inch wide so I'm imagining 3 of those fighting over a 12x18 patch of gravel. Maybe I looked into a different species because checking around some sites say bumblebees can shoal together. The main reason I decided against them was not wanting my shrimp eaten. What it comes down to is if you want to do it then go for it, I still feel that a 4 inch puffer equals at least 4-5 smaller fish of similar length because of their great girth and specific diet

[InvertPlanet]

Originally Posted by Olympia

And please don't tell me a 4 inch fish is a tight squeeze in a 10 gallon. I'm a betta keeper, that logic makes no sense to me.

I don't want to be rude or crass, but comparing a betta and an apex predator are just 2 totally different things.

15 gal minimum for active swimmers and decor. I personally, would go 20 gal with the fish and the gobies.

Since these guys are carnivores and are very messy eaters the more space provided the better. If the profile here says 10 gals, I would agree that it is outdated.

[Olympia]

Psh. Betta are tough too. Not gonna start a stupid argument about that though.

I could do 15 gallons, but I guess I won't. I think I'm just going to take the gobies back to the store today and get this brackish thing out of my head for now. The brackish water is really what's best for them and I feel bad keeping them in fresh.

I don't know, I just got the idea after reading our TFK profile on them, and reading that puffers and gobies are tough enough to withstand each other really well.

My last idea is 15 gallons, with the gobies and celebes rainbowfish in brackish. But I'll probably throw that out too.

I've always read that watching gobies squabble is the most amusing part of owning them. They are really weird, sometimes I see them swimming together peacefully, sometimes they sit at opposite ends of the tank, sometimes they chase each other around. I've yet to see physical biting.