big tank, little fish

[nosepuff]

hi, i am a new member...but i've been lurking around to research more about gsp's. i plan to purchase and cycle a 29 gallon tank. the gsps at the store are a little less than an inch, a few at two inches. i was planning on cycling the tank with fish food (no biospira in canada). but after it has been cycled, would the bacteria die off quickly with just one little fish inside? i think that they would need the ammonia from the fish to survive, wouldn't they?

i do have a 5 gallon tank that i can raise the fish in until he/she gets bigger, but then again the article i read says at least 10 gallons. my family will think i'm a lunatic if i end up with multiple tanks in the house.

oh yeah, this is off topic...but a penguin biowheel filter is included in the package. i have never used that kind of filter before, and i am wondering if fish ever get into it.

[Boxermom]

There will be sufficient bacteria to handle whatever load the little one has, and will increase in numbers as the puffer grows and the bioload naturally increases. Biowheel filters are okay. I personally prefer Rena or Aquaclear HOBs.

[spoot]

Our ceylon tanks are running at an SG of 1.010. We use 2 large penguin biowheel filters on it. Some people say there are issues with the salt getting on the wheel stopping it from spinning but it has never happened to us though. If you already have one, there is no point going out to buy a new one. However, if you do choose to replace it, buy one rated for a bigger tank, over filtration is a good thing.

We have had problem with the filters priming themselves after a power down, but this does not happen on every one of our biowheel filters.

I'd highly recommend no putting your gsp into the 5g tank. There is no telling how easily they can be stunted.

This will tell you everything you need to know about gsp's.
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug. ... roviridis/

[nosepuff]

thanks for the advice. yeah, i was planning on using the 5g as a tank for breeding snails or shrimp anyway. for the penguin filter, i have heard of snails getting in and stopping the wheel...i don't know how that happens, lol. getting off topic again, but i have another question. if i am turning my tank into brackish, should i get a freshwater test kit or a saltwater one? i don't know if it makes a difference, but i am mainly using it to see if my tank cycles.

[Pufferpunk]

Put a sponge over the intake.

[Boxermom]

Freshwater kit will work for low-medium brackish levels.

[spoot]

We use the liquid test that work for both fresh and salt water. They are a little more expensive but they give you the option to choose which color result sheet you want to compare to.

If your tank is going to be brackish, you won't have to worry about snails. They don't really handle salt that well, plus they'd get eaten anyways.

[nosepuff]

ooh, i didnt know there was a kit for both fresh and saltwater. i bought a freshwater liquid test kit for about $30 cdn, and i will change it when the time comes. i bought the tank yesterday and decorated it with so many plants that my mom thought the fish wouldn't be able to swim in it, lol. but i think they like to swim through it and stuff, don't they? anyway, thanks for all ur help. can't wait for my tank to cycle.

[nosepuff]

aww, im so sad. i went to 3 fish stores that all had gsps. one store was selling them as "dwarf puffers". another store had big ones, and they had nothing in their tanks. they looked dark and scared. the last one had a dead puffer and the other puffers had picked the eyes out. its so sad that many gsps are doomed.

anyways, im still cycling my tank with fish food. i put them in a stocking, and i notice white mouldy stuff growing around it. is this a bad sign? oh yeah, and u guys were right when u said that cycling products do not work (except biospira). i've been using stability, but my ammonia just kept going for 8 days. now i'm beginning to see like 0.1 ppm nitrites. too bad they dont sell biospira in canada.

[Pufferpunk]

anyways, im still cycling my tank with fish food. i put them in a stocking, and i notice white mouldy stuff growing around it. is this a bad sign?

That's why I prefer plain ammonia.

[nosepuff]

yeah, i'm never using fish food again. and i just remember that there is a healthy, established tank at my work place!!! i'm going to ask to borrow some gravel, but how do i keep the bacteria alive while i bring it home? i live 15 minutes away.

[Pufferpunk]

15minutes is fine--it won't die in that time. Read the fishless cycling article in our Library. You'll need plain, cloudy ammonia too.

[Myaj]

Yep, 15 minutes won't hurt it at all. If you have a clean nylon sock, put it in there so you can easily remove it from your tank later and put it back in the tank you got it from if that's what you are planning on doing.

[nosepuff]

thanks for the advice! still waiting for my tank to cycle, lol.

[Pufferpunk]

Are you adding ammonia?