Info wanted about my Figure of Eight Puffers!!!

[sophie]

Been trying to fill in my profile but with no luck will try again tomorrow when hubby is up he's better on pc than me.

[sophie]

Take that back looks like i've sorted it now!!!

[nosepuff]

it shouldn't be too bad to cycle with pure ammonia. i think u should look for ammonium chloride solution (with no additives, but water). i think u could find it when u look for household cleaning products? i'm not sure because i am just using fish food, which is taking me a month. and it should help if u turn the tank water temperature to around 28 C with an aquarium heater. if u know someone who has a healthy, cycled tank then ask to borrow something to help start ur cycle. i got mine from my workplace. it could be gravel, decorations, or filter media. i put the gravel in a stocking, so i can get it out easily after my tank is cycled.

[Myaj]

You really don't want "pure ammonia" as that is a very harsh chemical sold for labratory work.

The regular cleaning stuff is what you want, which is really dilluted. What you don't want is added soaps or perfumes. Read the label, and when in doubt, shake the bottle. If it foams up, they've added soaps, and you don't want that. Usually the cheapest, most generic brand is the one you'll end up buying, because they didn't add the fancy stuff.

[jake_vdb]

If you can't find any ammonia without surfactant or detergent, just drop a raw prawn in there and let it rot. It will cycle the tank in about the same time (I've done it both ways)

[sophie]

Heard of the prawn way before how long should the prawn be left in the tank?

[Boxermom]

My favorite way after Biospira. Just throw it in and let it rot until the cycle completes.

[sophie]

have to see if i can order it in of the internet then somehow

[Boxermom]

If you mean Biospira, I doubt it, the only places I know of that will ship won't ship to the UK. It has to be kept refrigerated and, therefore, has to be overnighted. Anywhere where it can get stuck in customs is going to be a problem.

[Hilly]

I looked into getting some bio-spira shipped, it was going to take several days and there was no chance it would arrive still refrigerated so its not really an option in the UK.

[taureandragon76]

All I do to cycle a tank is take a sponge from one of my established tanks squeeze out the sponge into the new setup and also do a water change on that established tank and put the water you take out into the new tank and voila you got your bacteria. I have found though that sometimes I still end up with a mini-cycle. Are you gonna cycle with the salt already added? If not make sure you get up to your 1.005 - 1.008 SG slowly as if you do it all at once you could kill off all of your beneficial bacteria. I use an Aquaclear 200 on my 20g tank which is doing 200gph. As for plants here is a link for you that gives you a list of brackish adaptable plants

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=8

Also I would suggest getting a refracometer over a hydrometer as they are way more accurate and with the Figure 8's being low end brackish I find it easier to measure using a refractometer.

Oh and another thing, if you don't have an established tank to get good bacteria from, most LFS's will supply you some or just do as others have suggested as it also works quite well and throw a good sized prawn in there and let it rot and do its thing

[my name is mike]

if you are thinking of doing live plants, cycle your tank as freshwater, then raise to low-end brackish. this is because plants need to be acclimated to the salt very slowly, over a few weeks to get to 1.005 --- otherwise you will have to start another tank and bring that up slowly. (i learned that one the hard way) --

[sophie]

Thanks for the advice i am probably going to start with fresh then gradually raise the salinity to the appropiate level as the puffers are kept in freshwater in the shop i'm getting them from.

taureanddragon76
Would this method work for me as the fish in my tank are coldwater/freshwater fish?

Also I know you said its quicker but how long roughly wpuld it be this way till I could add my fish to the tank?

I have a spare filter running in case of emergencies would it help the process if when I squeeze the sponge into my new filter if I also put my spare filter in the other end of tank as well would that speed things up any or not?

[sophie]

taureandragon76

Also how do your Figure of eights get on living with the Bumble Bee Gobys as I want something in with mine and some people have said not to because of the puffers attacking the other fish I was thinking off Mollies whats your opinion?

[jake_vdb]

Also how do your Figure of eights get on living with the Bumble Bee Gobys as I want something in with mine and some people have said not to because of the puffers attacking the other fish I was thinking off Mollies whats your opinion?

Tankmates with puffers is never a certainty. That being said, many people have successfully kept F8s and BBGs together. I've had 2 F8s with 5 BBGs together for over a year, and I've never witnessed any aggression. I've also had a pair of Orange Chromides in the mix for close to 6 months now with no problems.

I would advise you watch them closely in the beginning, and be prepared to re-home or return the gobies if problems should arise.