spotted puffer

[eh1421]

picked up two of these bad boys today and was wondering how much salt i should keep in my tank to keep these bad boys happy
any other help you guys and gals could give me would be great
i really don't know alot about them but when my boys say that is what they want for their tank how could i say no

p.s. right now i have 1 tbsp salt per 5 gallons of water

mike

[eh1421]

help please

[eh1421]

heres a couple pics
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/IMG000024.JPG (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/IMG000024.JPG)
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/IMG000011.JPG (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/IMG000011.JPG)

[davo]

hi, just wanted to say nice puffers, sorry can't help with the salt, this is just really another bump, but for what its worth, my lfs has them in FW. But then since when did lfs stores know anythin... (granted exceptions)

[fatsolomon]

are those gsp's or figure 8's? either way i keep mine at african cichlid levels. i use all the conditioners and buffers that i use for the africans for my puffers. i dunno if that is helpful or not...

[big E]

Nice puffers! I have one of these Green Spotted puffers, they need a pretty good sized tank or they may kill each other, these things love to bite and they have the teeth to cause serious damage, I hear they can get up to 7 inches , I've seen pics of this, but the biggest I've seen personally is maybe 5 inches. I think it would be a good idea to get a hydrometer(maybe 10 bucks) to measure the salinity/ specific gravity of the water, I am keeping mine at about SG 1.014 and he is doing great , just remember to aclimate them slowly when moving up in salinity, by the way you are a cool dad for getting fish for your kids!

[Jason_S]

:iagree: while they're small you can start them at say 1.008 to 1.010 but as they grow this will need to be increased. a general rule though is not to increase sallinity more than .002 per week. when I had a fig 8 and green spotted puffer (separate tanks) I think I was adding around 1 cup of marine salt per 3 gallons and that got the salinity. for the GSP I always added a little extra salt. to keep the 2 you'll probably need a 55 for them with lots of hiding places and broken lines of site. :)

[eh1421]

thanks guys for all your help
jason thats what i have them in is a 55
good call on the hiding places i will add a few more to be on the safe side

[Jason_S]

sounds good :thumbsup: I'd keep an eye on those Africans as well. for one thing they probably won't be able to handle the salinity as you increase it. the puffs will need close to full marine conditions as they reach adulthood. also, as the puffs grow they may wind up making a tasty snack of the smaller africans. :grinyes:

[eh1421]

yeh the africans were cheap and i bought them basically to use as dithers
but now that i know what the salt ratio should be i will probly move them to their own tank when i think the salt ratio is to high for them
thanks jason your the
btw what if any are some good tank mates for my puffs
mike

[Jason_S]

well, as they get bigger they may (or probably will) get very aggressive and territorial. so, choosing tankmates can be very difficult. plus, the increasing salinity level would make it difficult finding something that would would not outgrow a 55 and be able to handle the increasing salinity. if you want something just as a dither, you could try some mollies. they could handle the increasing salinity but there's a really good chance they may get eaten. if they can survive long enough to start breeding though maybe the puffs will only eat the fry and not the parents. then you'd have a steady food source for them as well. :) if I was going to try anything with them it would probably be mollies. :thumbsup:

[eh1421]

mollies it is
damn my wife is going to kill me thats what she wanted for dithers and i thought they wouldn't last she wanted a sunburst molly and i said no
she may now punch me in the face
lol

[craig]

I work at a LFS.Our spotted puffers are fully marine.They are in with an emperor snapper and they don't touch him.Our puffers range in size from 2inches to 6inches.We also have 2 monos that are fully marined.They are 5inches long and almost 4inches tall.They can go with puffers.

[Jason_S]

in that case I really hope for your sake that the puffs don't eat them. no telling what she'd do to you if she got the mollies she wanted and your puffers ate them. :ROFL: :ROFL: :ROFL:

[craig]

The puffers will eat the mollies.

[eh1421]

i will just by alot of them and replace them as they disappear they are cheap enough and if i have a bunch of them she won't miss a couple a week
lol

[Miles]

btw what if any are some good tank mates for my puffs
mike

BUTIS BUTIS..

I loved these as a F8/GSP tankmate. The puffers ignored them, and they are a completely awesome brackish/marine predator.

[bob_tom]

i have a freshwater flounder with my fig.8 puffer

[zebula]

this website tells a bunch of things you could put in with them and it has pictures too http://badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html

[Don4921]

monos are good tank mates :thumbsup: