Avocado puffers: Freshwater or Brackish?

[rodentgirl16]

I am going crazy trying to find out whether or not my two new avocado puffers Mrs. Puff and Spongebob (A. modestus as far as I can tell from all of the photos on the site) are supposed to be in freshwater or brackish. The pet store that I bought them from is selling them as brackish, and would not let me buy them until they tested my water to verify that it was brackish. I get home and research the treats that I can give them and realize that my puffers are freshwater? They are eating well and seem happy. I bought them on Saturday and placed them in my newly converted to brackish water tank. They have already figured out that if I dip water out of the tank to soak their food that they are going to be fed soon and zip around the top waiting for their "chum." So adorable! If they are freshwater, how long before the brackish water takes its toll? Since it is a small tank, it will need frequent water changes, and I figure that I can just gradually convert back to freshwater, right? Any knowledge would be appreciated.

Signed,

Feeling like a very negligient monster, puffer parent

[edmlfc1]

As answered in your first post: According to the pufferpedia they are fresh water. I have a friend that has two of these and she has them in fresh water. She recently had to seperate them due to aggression. What is the sg in your tank?
Depending on how high your sg is you can lower it by .002 per week without killing off any good bacteria until you get it back to full freshwater.

[Myaj]

They are freshwater, very active and beautiful fish.

Is your tank truly brackish or did you just add some "aquarium salt" to it? If it really is brackish, as edmlfc1 said, just lower your salinity by no more than .002 each week and you can take it back down to freshwater without hurting your biofilter.

[Pufferpunk]

It would help to know what the exact SG is & what kind of salt you are using. How long has the tank been set up? How large is it?

[rodentgirl16]

Thanks everyone! Here's the deal. Our local pet shop tests water for free. In fact, they will do everything except outright deny your ability to purchase fish until they test it, which I can appreciate. In addition, they sell gallons of fresh, brackish, and saltwater as you need it. I have been buying the brackish water. When they tested the SG in my tank, they said it was at a perfect brackish level. Unfortunately, I don't know what that level was so I'm going to take a sample tonight if the weather isn't too terrible. Having said that, this IS the same pet store that sold these avocados as brackish so my confidence is pretty shaken. To answer the other questions, it is 20 gallons and has been set up as freshwater for the past four years. I will get back to you with the SG.

As far as aggression, these two are siblings and seem to get along well so far. When I feed them, the bigger one, Mrs. Puff, tends to "puff" (I hope that's normal) just a little when she finds a morsel she wants, and the other one will swim on to find easier pickings. Otherwise, they always look like they are exploring. It cracks us up!

[Pufferpunk]

We want pics!

[edmlfc1]

These stories are worthless "WITHOUT PICTURES"!!!!!!!!

[rodentgirl16]

I will definitely post some of dinnertime tonight! I took some photos last night, but they kept fleeing and so all I have are puffer butts...

[rodentgirl16]

I have posted some photos in the gallery. (Please keep in mind that I am in dire need of a new camera.)

ug.php/v/User_Galleries/rodentgirl16/

They did not like the camera! In a couple of the photos, Mrs. Puff appears to be puffing a little bit, the same thing she's been doing around dinnertime. Spongebob mostly hid from the camera. In any case, enjoy! By the way, the roads are still horrible here, so the SG is pending better weather.