The Puffer Forum

ajwideout wrote:So what do you use?

Did you see the article I posted? I've been doing this so long now & have so many tanks, I can move filter media from tank to tank, so I haven't used that method for decades but that link to Fishless Cycling is still be BEST tried & true method for starting a new tank!

+1 to what pp said. Start as you meen to go on. Set up properly, be patient and you will enjoy

Go to your local dollar store, or similar establishment and buy a gallon of non-scented, non-detergent ammonia. It's only $1. Your LFS will probably be selling you the exact same thing at $10 a pint. Then get a dropper to add some ammonia in. You may have to do a little math here, to get the ppm around 3-5. I did the math on this years ago and I think it was 0.5ml of that particular brand of ammonia = 4.0 ppm in 1 gallon of water. So you would need 14 ml of ammonia added to your tank to get you in the right zone.

your brand's solution may be a different % concentration of NH4 so, you could take a 1 gallon jug of water and incrementally add and test to get your ratios right.

this is probably over complicated and someone else likely has an easier method. It may require more math than a raw shrimp, but it doesn't stink due to rotting.

Thank you all for the information. My local hardware store was able to supply ammonia cheap. I tested applying ammonia to one gallon of water, did the proportional math and then added to the tank. Now the patience and testing. Excited for the day when I can add my new buddies! Before I get to that point does anyone have a definitive proportion of dwarf puffers per gallon? Was thinking of either 4 or 5 but, as usual, will do what's right for the fish.

Allow 5g per puffer and you won't go far wrong

bertie 83 wrote:Allow 5g per puffer and you won't go far wrong

I had been trying to find a "rule of thumb" so to speak.
Had seen:

• 10g for first, 5g for each after
• 5g for first, 2.5g for each after
• 5g for each

From what I've seen posted online more than one puffer is just trouble waiting to happen. It's why I keep one! I have one in 50L, approx. 13 US Gal. It's very active, if anything I'd prefer to go with a bigger footprint so that there was more to explore.

Blackfish wrote:From what I've seen posted online more than one puffer is just trouble waiting to happen. It's why I keep one! I have one in 50L, approx. 13 US Gal. It's very active, if anything I'd prefer to go with a bigger footprint so that there was more to explore.

I have been following your post in this forum. Almost jealous with how well planted your tank is. Hoping I can emulate that to a certain degree, but I will also use decorations and bubbles in mine. Want my puffers to feel like they're in Disney! Lol. Have a 29g tank so I think I feel good about having 4 in there.

ajwideout wrote:Have a 29g tank so I think I feel good about having 4 in there.

I had 4 in a 29 gallon as juveniles, but unfortunately wound up with the wrong ratio of males to females as they matured (3 males, 1 female, yikes!).

Had to return two males that were fighting incessantly, and kept the one male and one female, who LOVED having a tank that large to themselves. They even bred once (though I didn't succeed at keeping the babies alive).

Having two issues at this point:

• ph seems to be holding at 7.8
• ammonia is BARELY registering in the test (using API Master Test Kit; ammonia test coming up a very light shade of green...had to stare at it for some time to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me) but it has been at this level for a week now (under .25 ppm)

Are you adding ammonia daily to 5ppm? What's your nitrate? What's the pH of your tap water?

When comparing your API test tube to the chart make sure you compare the results against something white as it makes judging easier.

Pufferpunk wrote:Are you adding ammonia daily to 5ppm? What's your nitrate? What's the pH of your tap water?

I stopped adding ammonia once I saw that it was holding at .2 ppm.
My tap water has a ph of 7.8 as well so I guess that answers that question.

If you stop adding ammonia, your bacteria will die without fish in there. Be sure to do an 80% WC before adding fish.

I've stopped with the ph for just 5 days now. Nitrates and nitrites have been consistently 0. As far as a water change, friend recommended using distilled water for the first change before fish. Yes? No?