The Puffer Forum

Got Benny 2 weeks ago. She was happily swimming around and loving life. Got her a car to swim in and out and explore. She's small ( maybe 1") and I have her in a hexagon 15g tank. I have a water testing kit and test every few days bc we already lost one GSP. Her readings are... ph 7.0, Ammonia 0.50, Nitrite 2.0 and Nitrate 20 ppm. Her water temp is around 75-77 degrees. ( temp of my bedroom). Water feels cool. Thinking Nitrites are high ( too much food ?? Water change needed ??) And maybe needs a heater ? How am I doing as a GSP mommy ?? Oh I'm worried bc she used to be very green and yellow with black spots, but is not a little brown on her sides. Oh and slat meter only reads lowest at 0.56 and her salt isn't even registering but she has some in there. Should I add more ??

Thanks for any help !!
Lisa

How EXACTLY did you cycle this tank? Add a heater & use a thermometer, please!

I had this tank set up as an aquascape tank originally with aquadirt ( not sure of the name ) and some live plants in it. I decided to use it as a puffer tank when hubby brought one home and didn't want her to go into tank with other fish b/c she was kind of small and I have large community fish. I took samples of the water to the pet store. They said my nitrites were high and to change out 25% of water and should be fine. I also bought marine salt and added some after diluting it to the water. (The puffer was still in a smaller tank temporarily with cycled water from my community tank which has been established for a year now perfectly numbers.) So tested the water again and still a little high nitrites. Spoke with a very knowledgable fish person at the pet store, to find out I needed to cover the aquadirt with gravel to prevent the toxins from coming up. I also have been syphoning from the top of the tank not the bottom. Just skimming stuff off the top. Think I need to do a deep clean out of the bottom b/c food keeps falling down there and I'm sure she isn't getting it all. I changed out another 10% and water levels were all perfect. I looked on the water chart and anything very light or pastel are good number and mine looked like an easter egg pastel colors. I took some of that water and since I didn't have a drip system I took out 1/2 of her water and added 1/2 tsp to her little tank every 5 minutes to get her used to the new tank water. Put her in the new tank once she had a full tank of mixed water and she was happy as a clam. Got a little upset last week when I changed out 10% of water b/c it had been a week and nitrites were a little high but when I did another 10% this week she got a little brown again and has stayed that way. Still flipping happily around and eating fine. Thinking the temperature maybe ? Also added 1/2 tsp of diluted salt yesterday b/c the salt meter isn't registering anything the salt content in her tank is so low but I know she needs brackish water to survive.

Thanks for your help. Lisa

Oh as far as Temp goes.. I do have one and it's a black stick on the side of the tank thermometer. It has a square that goes between 75-77* so I am thinking the tank is at 76*. What should it be at ?

78-80 is recommended.

Here's what I recommend: You're not going to have ANY luck with most live plants in a BW tank. Remove the plants & all the substrate. Add 1" layer of aragonite sand. Find non-living decor like silk plants & rocks for decor. Do an 80% WC & add Tetra Safestart to the filter. Wait 2 days & do another 50% WC. Get yourself an API test kit. Keep testing the water. As soon as you see ANY ammonia or nitrite, do another 50 % WC. Do NOT add salt, until your parameters show 0 ammonia/nitrite nitrate <20 for at least 3 weeks. Get a hydrometer to measure the salt & premix iin a bucket with a powerhead. Do not raise the SG (specivic gravity) more than .002/week.

library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19348

Ok that all is very informative but what am I supposed to do with Benny while I cycle the tank?

Safestart will cycle it.
Or: library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/

Update.. Did major water change. All levels are optimum level.... Ammonia & Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20ppm, the PH was a little high at 7.6 but I had just done a big water change. Going to retest today. Changed out the filters as well.

Minimized on salt ( hydrometer lowest reading is a 1.0022.. .should I get a different one to measure incraments below 0 ?? ). Does she need more salt ?? I know she needs brackish water but not sure how to do appropriate readings since I don't have the right SG guide on the hydrometer.

Took out all of the live plants and just left her crazy little semi large ( like a cave ) car in there with one fake plant.

Will minimize her food. ( BTW... What should I be feeding her ? The pet store lady gave me fly larva and advised maybe some feeder fish and ghost shrimp. please advise. She didn't like the frozen bloodworms. that just sat on the bottom of the tank.

BTW can I tell if it's a he or a she ?? I'm just calling her a she b/c my Betta ( in a separate tank of course ) is a He.

Thanks for your help.
Lisa

Actually, pH isn't high at all, what you want is actually 8. Did you read those articles I linked you to? I'm not sure why you'd be cleaning the filters when you are having cycling issues? What filter are you using? Keep a close eye on those parameters. Maybe a 50% WC, as your nitrate is at the top of what you want it to be (<20). Did you shake the nitrate test, exactly as the instructions say?
Yes, you want a heater. Temp should be 78-80.

Do NOT add any salt until you are sure the parameters are stable for at least 3 weeks. Tap water has a SG of 1.000.

They cannot be sexed.

library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/

Exit pretty much everything you said with the exception of a 50% water change instead of 80% initially so not to shock my puffer and it died carried her thank you for trying to help me though Granger. I think I'll stay away from puffers for now until I get better knowledge of how to care for them.

Oh no, I'm soooo sorry! I agree you might want to stay away from brackish fish for now but if you don't understand the cycling process, then you won't have any success with fish at all.

library/water-filtration/fishless-cycling/

Thank you for your help. I think I'm going to cycle out this octagon tank for a bit and make it a cichlid tank. My 80 gallon ( which has a mix if Angel's, gourami, pleckos, small feeder fush that survived, a shark or two and a handful of danios ) is perfectly balanced... even though it needs a poop scoop cleaning. I will re read your article on how to properly cycle the tank out thou before I put any more in there. Thank you. RIP BENNY