Puffers

[komodo182]

o yeah/
20% is really low for water changes. I heard 50% weekly on everything I read.
I do have lots of different foods kicking around here. I order crickets 1000 at a time for my frogs and turtle. I have freeze dried foods and live. Snails grow in the tank that I am planning on putting the puffer in.

 

[jus85411]

i would do a separate fish bowl or something for the snails if you can. they may be breeding, but after you put the puffer in there, the snail population will be wiped out quickly. they will eat and eat and eat until they cant move anymore. my puffers love frozen bloodworm cubes, frozen mussell cubes, frozen squid cubes, frozen mysis shrimp cubes, dried green seaweed(get their veggies), give them snails/crabs/crayfish for their teeth trimming, krill on occasions but this may cause lockjaw if fed too often. i keep ghost shrimp in the tank too so if they are bored and hungry or just feel like hunting there are a bunch of them to chase around.

 

[komodo182]

Good Idea about teh snails. I can put some snails in with my betta tanks. Also, I don't think i can get dried green seaweed around here. I know there are veggie pellets, would they work?
What about lettuce like I give some of my other fish? Cucumber? zucchini?

Thanks

 

[jus85411]

i havent tried lettuce or anything like that yet. the dried seaweed i got from petco they are in a silver zip lock looking bag. there is green and purple seaweed, not sure of the differences. i dont see why you couldnt do lettuce that you give your other fish. i would research that a little though on google if you want. there are vitamins you can get to soak their food in like Selcon. any vitamins should be fine though just soak the frozen cubes in there or the lettuce for a little while so it soaks in. go to this link, this is the puffer forum on this site. tons of threads about pretty much any puffer you can think of, diets, pictures of others puffers. i go in there all the time to try and answer questions or ask questions if i have any.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=236

there is also the puffer pedia which gives all kinds of info on fresh/brackish and marine puffers:

http://www.**************.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/

 

[komodo182]

Thank you. I will check those sites out when I get home from work. There are no petcos near me.
A petsmart is coming here, but I do not know how good taht will be. There was a petetcera, but that failed in 8 months,lol

 

[jus85411]

there are 2 petco's and 2 petsmarts by me lol. but i usually go to petco because petsmart, at least by me, doesnt sell saltwater fish so i dont know how their supplies would be. check at little mom and pop stores also those i have found to be the best stores to go to.

 

[bromie88]

seriously... F8's are commonly found in FW in the wild. but they do better in a low end brackish environment (around 1.005sg) in aquaria. it helps keep disease at bay.

http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/tetraodotidae/green-spotted-puffer/100030.asp

i did 20% weekly WC on my puffer tank, and my fish where fine. i kept a GSP though, and the tank was a 30g, so the waste was probably less concentrated than it would get in your 10g. so i underestimated... sorry about that i didnt overfeed though, even though most puffers will always beg for food.

i fed every day when he was < 1", then every 2 days till about 2", then every few days at 2"+. i only gave him food till his stomach was just a small bump. most people will feed and feed till it stops accepting food, which will take a while. i think this is where the exess waste comes from... rediculously overfeeding. i also took out any uneaten food.

a 50% WC in one go seems a bit too much though... if it was my tank, id do 25% every few days instead... less stressful for the fish.

chances are your puffer will tell you when its not happy anyway, as thier stomach will turn grey/black. i used to do a WC every time my puffers stomach turned grey. as well as the usual sunday WC.

also make sure you put loads of decor in there... a busy puffer is a happy puffer. if its going up and down the glass all day, its bored, and needs some mental stimulation. puffers are really intelligent, and can become bored very easily. try to rearrange its tank every once in a while to keep it amused.

make sure your 10g has a lid and all openings are sealed... thats why i dont have mine any more. they have good aim, mine got through a gap as wide as he was.

 

[Pufferpunk]

How long since there have been any fish in that tank? If more than 24 hours, it isn't cycled anymore.

 

[komodo182]

there are 2 petco's and 2 petsmarts by me lol. but i usually go to petco because petsmart, at least by me, doesnt sell saltwater fish so i dont know how their supplies would be. check at little mom and pop stores also those i have found to be the best stores to go to.

I work at a mom and pop pet store haha
We only sell freshwater, but I am trying to expand the fish section.

seriously... F8's are commonly found in FW in the wild. but they do better in a low end brackish environment (around 1.005sg) in aquaria. it helps keep disease at bay.

http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/tetraodotidae/green-spotted-puffer/100030.asp

i did 20% weekly WC on my puffer tank, and my fish where fine. i kept a GSP though, and the tank was a 30g, so the waste was probably less concentrated than it would get in your 10g. so i underestimated... sorry about that i didnt overfeed though, even though most puffers will always beg for food.

i fed every day when he was < 1", then every 2 days till about 2", then every few days at 2"+. i only gave him food till his stomach was just a small bump. most people will feed and feed till it stops accepting food, which will take a while. i think this is where the exess waste comes from... rediculously overfeeding. i also took out any uneaten food.

a 50% WC in one go seems a bit too much though... if it was my tank, id do 25% every few days instead... less stressful for the fish.

chances are your puffer will tell you when its not happy anyway, as thier stomach will turn grey/black. i used to do a WC every time my puffers stomach turned grey. as well as the usual sunday WC.

also make sure you put loads of decor in there... a busy puffer is a happy puffer. if its going up and down the glass all day, its bored, and needs some mental stimulation. puffers are really intelligent, and can become bored very easily. try to rearrange its tank every once in a while to keep it amused.

make sure your 10g has a lid and all openings are sealed... thats why i dont have mine any more. they have good aim, mine got through a gap as wide as he was.

I have have to watch out for for the holes and seal them with tape on each side like I did for my newts. I have lots of clay pots kicking around and some different decor that I can try.
As for the WC, I will have to find a system that works for the puffer.

How long since there have been any fish in that tank? If more than 24 hours, it isn't cycled anymore.

Don't worry about the tank. There are snails in it that I imagine produce ammonia, they are an organism. Also I feed the tank daily with flake foods just in case.


Thanks everyone. I am glad I am getting so many opinions.

 

[bromie88]

I have have to watch out for for the holes and seal them with tape on each side like I did for my newts. I have lots of clay pots kicking around and some different decor that I can try.
As for the WC, I will have to find a system that works for the puffer.

yeah you'll have to find your own system/methods to keep your tank clean... it may need loads of work, or it may just do its own thing.

clay pots are a good choice, but i'd stilllook at adding other decor, fake plants, rocks bogwood ect...

use bogwood with caution though... it can lower pH as it leaches tannins into the water. if you keep a weekly waterchange schedule you wont have to worry though... if its a new piece, just remember to soak it for a while to get rid of most of the tannins. use boiling water as i find it soaks into the wood quicker. it will also kill anything living on the wood.

if its from an aquarium, you shouldnt have to soak it. i would use boiling water on it though. incase there are any nasties on it.

keep us informed... any pics you have post in the 'Why Dont We Have a Brackish Photo Thread'. which is the brackish photo thread ironically.