First Brackish Puffer Tank...HELP!

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MonsterCichlids75

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 15, 2012
347
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Boston, MA
Hey everyone,
Well, ive been keeping and breeding cichlids (malawis, tangs, CA & SA cichlids) for about 8 years now, and something i've always wanted to do but never actually did was try a brackish or saltwater tank. Well, the day has come haha. I've decided i want to set up my first brackish water tank and i need some help...I've decided to set up one of my smaller tanks as the brackish one just to keep maintaining the right Specific gravity easier. So heres my idea, I'd like to keep 1 Green Spotted Puffer, in a 30 gallon tank that i have. The tank currently has a colony of Neolamprologus brichardi but they colony is increasing in numbers so much im moving them to one of my 75 gallon tanks. I've done research but i just want to check with you guys...Can i keep a single GSP in a 30 gal. tank? Its already overfiltered as i have a nice fluval aquaclear power filter thats rated for 50 gallons and i ALWAYS do my weekly wednesday water changes. So heres a couple questions.
-Is this fish a good choice?
-whats the best diet? (i know small snails are a must to keep their teeth from over growing, but what else should they eat?)
-Tankmates...assuming 30 gals. is enough for a single GSP, should i bother with tank mates? could a few sailfin mollies work since they'd like brackish too)

**-Specific gravity**-this one is important because i've read that 1.010 is good for them, BUT, they are kept in freshwater at my local fish store. The 30 gallon tank is currently freshwater obviously, so when i'd be putting the puffer into freshwater, but how long should i wait to start adding salt and how slowly should i start getting the water to the right gravity?

those are all the ?'s i can think of of the top of my head right now, but if there is anything else important please let me know. Sorry for all the questions but i just want to do this right! I actually work at my local fish store a couple days a week and I'm sick of people coming in with dead puffers and wanting their money back because another employee sold the puffer to someone who knows nothing about them and kept them in freshwater...i want to see one be happy and healthy and grow to a nice fat 5-6 inches or so and live a long life!
Thanks!
-Chris
 
oh and also, i just thought of this, is there any change to my power filter i need to do when i convert to brackish? Will the bacteria in the filter be fine with the increased salinity?
 
i can say that there a ton of people out there that know a ton more than me but if i can just help point you in a direction... Great choice of fish i HAD 2 in a 46 gallon bowfront (until a 6 day power outage hit) i feed snails and my own feeders to the puffers also feed pieces of shrimp.(which i had the GSP's) I was told not to have tank mates i was even told by my LFS not to put the 2 in the same tank but they seemed more than fine. i was at a SG 1.050. I slowly drip lined them to the water. I was told they will not live as along if they are in total freshwater. Mine didnt have the full life due to the massive October Snow storm that hit 2 years ago. I have not returned to them only becasue of the fact i sold my 46 bow and got a 125 and made a mbuna tank. good luck and keep us posted
 
i see your from Boston..how did you far with the storm? im in western mass and we got about 18-20 inches of snow..also where do you usually get fish from i have a buddy that wants to take a ride out east to some fish store but i didnt know if there are any worth the trip???
 
The problem with Green Spotted puffers are that they are pretty aggressive and it'll have to be the only one in the tank OR with very limited tankmates. Green Spotted Puffers also need high marine conditions when they are adults, near 1.015-1.018. The bacteria used to cycle tanks will die in immediate salt if you do not acclimate it very, very slowly I did it over a period of 2-3 weeks time increasing the salinity in increments. Just make sure your power filter is salt approved or the mecanics can get messed up, this is the same with the heater. You'll want a lot of flow to decrease deadspots so I would consider a low powered powerhead (because puffers have poor motor skills). Remember that all puffers need hard crustaceans to keep their ever growing beaks down, this can be done with live feeder shrimp, or Hikari's numerous frozen variety foods. I feed mine Hikari's Clam on a half shell all the time.
 
jkusnierz, Yeah i live about 20 mins north of boston and we got slammed too! My town topsfield got an isolated 25+ inches! It was crazy i was shoveling and snow blowing for hours it seemed like i was out there all day. Surprisingly enough though, i didn't lose power! So i'm happy to say my fish had no problems :)
also, i work at a place called boston pets its a private owned store with a fantastic fish department that i helped the manager set up, and i love this place called Jay's Aquatics in Salem, MA. A trip to Jay's is worth it for sure.
 
okay thanks guys, so when i pick up the puffer, which i plan on getting in a few days, i should aim for a specific gravity of 1.010-1.015 and achieve that gravity very slowly over the course of like 3 weeks? The puffers at the fish store are about 2 inches long. Should i wait until its older to have a specific gravity of 1.018?
 
MonsterCichlids75 said:
okay thanks guys, so when i pick up the puffer, which i plan on getting in a few days, i should aim for a specific gravity of 1.010-1.015 and achieve that gravity very slowly over the course of like 3 weeks? The puffers at the fish store are about 2 inches long. Should i wait until its older to have a specific gravity of 1.018?
Click to expand...

Just keep raising it very, VERY slowly over the months.
 
I have x2 GSP's in a 50 column tank and I do have tank mates, x3 sailfins and *several* guppies . They love market shrimp earthworms dried krill and I hope live guppy babies! (basicly anything that is alive- mine are starting to gain interest in Massivore pellets)

I had a guppy baby explosion 2 weeks ago- tons of feeding opportunities!

50G tank has SG of 1.014 and I have read that .002 per week raise in salinity is acceptable- and I lost nothing with this formula...

Your FILTER on the other hand will have to grow salt tolerant bacteria and this takes a little longer to do-I had a ammonia spike about a month into 1.010. Prime is good for this process as it is good for fresh and salt. I have found 2-3 cups of marine salt in per 5 gallon bucket (only 4.5g filled so I can lift it!) is about right for my set up when water changing.

"i have a nice fluval aquaclear power filter thats rated for 50 gallons"

I am assuming this is a HOB type filter? Salt creep is a pain, this is where the water evaporates and leaves salt behind. This leaves salt crystals all over your filters cause thats where the turbulent waters evaporate more. Tight lids are a must around the edges and filters.

Oh and if you feed snails, just go with Nerites and let them breed in the tank, as they are supposed to be salt tolerant...Although mine all died...Besides the puffers got frustrated with the bigger Nerites and didn't really touch them.
 
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