bought 29g and want puffers. newbie

[Pufferpunk]

Do as many and as large water changes as necessary, to keep your ammonia & nitrite at 0.

[Hilly]

When Ammonia is high it means there isn't enough bacteria there to turn it into nitrites and then the bacteria is required to turn the nitrites into nitrates which is the least toxic to fish as long as it is controlled. Big water changes will keep the levels as low as possible to keep the ammonia and nitrites as least toxic to the fish as possible. Once a bacteria colony has matured to cope with changing the ammonia into nitrites and them into nitrates you will be all good to go on your weekly water changes to control the nitrates. For now though keep up with the big water changes.

Good luck.

[Pufferpunk]

You can add Bio-Spira to your filter, for an instant cycle.

[mikeKICKz]

so when i use bio-spira and other chemicals. i have put it in the filter not directly in the tank.

[mikeKICKz]

i will post a pic of my tank tomorrow

[Pufferpunk]

so when i use bio-spira and other chemicals. i have put it in the filter not directly in the tank.

What other chemicals? B-S is not a chemical, it is the live bacteria needed to cycle a tank.

[mikeKICKz]

here's a list of what i put in the tank.

bio-spira, only use on the first day.
prime, used first day and on water change.
stability, used second day till now.
clarity, used just once.
ammo lock, use every other day till ammonia reaches 0.002ppm.
nutrafin cycle, used yesterday and today.

am i doing too much?

the salt i'm going to use is oceanic sea salt mix.
is it ok if i put salt in beta cup sealed with tiny holes then throw it in the tank to dissolve?

i just got done doing a 5 gallon change.
i suck at taking pictures but meet hiro

[Myaj]

Well, you wasted your money on Biospira then, by using those other products (especially the Ammo lock) and not following the package directions (no water changes).

Forget the Stability, forget the Ammo Lock, Clarity and Cycle. They are just causing you more problems by starving your bacteria (by removing the ammonia completely) and adding a bunch of dead bacteria (dead stuff just means it will rot and add more waste, it doesn't actually bring in the correct, live bacteria).

Keep using the Prime and doing big water changes. Then, if you want to use Biospira again, follow the directions! I haven't used it in a while but I'm 90% sure you aren't supposed to do water changes in the days right after adding it, or you are just throwing it away.

But your main goal right now is to do water changes, big ones, daily, to keep levels stable and allow your biofilter to establish without poisoning the fish.

That's a beautiful tank BTW! I love the colors and the puffer looks pretty happy.

[Fella]

Don't add any salt directly to the tank, mix it in a bucket first.

[mikeKICKz]

Was it a waste if i forgot to remove the carbon out of my filter, and added bio-spira?

[TribalGear]

You Can Feed you GSP's Krill, bloodworms and more crusteceans. I feed my 2 GSP's Krill and they love them alot!!!
-Joseph
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2.5 Gallon full of small tetras
15 gallon Brackish/marine puffer tank

[Jimmy038]

I'm new too, I had mad another thread an day or so ago got a few replies and no where near as much as you did ya I think I got too many puffers but I don't want to return them cause I think they are better off with me. I got two GSP that are both under 1 inch, little babies and got 1 figure 8 puffer that is about a inch and a half. right now they are all in a 10 gal BUT before you all freak haha, I have them only temporally. I have a 29 gal that I am going to move the 2 GSP puffers to and when they get to about 3 inches I will be out for a bigger tank. My 29 gal tank is in the process of being healthy, I was told by the pet store my nitrate was too low I think, lack of poo or somtin so I went and got some feeder goldfish to help with that. I do realize my cramped set ups are not the best but I am trying to do the best for them and I believe they are doing far better with me then the pet store in fact I'm going to go recommend to them that they take the time to read this website. As they grow I promise to try and get them closer to the proper space.

One question I did have was what type of cleaner can you put in with the puffers when you start adding salt? right now I have a 3 inch pleco in the 10 gal and doing a good job keeping it clean and would like one in the 29 gal seeing atm its being over run by algie. But can they handle the salt?

I also understand that my GSP need more amusement seeing they were going up and down the glass in the 10 gal but I hope to have them over to the 29 gal soon. Also jsut recently the figure 8 puffer has become a bit of a bully towards them, chases them away from the front of the glass. I guess he likes me and does not want to share me or just wants the food I put in. I have been feeding them shrimp I have got from the grocery store, thaw it in warm water then put it on this little suction cup clip to the glass and they been tearing it to shreds. Also noticed when they stopped eating it the pleco would go after some it seems, whats the deal with that? mind you the pleco seems really healthy and active.

I am new to the saltwater business, been doing fresh on and off, done the whole angelfish and chiclids and mollies, swordtails and what not. Use to breed them, was something I did when I was 15 teen, then stopped and now I'm 22 and me and my GF want fish seeing its the only pet we could get in our apartment building and she fell in love with the puffer and I think they are pretty cool too so I stuck trying to get everything set up for them lol. I do read over some info on the saltwater and reading all the bacteria stuff you need and what not, just seems kinda mind boggling right now. Do I need a certain type of filters because I use a aquaclear side mount filter and under gravel filter in the 29 gal and 2 smaller aquaclear side mounts on the 10 gal.

1 last thing I was kinda wondering, is there any type of other fish you can keep with the puffers when you start adding salt? I know they will have a tendency to want to go after them but if the tank is big enough like what can you get away with?

[yunachin]

I love the set up of your tank it is very pretty with the black and white.

[Nick]

I'm not sure what info this local store is feeding you, there's really no such thing as nitrates too low. You should be able to detect them if a tank is cycled, but other than that, unless you have live plants(then you want around 10) less nitrates are better. And they were REALLY off with the feeders. Adding feeder goldfish to a tank you want to put a puffer in is really, really bad. They are disease ridden, almost guaranteed to transfer nasty disease causing pathogens to your puffers, I don't think I'd use them even _after_ a one month quarantine. When cycling a tank, no reason to add anything other than something meaty that rots. Also something the LFS didnt' mention I'm sure, the pleco needs out of the ten gallon pretty soon if it's already 3", they reach over a foot and aren't suited long term to tanks under 55 gallons. Also, sadly there are no plecos for brackish, if you have an algae problem, keeping the lights down to 8 hours a day is the best help you can get in brackish.

[Myaj]

Wow, yes, very bad advice from your store Jimmy. The pleco is a very, very bad idea. They are messy fish and will pollute the tank big time, and yes, will get over a foot long, easily. Unless its a bristlenose or rubbernose, plecos are scavengers and mainly meat eaters, so that's why its going for some of the shrimp.

As far as the 29, just steal some gravel, filter media or decorations from the 10 gallon tank to bring over some established bacteria. Although I agree with Nick, those goldfish probably brought in diseases, etc.. yuck. Cold water fish carry parasites and diseases that don't bother them (they have adapted to them) but can wipe out tropicals in no time. But get rid of those goldies and get the two GSP's into the 29. The larger water volume per fish will help keep the water quality under control. Then later, you could move the Figure 8 to the 29 when you upgrade for the GSP's, maybe add a few bumblebee gobies to the 29 for a little more activity.

Your aquaclear filters are fine for now, if you make it to the point of full marine a year or two down the line you'd want to change to something else most likely (or change their setup a bit), but they'll work just fine as they are for low-mid level brackish.

Tankmates for puffers can be tricky. First you need a very big tank (big enough for the puffers PLUS the other fish), lots of hiding places, and even then, you never know if the puffers will turn on the other fish. People have had good luck with chromides, some try mollies but the mollies seem to tend to bully the puffers (since puffers swim slower when eating, the mollies get all the food). It can work sometimes, other times it doesn't.