New Fugu Puffer

B

BRANDX

Small Fish
#1
May 4, 2006
37
0
0
Houston,TX
#1
I just found out from a Puffer Info article that my new puffer is a brackish water fish. How much salt does that mean for me?
I was told upon purchase that about 10 feeder minnows a week is about what their diet should consist of. I now see at PUFFER CENTRAL shells are a must for their teeth. But, are the feeders OK for the main staple? What's the best cost method for feeding them in a healthy manner?

I dropped all 11 feeders in the new 10g tank with him and he decimated 5 of them in 20 minutes, I had to net the others into a floating breader tank so he didn't kill them all! Is this normal?

So many questions...so little time.

Thanks for any help.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#4
May 16, 2003
8,589
10
38
42
Colorado
#4
brackish doesn't mean dumping a bunch of salt...it means getting salt mix and a hydrometer or a refractometer and putting the SG at a specific level. One of our brackish folks would be able to better tell you what that level should be. (unless the article that lotus linked explains it...I didn't go read it)

Gerald I'm pretty sure its their beaks...not their teeth. ;)
 

B

BRANDX

Small Fish
#5
May 4, 2006
37
0
0
Houston,TX
#5
OOOO K.

Well, that wasn't very cheery reading for me. He's in a 10g. I'm told we have a ban on snails here in TX.

I'll have to get the water test for salinity soooon. I don't think its quite that high yet.

I'm feeding him frozen krill right now. (thawed of course, but I wasn't thawing them in tank water, I'll start that in the morning.

Thanks for the great info!

bye,

Brand
 

Pure

Pure

Elite Fish
#6
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#6
Order some plants on line, you will get more snails than you can shake a stick at.

Like froggy said, you need marine grade salt mix. They do "OK" in brackish for a lil wile, but hey you need to add salt now so might as well keep adding it until you get to marine levels. To do this you need take this very slow! No more than .010 sg a week. If you do this too fast your bacteria colony will not have time to die off slowly wile allowing the marine bacteria to colonies.

He should be ok in the ten for a little wile as long as you have adequate filtration and since he is a puffer that would be about 5 times more filtration than you would think the tank needs. Keep up with water changes until you can move him to a new home.

At 6 inches he should be ok in as small as a 29 gal, but bio-load is going to be an issue.
 

f8fan

f8fan

MFT Staff
#7
Nov 19, 2004
1,765
8
38
Bangor, Maine
#7
Welcome to MFT, BRANDX :)

Is there any chance that you could trade this guy in for a smaller puffer? For a ten gallon, you could have a couple dwarf puffers (freshwater) or one Figure 8 puffer (Brackish water). You would certainly need to keep up on water changes as puffers are really messy, I'm thinking like two 25% changes per week, but it would seem that both you and the puffer would be happier with different circumstances. He won't be healthy in a ten gallon for that long. JMHO.
 

B

BRANDX

Small Fish
#8
May 4, 2006
37
0
0
Houston,TX
#8
Thanks F8fan,

I have a 15g I could probably move him to with a little playing around. I have a Firemouth cichlid that needs to go to my 75g. Just haven't had the time. Firemouth is very skiddish and I have to dissassemble the forest I built for him to get him netted. Every body else could disperse to the ten and the 75g.

Pure,

What did you mean by getting snails ordering plants online? Do snail larvae come on them or something?

The "teeth/beak" has soft lips in front of them, does that help with the question of teeth vs. beak?

ciao,

Brand
 

B

BRANDX

Small Fish
#10
May 4, 2006
37
0
0
Houston,TX
#10
OK
got a plant at the lfs, they said basically what I've read from you guys: that plants just start popping off snails. It's been ooohh five days, no snails yet. I'm growing this plant in my 75g. It actually makes the tank look quite nice!! but no snails yet.

Still can't get local snails.

Also, I got the water salinity tested and found that the puffer tank only had as much salt as my other tanks! I have been adding a tablespoon of salt every other day. Trying to make it gradual. Now, is there a real difference between the salt I use for my tropical tanks and this "instant ocean" salt in the big bags or is that just for buying in bigger volume, 'cause it is a different product company...?
 

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