sorry all, i have been reading your forums for the last couple of days and was referred here from Practical fish keeping site, i am a avid planted tank guy and just bought four GSP from my local.
Questions are as follows
1 my puffers are mostly black color not the pretty greenish yellow i see on other fish in the forums and articles,, WHY??
2 now they are about an inch in length how long can i keep them in my 100 ltr ,co2 nutrient dosed tank before i need to build a brackish set-up ??
3 have only had them three days now but they haven't eaten the bloodworm or brine shrimp i have offered them or the rummy nose and neon tetras they are currently sharing the tank with what can i do , I realize that they like Crunchy food but till now i have no supply of snails and haven't gone to my super market to buy some clam etc. so what should i do?
4 read three they are kept with what i think from reading fish they should eat is it OK as i don't really mind if they are culled is this a healthy food source ? are they like other critters in that when they get hungry enough they will eat what ever they can find?
5 brackish conditions don't allow for live plants and such do they? so what are the best options for decorations? i really don't care for marine tanks a little to boring looking to me.
as an aside i live in shanghai and the prevalent thought about these fish is that they are fresh water and very hard to keep therefore not popular it took me a couple of months to find some and my only source of information is from folks like you so i thank you in advance for your advice and patience in answering and viewing my questions
yet another question about the gsp from a begainer
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Pufferpunk
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Re: yet another question about the gsp from a begainer
![[welcome]](./images/smilies/welcome.gif "welcome")
Start by reading the article on GSPs in our Library.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Re: yet another question about the gsp from a begainer
puffer punk thank you for such a quick reply but i must tell you i did read it and though it was well written i didn't think it addressed my questions clearly if so i would not have asked my questions, by the way nice ride
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Nick
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Re: yet another question about the gsp from a begainer
1) Unless in brackish water made with the same type of mix used for marine tanks(just less of it) GSP tend to be uncomfortable and display this with dark bellies and muted colors. Some also become dark when sleeping, but this corrects right after they awaken and adjust. Get them in at least light brackish water (sg 1.002) as soon as you can ensure them a fully cycled tank - a new tank at 1.002 or less using old unwashed filters from a tank with similar bioload that is a fresh water tank will be ok.
2) Four GSP, even at one inch, are already pretty crowded in a tank under 30 gallons. Not more than a couple weeks.
3) Until they settle in and become comfortable, they typically will not eat.
4) Fish are too fast for GSP to catch in the wild and their digestive tracks do not digest them properly, they are too fatty as well. Not a good food.
5) Some plants will survive in low brackish conditions, but none will survive as high as the GSP will need. Fake wood decorations, especially tall ones that break up line of site, as well as tall silk plants, are typical for brackish tanks for GSP.
6) You didn't ask, but seeing as your GSP will eventually require 100 or more gallons of space, buying a single large tank and setting it up now will make them grow much faster and be easier on your wallet.
That they are sold as freshwater fish is why they are considered so difficult in Shanghi; it's really not possible to keep a FW environment suitable for them in captivity, they require a real brackish water made from ocean salt mix like instant ocean or a mixture of clean natural sea water with fresh water.
2) Four GSP, even at one inch, are already pretty crowded in a tank under 30 gallons. Not more than a couple weeks.
3) Until they settle in and become comfortable, they typically will not eat.
4) Fish are too fast for GSP to catch in the wild and their digestive tracks do not digest them properly, they are too fatty as well. Not a good food.
5) Some plants will survive in low brackish conditions, but none will survive as high as the GSP will need. Fake wood decorations, especially tall ones that break up line of site, as well as tall silk plants, are typical for brackish tanks for GSP.
6) You didn't ask, but seeing as your GSP will eventually require 100 or more gallons of space, buying a single large tank and setting it up now will make them grow much faster and be easier on your wallet.
That they are sold as freshwater fish is why they are considered so difficult in Shanghi; it's really not possible to keep a FW environment suitable for them in captivity, they require a real brackish water made from ocean salt mix like instant ocean or a mixture of clean natural sea water with fresh water.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: yet another question about the gsp from a begainer
1 my puffers are mostly black color not the pretty greenish yellow i see on other fish in the forums and articles,, WHY??
Black tummy is a sign of stress. What are the parameters?
2 now they are about an inch in length how long can i keep them in my 100 ltr ,co2 nutrient dosed tank before i need to build a brackish set-up ??
They should be in a SG of around 1.005-1.008 now & 10g ea. Eventually you will need a 120g tank for them.
3 have only had them three days now but they haven't eaten the bloodworm or brine shrimp i have offered them or the rummy nose and neon tetras they are currently sharing the tank with what can i do , I realize that they like Crunchy food but till now i have no supply of snails and haven't gone to my super market to buy some clam etc. so what should i do?
Excellent feeding articles in our Library. What are the parameters? Was the tank totally cycled before adding the puffers?
4 read three they are kept with what i think from reading fish they should eat is it OK as i don't really mind if they are culled is this a healthy food source ? are they like other critters in that when they get hungry enough they will eat what ever they can find?
Fish really aren't the best food for your puffers but ok as a treat, as long as they are the ones you mention (not feeder goldfish). They will not help at all with their teeth.
5 brackish conditions don't allow for live plants and such do they? so what are the best options for decorations? i really don't care for marine tanks a little to boring looking to me.
You are correct- most plants will not do well at the higher SG these puffers prefer. You might want to check out the decor in my tanks.
Black tummy is a sign of stress. What are the parameters?
2 now they are about an inch in length how long can i keep them in my 100 ltr ,co2 nutrient dosed tank before i need to build a brackish set-up ??
They should be in a SG of around 1.005-1.008 now & 10g ea. Eventually you will need a 120g tank for them.
3 have only had them three days now but they haven't eaten the bloodworm or brine shrimp i have offered them or the rummy nose and neon tetras they are currently sharing the tank with what can i do , I realize that they like Crunchy food but till now i have no supply of snails and haven't gone to my super market to buy some clam etc. so what should i do?
Excellent feeding articles in our Library. What are the parameters? Was the tank totally cycled before adding the puffers?
4 read three they are kept with what i think from reading fish they should eat is it OK as i don't really mind if they are culled is this a healthy food source ? are they like other critters in that when they get hungry enough they will eat what ever they can find?
Fish really aren't the best food for your puffers but ok as a treat, as long as they are the ones you mention (not feeder goldfish). They will not help at all with their teeth.
5 brackish conditions don't allow for live plants and such do they? so what are the best options for decorations? i really don't care for marine tanks a little to boring looking to me.
You are correct- most plants will not do well at the higher SG these puffers prefer. You might want to check out the decor in my tanks.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Re: yet another question about the gsp from a begainer
Nick , Puffer punk , thank you very much for your clear answers to my questions , believe me i am not trying to be lazy when i ask questions i do do my research but a lot just isn't clear to me so i really do appreciate it .. as for the water param its nearly perfect for planted aquria a few areas are off but not bad at all. and yes it is a fully cycled tank which i know is a good thing at least .
gsp are not popular in china as they are thought to be fresh water fish so do not live long here .. a friend who has been into fish keeping for several years now tells me that he has never had a fish no matter what type live longer then two years and was suprised when i tole him of the general life span of a healthy fish,, so much for good information in my neck of the woods ...
only two weeks at most they can stay in their current home ?? i guess i better get to finding space for a new 100 gal tank have one already but its occupied and ....
as one person says .. must get more tanks must get more tanks haha
again thank you much and i will more then likely ask more information from you, the professionals in the near future ..
gsp are not popular in china as they are thought to be fresh water fish so do not live long here .. a friend who has been into fish keeping for several years now tells me that he has never had a fish no matter what type live longer then two years and was suprised when i tole him of the general life span of a healthy fish,, so much for good information in my neck of the woods ...
only two weeks at most they can stay in their current home ?? i guess i better get to finding space for a new 100 gal tank have one already but its occupied and ....
as one person says .. must get more tanks must get more tanks haha
again thank you much and i will more then likely ask more information from you, the professionals in the near future ..