** turning 10g into BW for puffer[s?] advice pls **

Jun 18, 2005
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alabama
#1
i did read http://www.thepufferforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=12 first but want to confirm what i read so i make sure i really understood it.



puffers need not be in a 10g tank for a long time? and how long would they stand being in a 10g til i could upgrade again [probably next is 29g]

you really dont need more than ONE puffer in a [10g] tank?

you cant use rock, you need to use SAND or CRUSHED CORAL?

the puffers need MARINE SALT and not ROCK SALT for FW?

you need more than just one filter? b/c puffers are so messy?

the heater needs to have 'feshwater and saltwater' use on the package?

puffer eventually need to be converted to marine life? does that mean a saltwater tank?


ok i think thats all!! lol, im apparently illiterate on the BW/puffer situation and want to find out if i understood everything on that link. i dont want to just set up tank and the puffer die b/c i didnt do it right. if you guys think you could give a little more advice, im willing to read! thanks alot. :)
 

derajer

Large Fish
Mar 16, 2005
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Ankeny, Iowa
#3
It really depends on which type of puffers you keep, like Seleya asked. Some puffers are "sort of" like salmon in that their young live in brackish/freshwater and migrate to the ocean, this is not true of all puffers.

If it is going to be brackish then all of your components need to be capable of FW/SW, this is actually quite common.

But again, almost every question you want answered is going to depend on what type of puffer you get.
 

lordroad

Large Fish
Sep 2, 2004
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Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#4
Sounds like you're thinking of the green spotted puffer...

Personally, I think one will be fine in a ten gallon for some time. I kept one in a very mildly brackish system with 4 juvenile kribensis, but I gave them to the fish store cause I could not care for the puffer when it grew larger. However, I had him for half a year, and he grew very little.

I fed mine sun-dried baby shrimp "Treats," which he loved. Also snails, ghost shrimp on occasion, and blood worms.

I wouldn't worry about a second filter. Just keep up on the water changes.

And I wouldn't put more than one green spotted puffer in a ten. don't know about the other brackish varieties.

Be sure to get a hydrometer that reads below 1.010. For my reef tank, the hydrometer begins at that mark, which makes it kinda tough to maintain my brackish system. (I marked it with a marker after getting the water checked at the lfs for salinity)

And yes, ultimately, many people bring them over to full saltwater (marine life), which is abotu 1.020-1.026. However, if you begin with a 1 inch fish, that won't be happening for some time.

I believe figure 8 puffers stay a little smaller than the GSP variety... f8fan will be able to tell you more about them, don't really know much.
 

Jun 18, 2005
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alabama
#6
it says on this website that F8 puffers prefer freshwater. how come it says it prefers freshwater but it is supposedly brackish??

http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/brackish_water/puffer_figure_eight.htm

thats the link. you gotta copy/paste it into your URL bar for it to work for some reason.


and dont know what kind of puffer yet, whatever PetSmart sells. that website also sells puffers, anyone suggest just buying them offline?

and if a puffer prefers freshwater, can't i just make the tank a freshwater tank instead?? i dont get it. some are freshwater and some arent?
 

Seleya

Superstar Fish
Nov 22, 2004
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#7
Puffers can be anything from freshwater fish to strictly marine -- it depends on which one you choose, which is why *which* puffer you want to keep affects our answers. All I have ever seen at PetSmart is the dwarf puffers but your local store might carry other varieties.
 

f8fan

MFT Staff
Nov 19, 2004
1,765
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Bangor, Maine
#9
Every different website will give you different opinions on what figure 8 puffers require for water...salt? or no salt? I keep my three happy and fat little guys in brackish water with 1.008 salinity.
They have been documented to live up to 18 years in ideal brackish conditions. If you would like some more links to read about my (obviously :)) favorite fish, lemme know and I'll post a bunch of good articles.
 

Last edited:
Jun 18, 2005
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alabama
#11
ok see im not sure what kind puffers my LFS sells. [its petsupply not petsmart, sorry] they dont have any in stock they said they would have to order and said they were brackish puffers - WALMART does have some on the other hand, they look like the GPS. but, i am not too keen on buying fish from walmart. but i really would like to rescue these guys from this tank b/c they are in with african chilids. plus, the manager over the fish said he put AQUARIUM SALT in the tank for them since he thinks they need a little salt. [but dont all FW tanks need aquarium salt? lol] but i didnt think they needed that kind, i heard marine salt.

so i had already gotten my 10g which came with a heater, but i dont know if it is safe for FW and SW. where would i go to get one of these type heaters? [btw petsupply is about 1 1/2 hours away from me] walmart dont sell nothing for saltwater, evidently. and also, only thing im lacking is the right heater, hydrometere and marine salt? if infact these are GPS. i really want to save the little guys from walmart - they look healthy right now but one of them doesnt look too hot and has fin rot.

advice on my questions for GPS, b/c that is what i have seen.
 

Jun 18, 2005
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alabama
#13
yes, we are really wanting to get a 29g anyway. should we return 10g [50$] and get 29g [100$]?


yes, we are most willing to do whatever the fish need to survive. my hubby is a fishaholic and loves them to death.

but, to convert to marine conditions -- we will need to know far more than we currently know about puffers. but, i think with the help of the people on MTF it will be possible. you guys are a lot of help and i appriciate it.

btw, you have lovely puffers/tanks pufferpunk! :)
 

Feb 18, 2004
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Chicago
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#14
I was extremely intimidated by SW, even after keeping FW for 25+ years. That's what's so great about GSPs. You can raise the SG slowly, from FW-low end BW-high end BW-SW within a number of years. Now that mine are in SW for a couple of years, I have added damselfish, a jawfish, live rock & my new obsession--corals!

As with any fish, the larger tank the better. Why not keep the 10g & when your puffer grows out of it, use it for dwarf puffers?
 

Jun 18, 2005
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alabama
#15
really? you can add saltwater fish like those in with puffers? i thought puffers were really aggressive and needed to be in a species only tank?

well anyway, that sounds like a good idea. but, i have never seen puffers before except at walmart [do you suggest or have any comments about buying fish at walmart?] i know they sell them at petsupply but they dont have any in stock so where would i get the dwarf puffers from?

do you think the money invested is worth the investment? i know saltwater is pricey and how exactly do you convert a brackish to saltwater? just adding more salt over time? i thought it needed special filters, etc.... extensive testing the water.


what is the KH exactly? and what all would i need test kits for the BW tank?
 

lordroad

Large Fish
Sep 2, 2004
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Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#16
Wow, not to hijack the thread, but I've always assumed puffers... including the full blown gsp's... were not reef safe. What kind of corals do you keep?

A fish store here keeps young gsp's in full marine water. They look really bad... in fact, the ones at the franchise (pet supermarket) which are kept in fresh are brighter and livelier.
 

Jun 18, 2005
42
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alabama
#17
also, pufferpunk -- since the GSP are in a FW tank right now.... how would i know that the salt i added raised the SG .002? how much do you add so it will be .002/weekly per gallon? lol i just thought about this.... and didnt understand it a bit how i would know im adding enough salt to equal out to .002
 

Seleya

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Nov 22, 2004
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#18
ourFISHtank said:
also, pufferpunk -- since the GSP are in a FW tank right now.... how would i know that the salt i added raised the SG .002? how much do you add so it will be .002/weekly per gallon? lol i just thought about this.... and didnt understand it a bit how i would know im adding enough salt to equal out to .002
You need a hydrometer which is an instrument that measures salinity [make sure it has gradations all the way down to 1.000] and, with brackish or salt water, you prepare the water in advance at the level of salinity you're looking for [add salt to the water ahead of time and run an airstone in the bucket overnight before water changes] *crazysmil
 

Feb 18, 2004
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Chicago
http
#19
For me, a rough estimate is that it takes around 1/2 cup of salt/5g water to raise the SG .005, so it would be a little less than 1/4 cup/5g (or <3/4 cup/10g) to raise it .002 (always check w/hydrometer). When you remove 50% for weekly water change & then want to raise another .002, that's where the math, stirring & measuring comes in.