stressed new GSP

[cobra1713]

ok well i finally got around to getting my new gSP today after getting rid of all my guppies.

i have a 10 gallon completly cycled tank with 1 TSP aquarium salt per gallon. 0 amonia nitrite and nitrate. I only have the GSP and an otocyclis (1.5 in catfish fully dont know about spelling) anyway the new puffer llost most of his color and is just sitting at the bottom. is this regular for the puffer being in a new tank or should i be doing something different.

[crazedpuffer]

0 nitrate means either the tank is uncycled or your test kits are off.
Also aquarium salt is not whats used to make a tank brackish. You need marine salt.

[cobra1713]

well i threw nitrates in there because they are in safe levels around 10 or so but i just typed it weird.

well they have been in a tank using aquarium salt to make it brackish for three weeks at the fish store. i had planned on switching to marine salt slowly but there are no shops around me that sell marine salt in under a 20 pound bag wich is a little much for a 10 gallon tank.

[Jase]

trust me, when you have puffers, it won't take long to use everything you have in WCs

... do you have some pics of your lil fella?

[crazedpuffer]

Save yourself the trouble and just buy one of those buckets that treats 150 gallons. It's well worth it IMO. How big is your puff?

[cobra1713]

1.5" prob pretty average size for a GSP

[Pufferpunk]

Average size for a juvie... It will be a fat, 6" in no time! Larger than 2" & it'll need a 30g tank, unless you have many other sizes available for smaller upgrades. Good article in our Library on everything you need to know about them.

[cobra1713]

yea i meant for the kind you usually find at a store. i am keeping it in what it was at the store for now and am gonna slowly transfer it to a true marine salt brackish tank.

i read that article, great information.

The tank has a bunch of smaller snails that are breeding, so i saw him munch a few of those earlier. just to see if he had an apetite i cut about a 1/4 cube of bloodworms and but them in and he instantly perked up and his color returned and he devored the worms.

how are they with lights? more comfertable dark or light?

thanks

[Jase]

so far my GSPs are up when I get up at 6. I turn on the light and go to school. they are very friendly and ready to be fed when I get home at noon. then at around 6 I turn off the light and after a minute or two they go to their sleeping places.

[cobra1713]

how long have you had yours and what are you using to make it brackish and how brackish is it?

[Jase]

I've had mine about a month. I use Marine salt as is suggested and is best for your puffer. it's at sg 1.008 and increasing, but I started them at 1.002, cause they weren't sure what sg the water was at or even if it was brackish.

did you read the article about raising salt levels? it's advised .001 or .002 per week.

[spoot]

It is suggested to use marine salt. Most, if not all members here use marine salt. Aquarium salt will just make salty water, not brackish water. To measure the specific gravity of the water, you'll need a hydrometer or refractometer. 1 TSP per gallon is a fairly negligible amount of salt. At 1.5", it is recommended to keep GSP's at SG's about 1.003-1.007.

[Jase]

mine are just a bit bigger than that. therefore a bit more salt.

[yunachin]

It won't hurt if they are raised to 1.010, IMO, they seem to do better in higher brackish to full-marine.

[Pufferpunk]

i cut about a 1/4 cube of bloodworms and but them in

Be sure to defrost those worms & drain off the "juice". You don't want that adding extra phosphate & nitrate to your tank.

Just (as the article says) don't raise the SG faster than .002/week. You'll need to buy a hydrometer with the marine salt. Whenever you decide to get a bucket of it, http://www.drsfostersmith.com is the cheapest, since htey don't tack on extra weight charges. I just wait until I meed a bunch of stuff for my tanks & dog & order it all at once. At that point, I'm paying about $35 for a huge bucket.