I also fell into the petstore trap...

[CaptainMorgan_SOS]

that link was Exactly what i needed, thank you very much, so just by chance 3 out of 4 of the plants i have are brackish compatable already! the micro sword, anubias, and the java fern! too bad for the clovers though, i've seen some heavily planted tanks and those things make an amazing looking carpet after a while.

now i've just done a 50% water change but i've been looking at pictures of GSPs and Giblet, one of mine, looks different from all the pictures i've seen: she's still very colorful but pretty dark, especially around the middle of the body, its almost like the dark grey/black seperates her bright white stomach and her green upper. i was reading that they get dark when they are unhealthy or unhappy but she seems lke she is eating better, swimming better, and exploring the tank more than the other GSP... any ideas? she was pretty bitten up when i first got her. is she trying to heal?

[Pufferpunk]

That dark line is usually a sign of stress. How are the parameters? Anyone hasseling her?

[CaptainMorgan_SOS]

sad daytoday, but good for the puffers...
i was at work telling one of my buddies about these little guys and i hadn't really said too much when one of the girls i work with said thatshe has been cycling a tank for this exact kind of fish. so we got to talking and i guessthese guys just came in season, because she had beenlooking or them forabout 2 months.
well one thing ledtoanother and come to find out, she has a 75 gallon tank.
i really didn't want to, i mean REALLY REALLYdidn't want to but i agreed to give the 2 GSPs to the girl.
i hated gettin them out and putting them in a bucket, but it was for their better good...
lesson learned. i WILL study up on these fish, i only had them for 3 days and i alredy want them back...

so i probably won't be back on here for a little while, or at least until i study up and find out exactly what kind of puffer i can take care of. i on occasion may ask if i should get a certain kind of puffer and what kind of conditions they need...

thaks all of you for all your help.

-Dave

[marksrush]

That's definitely a good ending to the story - you won't be sorry you did it, in the long run. Just prepare yourself better for your next puffer, and start looking at craigslist for a new, large aquarium. You can find some incredible bargains there.

[CaptainMorgan_SOS]

i already have a 55gallon in storage. i just can't set it up where i'm at now due to limited space. but soon enough i will be moving.

QUESTION 1: so... what about figure 8s? could 2 or more stay in my 20 gallon? they have really tiny ones at the pet store down the road. the girl there said i could keep 5 in a 20 gallon, but i won't listen to her again. so how many could i get? i mean it is ready for me to just pop them right in, its on the lower brackish level, right at 1.005, and the parameters are pH- 8, ammonia- 0, nitrite- 0, and nitrate- 10. i even have the stuff to setup a drip system to get them acclimated(in my research i read that this was the best way since they are kept in freshwater at the store).

QUESTION 2: in the tank i'm trying to breed pond snails in i'm seeing no new snails or eggs, not one! is there something in my tank that could be eating the babies? currently there is a cory cat, about 6 guppies(and increasing), and a big apple snail(i moved the 2 hillstream loaches to the other tank because it is well oxygenated and is starting to grow algae). so what could be the problem?

[Idontknow]

QUESTION 1: so... what about figure 8s? could 2 or more stay in my 20 gallon? they have really tiny ones at the pet store down the road. the girl there said i could keep 5 in a 20 gallon, but i won't listen to her again. so how many could i get? i mean it is ready for me to just pop them right in, its on the lower brackish level, right at 1.005, and the parameters are pH- 8, ammonia- 0, nitrite- 0, and nitrate- 10. i even have the stuff to setup a drip system to get them acclimated(in my research i read that this was the best way since they are kept in freshwater at the store).

I think its 15g for the first f8 and 10g for the 2nd. So 20g may be pushing it. Maybe more water changes. 1.005sg is perfect for f8s.

QUESTION 2: in the tank i'm trying to breed pond snails in i'm seeing no new snails or eggs, not one! is there something in my tank that could be eating the babies? currently there is a cory cat, about 6 guppies(and increasing), and a big apple snail(i moved the 2 hillstream loaches to the other tank because it is well oxygenated and is starting to grow algae). so what could be the problem?

Apple snails will eat pond snails and their eggs. I learned the hard way. The apple snails are now in with my fancy gold fish. I am not sure about the fish though.

[CaptainMorgan_SOS]

ah i see... so apple snail is pretty much gone then, because i need the pond snails and if i do get the puffer(maybe even tonight or tomorrow) and put it in the 20 gallon, the apple is probably toast(that would be a really big meal for the little guy though). and all day the guppies and the cory are sifting through the gravel, so thats why i think they may eat the eggs too.

and i was just lookin a sites for figure 8s and they all said the same thing about tank size you did. but they also say they are one of the best ones for beginner puffer keepers(like myself). i'm not new to fish by no means, i used to keep cichlids, specifically rams, but puffers take alot more work from what i can tell. i still pan on setting up a tank for rams though...

and yet an idea i got from another site just popped into my head. there was a guy who had a 20 gallon planted tank and he had 4 south american puffers and a male/female pair of german blue rams... that could be a fun tank too...

