New Memeber and soon to be puffer also!

[Swiftt5389]

Im looking to start a brackish aquarium. Its just a 10 gallon unfortunately. But I already have a 46 and another 10 thats set up. And 1 more 10 thats not.....yet. haha. anywho, Im purchasing a figure eight puffer today. The store thought it was a spotted puffer buts its clearly not. Ok so i read about puffers a lot yesterday and they normally are in a lower salinity, as opposed to a spotter puffer. Im going to pick the puffer up in like 1 hour and the store has him in full freshwater. So what should I do, add a little marine salt (instant ocean) every day or two to gradually work it up to the brackish range he needs. Which would be around 1.005 and 1.008 sp? IS this correct. And right now all I have is plain old sand in the tank. No decor. Not sure what the puffer would like. IM housing african cichlids in my 46 gallon bowfront and fry in my other 10 gallon. I have vids if anyone would like to see. I have been dealing with fish for 8 months and im still loving it. Help please so I can have a happy puffer. Well they look innocent but are mean. Also what about adding another puffer in a couple weeks. Or would that be a bad thing. What else could I put with him if anything. Remeber its only a 10 gallon so maybe 1 is my limit. Thanks in advance!

[Pufferpunk]

Start the puffer in FW & raise the SG .001-.002/week.

Is the tank cycled?

[Swiftt5389]

eh. No. I took my whisper 30 off my 46 gallon and replaced it with an Emperor 280 (also has a fluval 204) and it was fully cycled. I figured the puffer will be ok. I didnt rinse the filter or anything. I know, not cycling for the loss but I think i can slip through this loop hole and just make sure I test the water often..

EDIT: how would i raise it that little a week. My lowest sg on my hydrometer is 1.012..

[zombiefetus]

Welcome to the forum
you'll need a new hydrometer. Instant Ocean makes one that starts at 1.000

[Swiftt5389]

all of hte three stores around me have the same hydromter. Ill double check today. What should I do for the aquarium decor?

my cichlid tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afust3xeo5M

no worries the JD and 2 other SA cichlids will be gone soon enough.

[Pufferpunk]

Check out the decor in my tanks. You can order a hydrometer from http://www.drsfostersmith.com. See the DFS sticky here about discounts.

[Swiftt5389]

Shes in! Shes a little one . I will have to upload a few picks on how it looks. Thanks for all the help. When should I add some salt.

Thanks

Kyle

[bazil323]

You'll need to upgrade your tank soon though. F8s need 20 gallons per puffer. They're great though!

Fake plants are great because you don't have to worry about killing them in the brackish water. Use a lot of decorations that he or she can explore. Caves, sunken ships, rocks, plants, ruins, driftwood, whatever you like as long as it's fish safe. If I read you right, you took the filter off your old tank and put it on the 10g puffer tank? As long as the old tank's filter was dirty, you did cycle it.

Add salt as soon as you can. Though I'd wait until I had a hydrometer or refractometer (more accurate but more expensive), to be sure I didn't overload the tank. Mix up the salt with water in a separate container first. Rubbermaid tubs work great. That makes sure the salt is fully mixed so it doesn't burn the gills. It's best to leave it in the tub for 24 hours and keep mixing it often to let the pH and SG settle to get a more accurate reading. Good luck and have fun!

[Swiftt5389]

yes i took the filter off ym 46 gallon and didnt clean it at all. I bought Pattie =P frozen krill but she isnt eating it. I put a really tiny feeder in there and she didnt like that idea either. The store was out of frozen and live brine shrimp. Is this normal. Is she still jsut settling in? And can I tell if its a girl or boy just by looking at her?