New Figure 8 Owner Questions

[odinsfury]

The tank is a 20 gallon high. It had also been cycled and had freshwater fish in it long before I began to convert it into brackish water about a month ago. It started when I bought a green spotted puffer that was sold to me in freshwater. I moved the freshwater fish to another tank and I began to raise the salinity by .001 increments each week. The GSP's torn fins quicky healed and he was a hearty eater. He exhibited no signs of sickness but passed away last week. So, two days ago I purchased a F8 from a different LFS that was sold to me in 1.01 water. My tank was at 1.004 at this time so slowly acclimated him to my tank over the course of 90 minutes. I've been feeding him the tiniest trumpet snails I can find. I'm breeding some pond snails but I don't have enough of them yet. I've been feeding him other frozen foods, but I only feed him once a day. The temperature is at 78 degrees. I only have a hydrometer at this time.

Since my GSP mysteriously died, my concerns are:
Should I treat him for parasites? I have metronidazole and I could pick up some prazipro if needed.
My water seems to be very hard as it has yet to fluctuate from a pH of 8.2. I see no benefit of having an aragonite substrate for him, but will get it for him if someone can prove to me otherwise.
I'm not sure what kinds of things to put in there with him. He seems bored. There are some plastic plants and a cichlid cave.

[purplecandle]

Since you got the f8 you don't need to good to full on brackish like with gsp!

As far as the death of the gsp..did you test the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

It is always good practice to deworm puffers since they are wild caught. Treat the food not the tank!

Puffers like a heavily decorated tank. A cave and a few plants won't to the trick.

Aim for something like this


I wouldnt mess with the pH. But others will chime in on that.

Welcome btw

[bertie 83]

It never hurts to treat for parasites, worth doing to play safe. Welcome to the forum. I would invest in a more accurate device for measuring salinity. Plenty of decor to keep him occupied is good

[odinsfury]

Thanks for the responses guys. Yes, I did test for Ammonia and Nitrites after he died and none were present. I do plan on getting a refractometer when I can. Nice looking tank by the way Purple.

[bertie 83]

Refractometers are relatively cheap, as for ph stable is better as long as extremes are avoided.

[littlec]

I'm new to puffers as well. I too have a cycled 20 gal high. I've had my figure 8 for 2 weeks. He's about 2".

This is the refractometer I purchased: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00856 ... UTF8&psc=1
Works good. Comes with a case, calibration tool, and a pipet.

I also read an article on worms in the puffer library.
library/hospital/viiii-annabelles-diary ... nus-worms/
Its horrible what her puffer had to go through but it gives you ideas about what an infestation would look like.

I treated my figure 8 for 48 hours with tetra parasite guard. I treated the water. I was too scared to treat his food cuz I had no idea what dose size to use. No change to the puffer during treatment and no worms excreted so I assumed he was good to go. He eats like a pig. His belly gets nice and round when I feed him and then the next day his stomach is normal again. I feed him twice a day, everyday, 2 to 3 pond snails in the morning (the size of his eye), and San Francisco frozen krill or San Francisco frozen silver sides (cut up) at night. I am currently blaming the piggyness on him being a growing boy.

Since you have a gsp, I think they will get a lot bigger and you'll have to get a bigger tank eventually. Also they are full brackish. Definitely recommend the refractometer. The hydrometer I got was hard to use and not accurate. Tap water measured at .005. !?.

Good luck with your GPS!

[odinsfury]

I had a GSP, but he didn't make it. Now I have a F8.

Thanks for the link to the refractometer.

My pH has been very stable without the aragonite substrate. I continue to test it everyday though.

[RTR]

IME, nothing other than aragonite can be relied on to support the high pH the F-8s need for for long lives and health. Never use commercial buffers, they do not do the same job.- it is not the pH, it is the KH level that matters. The pH decline is just a symptom of decreasing KH.

Very low brackish water does not provide sufficient KH to keep the pH up where F-8s prefer it. Aragonite is your cheapest insurance on supporting high KH, which IME is fully as significant to F-8s as is the specific gravity. You do need to add a bit more aragonite periodically as it dissolves, so buy a bit more than you need initially.

HTH

[odinsfury]

Well, I'm still not fully convinced that I need it. However, I believe in playing it safe. I just finished upgrading his tank to a 20 long from a 20 high and used an aragonite sand substrate. I rinsed each batch at least 10 times but it's still cloudy. Is he going to be OK in the cloudy water? I'm using filter floss to hopefully clear up that cloudiness a bit faster. I tried to include more hiding spots for him this time. Any tips are appreciated. Although I have my own ideas, I do tend to listen to people that have been at this far longer than me.

[littlec]

What should the PH be for a figure 8?

[Pufferpunk]

pH is usually around 8 for BW fish. Clear the cloudy water by adding filter floss to your HOB filter. I buy the stuff at sewing stores, it's used for pillow/quilt stuffing.

[littlec]

My tap water is 7.8. Should I raise it to 8? What do I use to raise it? What would be the effect if I left it at 7.8?

[Pufferpunk]

Aragonite sand substrate will do it.

[RTR]

Believe it or not, fish do not read pH. They do read various minerals dissolved in water, and are highly sensitive to the osmolarity of their water and its stability. Testing pH is one quick and easy test to check the stability of your tank's water. In other words, you compare today's water conditions to earlier readings. Decreasing pH is a symptom of loss of KH in the tank. Aragonite substarates will assist well in stabilizing KH and thus pH.

[littlec]

Ok, I'll pick up some aragonite sand and a KH test kit next time I go to the pet store.

Thanks!