[kelsi.nikoel]

ah i see... so apple snail is pretty much gone then, because i need the pond snails and if i do get the puffer(maybe even tonight or tomorrow) and put it in the 20 gallon, the apple is probably toast(that would be a really big meal for the little guy though). and all day the guppies and the cory are sifting through the gravel, so thats why i think they may eat the eggs too.

and i was just lookin a sites for figure 8s and they all said the same thing about tank size you did. but they also say they are one of the best ones for beginner puffer keepers(like myself). i'm not new to fish by no means, i used to keep cichlids, specifically rams, but puffers take alot more work from what i can tell. i still pan on setting up a tank for rams though...

and yet an idea i got from another site just popped into my head. there was a guy who had a 20 gallon planted tank and he had 4 south american puffers and a male/female pair of german blue rams... that could be a fun tank too...

Idk if your fish are eating the baby snails or not. I have recieved some mixed info on the subject myself, because I was going to put my mollies and danios in with my snails. All I can tell you is my snails layed eggs on the glass in about a week after I got them, with no fish in their tank.

I think 4 SAPs in a 20gal with other fish would be to much. On this forum it says, Minimum Tank Size(for SAP): 15 US Gallons(55 liters), and you would add at least 10gal for another SAP, that equals 25. So, a 20gal would only hold maybe 2 SAPs. I say this even though the forum also says, Personality/Temperament: A relatively peaceful pufferfish which can be kept in groups. It has been reported that the South American Puffer is a schooling fish in its natural habitat.
I am getting some SAPs and really wanted more put not enough tank room

[CaptainMorgan_SOS]

i was just looking on the library here and it says in this article:

The Nice Puffer: Colomesus asellus, the South American Puffer
Author: Neale Monks

"Unlike almost all other freshwater pufferfish, South American pufferfish are not territorial and exhibit no aggressive behaviour towards their own kind or other species. In fact they are nervous when kept singly, and become much less “neurotic” when kept in groups. During the daytime fish will follow one another around briefly, often squabbling over food; but at night (or if alarmed) they will settle on the substrate as a group.

Ideally, keep South American puffers in groups of three or more specimens."

and...

"The ideal situation though is surely to keep a group of South American puffers by themselves. Being nicely coloured, constantly active, and not too big, a pack of half a dozen specimens would look great in a 125-180 litre/33-44 gallon tank."

so according to that 20 gallons is almost 2/3 of a 33 gallon you could possibly keep 3 or4 in a 20 gallon, but i guess that would be the max... the only thing i would be worried about with them is the beak trimming that would scare me too death, even though they say its a simple process...

[CaptainMorgan_SOS]

i'm going to move this over to the freshwater puffers section... i kinda got, well i completely went off my original subject

[kelsi.nikoel]

Heres a video of puffer dental work. Idk if the guy is doing everything absolutely correct, but it made me feel more confident about teeth trimming by seeing a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn4uhBS7S_s

[LilGreenPuffer]

"so according to that 20 gallons is almost 2/3 of a 33 gallon you could possibly keep 3 or4 in a 20 gallon, but i guess that would be the max... the only thing i would be worried about with them is the beak trimming that would scare me too death, even though they say its a simple process..."

Really, you should only be keeping one in a 20g, and, as you noticed in the article, they're not as happy when kept alone. SAPs probably aren't a good choice for you until you can get the 55g set up.

[CaptainMorgan_SOS]

yea.. i know... i'm just impatient i guess. but i guess i can wait

[ghart36724]

"I'm also expecting over 50 Pond Snails to come in the mail which i will put in here. should provide a steady food source for the GSPs to hunt. Does anyone know if the stuff on the Pond Snails shells(looks like tiny little brown balls that are stuck to the shell) are eggs or is it someting thati should be worried about feeding my GSPs?" - Captain

Where were you ordering snails from? I want to breed and use them for puffer food, but I also need info on how to do that. Anyways, any help would be appreciated.

[kelsi.nikoel]

"I'm also expecting over 50 Pond Snails to come in the mail which i will put in here. should provide a steady food source for the GSPs to hunt. Does anyone know if the stuff on the Pond Snails shells(looks like tiny little brown balls that are stuck to the shell) are eggs or is it someting thati should be worried about feeding my GSPs?" - Captain

Where were you ordering snails from? I want to breed and use them for puffer food, but I also need info on how to do that. Anyways, any help would be appreciated.

Getting the snails to breed is not difficult, especially with pond snails. I have about 20 of mine set up in a 10 gal with some ghost shrimp, filter and heater, no substrate, cuttle bone and one plant. Mine started laying eggs after a week.

The only problem I've come across is keeping the baby snails alive. I have a pretty new setup so there is no algea for them to eat. Only 2 of the first batch made it, but there are still a ton of eggs that have not hatched yet. So, the main consern when trying to bring up snails is make sure they have a food supply and make sure nothing is eating them. Probably a snail only tank would be best, but I have no where else to house my shrimp till feeding time