The Puffer Forum

Hello!
New puffer friend here! I got my GSP a little over a week ago. He is small about 1 inch. The LFS had them in fresh water. I know he needs to be in brackish water but I wasn’t sure when to start doing this because I know juvenile GSPs live in freshwater. I have all the supplies to begin slowly raising the salinity. Anyway, he is the only fish in a 20 gallon tank. I am aware he will need something larger later.

Tested this evening with API master freshwater test kit
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 6.5 (a little low)
temp: 79

Diet: small freeze dried shrimp, small freshwater snails (I am aware I need more variety suggestions welcome

He has been eating well each day but yesterday I noticed a little black on his belly. He started swimming around and the black was gone. Today there is even more black and he is swimming around less. Although, I did catch him sleeping with his eyes closed and then he popped one open to look at me and swam around a bit. The only change is I added some API pH up to raise the pH to better levels. I have added less than the normal dose yesterday and today. However, the first black belly signs started before adding the pH up.

You didn't mention how this tank was cycled? You should be showing some nitrate if done correctly. What's your water change schedule like?
I agree about the pH, it's actually VERY low. What's the pH of your tap water? What substrate are you using? Try changing it over to aragonite sand, to buffer the pH & keep it stable, around 8.
library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/

I did a fishless cycle where everything seemed normal. Should I add some bacteria? My substrate is gravel. I know weekly water changes are a thing. He has only been in the tank a week so I was planning on doing one today but unsure if I should begin to add saltwater due to his unwellness. He did eat well this morning.

Im sorry I forgot to mention about the pH of my tap water! Very very odd. I actually did this yesterday because I was curious! My tap water seems to run about 8.4 which is very odd because that’s very high. All my tanks have pH around 6.5 which is odd. I’m unsure what is bringing it down.

That IS odd! What is your WC schedule like? If doing at least 50% weekly, it should be closer to your tap levels.

I did a 30%-40% before I put him in a week ago. Yesterday I went out and bought some aragonite sand and an air stone. I added the aragonite sand on top of the gravel and installed the air stone. I left it for a few hours then checked the pH (he already started to look better) it was 7.1 so that’s a big improvement! I changed 25% of the water because I didn’t want to shock him too much with a huge water change. I started the brackish change. The water I added was .004 SG. Last night when I went to bed he was mostly white with a few small traces of grey on his belly.

That's great news! When you set up his new tank though, just use the aragonite sand. I hope you rinsed it well!
Here's a chart to help you make your BW: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19348

I did! It made the tank a little cloudy but it settled soon! This morning he was more black when I went to feed him but then he changed to almost white and has stayed that way. I did wake him up I notice when he is sleeping he is blacker probably for camouflage. Do you have any tips for what to feed? He doesn’t really seem to be interested in snails.

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library/feeding/problems-feeding-your-puffer/