Amazon Puffer Teeth

[Pennellapuffer]

I am worried about my Puffer fish, their teeth, and their coloration and water quality. I have three Amazon Puffer fish in a 20 gallon tank that has double filtration, several plants (mostly live, a few fake) and several little places to hide around the edges. The middle is open for swimming and I have a power head set up to run parallel to the length of the tank and give them a current to swim against. Their substrate is sand and they also have an airstone in one corner as well. Their water did not measure very good a couple days ago unfortunately... the tank was cycled prior to introducing them. When I measured the water a few days ago, it showed minimal amounts of Nitrites but no Ammonia. The Nitrite level was ~.25, and the Nitrate level was ~60-80. I gave them a 25% water change right away after finding that out (2 days ago) and I am planning to give them another 25% water change today. Will that be enough, or should I do a larger water change or more small ones to help with the bioload? They are acting as normal, exploring sometimes but mostly skimming the glass in one corner of their tank, however their coloration looks pretty faded. I’m not sure how to include a photo on these forum post things... but I will try to.. Their teeth also look like they may be getting a little long and causing them trouble when they’re eating, though it’s hard to tell. I will try to get good pictures of their teeth, but their still very small, about 1 inch long each. Sorry for the long post, I will try to put all their tank and dietary information now in an organized format below!!

Tank size: 20g
Water temp: 80F
Water parameters last checked (today): PH:8.2, Ammonia: 0.25ppm, Nitrites: 0.25ppm, Nitrates: 80ppm... Somehow they’ve gotten worse since the 25% water change..
Diet: Vibra Bites mainly, which they can still eat but sometimes look like they are struggling to eat, and frozen brine shrimp, which they take little interest in. I am just starting a pond snail tank for their long term food source.

[Pufferpunk]

library/puffers-in-focus/sap/
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebinde ... tistry.htm

[Pennellapuffer]

Update:

Thanks Puffer punk for the reply! I checked both articles out and will be trying to follow their instructions. The one mentioned using clove oil for clipping their teeth, but I’ve seen elsewhere that that could be dangerous long term so I purchased some MS 222 online. It should be coming in about a week. Hopefully they can last till then. They are still able to eat, but they look a little funny...
I did another water change yesterday, about 40-50% of the water, and added some API leaf zone into the water and some API Stress Zyme. The fish’s coloration looks the same as before, but I’m hoping changing the water is helping..

[Pufferpunk]

They are equally as dangerous.
Did you read the recommended tank size for your puffers?

[csduck17]

I would look at getting a bigger tank. I had 5 SAP plus a couple of oddballs set up in a 55g with an auto water changer hooked up to it at one point. I couldn't imagine having 3 in a 20g for both the waste and swimming space. They would swim against the current all day in a 55 using the full length.

[Pufferpunk]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
THIS!!!

[Pennellapuffer]

Thanks for the advice everyone!
I understand my tank may be too small, and I feel bad about it, but for now the undertaking to start up a 50 gallon tank would be very difficult... I have my goldfish in a 75 gallon. I’ve considered putting the puffers in with them, but factors such as water temperature, how well they would do together, etc. have stopped me from pursuing the idea so far. The goldfish are all relatively big, all but one are bigger than my puffer fish, however some of them are fancies and it would be easy for them to be picked on.

I understand the irresponsibility of keeping pets you can’t take care of, and I definitely don’t want to neglect my puffers, but for now is there a way to keep them relatively healthy in a 20 gallon? I can do daily 25% water changes and get them heavier filtration if necessary, as well as set their tank up according to SAP tastes as well as possible, but I’m not sure about a tank upgrade right now. I’ve also considered painting the back and sides of their tank black because I’ve heard they possibly skim the tank because they like their reflection and that some people have had success lowering how much they skim the tank by painting the back/sides black.

Last night I attempted to clip their teeth. It was very scary. I used measurements I found that someone online suggested, about 1/8 teaspoon MS-222 to 1 liter of water. Personally this seemed a bit high to me, but they said it was lower than general recommendations. I probably should have done my homework more beforehand, but i went ahead with their measurements. My fish “passed out” pretty quickly (~20-30 seconds) and I scooped them up in my net and used a cuticle clipper. They were much more delicate than I had realized and it was difficult. I was only able to do their top set of teeth because I was alone and I didn’t feel confident pulling down the bottom lip and clipping at the same time. They all revived relatively quickly, except for one, which took much longer than the other two.. I was very worried about him. All seem fine now and I gave them a 25% water change afterwards. They aren’t on snails yet, but the snails are breeding and soon they will be.

Sorry for the long post! These little buggers are just very complex and I want to do the best I can for now! I understand they may eventually need a tank upgrade but I am doing my best to find other solutions for the present.

I also was wondering, Pufferpunk, you said the MS-222 and the clove oil were equally dangerous. I’ve read in other threads on her that the MS-222 was the safer alternative. Is there any information you can give me/article you can refer me to concerning the possible harmful side effects of MS-222?

[Pufferpunk]

Try this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9749&p=99501&hilit= ... 222#p99501

[Pennellapuffer]

Thanks Puffer punk I will purchase some gloves and be extra careful with my MS-222 from now on..