Mrs.Puff needs some advice!

[Mrs.Puff]

Ok so ive already talked to a few people so far. but im switching my GSP over to brackish tonight hopefully and if anyone has any advice i would love to hear it! and my one puffer fish is soooo shy! i dont know why ive had her for a while now and she like bolts away from the tank when i go near it! any ideas why. i really appreciate everybodys advice!! thank you lots

NIKKI

[Drix]

some of Mine did the same thing but they will warm up to you after a few feedings. Just make sure you slowly raise the Sg up so you dont kill off your bacteria.

[Dadof4]

OK, for raising your tank to brackish.....make sure you mix the salt water your adding for at least 24 hours to make sure everything is dissolved, never add salt directly to the tank. Only bring your SG up by .002 every week, going up more will kill your biofilter and then you have trouble. When mixing your salt water to add to the tank, put in water first then add the salt. This avoids cloudiness. Check and double check the SG of the water you want to add with a seasoned hydrometer or refractometer (better tool for measuring SG), check the SG in the tank after you add the new salt water to make sure you haven't overshot the SG.

[Mrs.Puff]

Thanks for the adivce everyone!! by the way Dadof4 should i empty out my whole tank first and than fill it up with reg tap water or just leave in the water i already have and than add the salt?

[Dadof4]

Well, you need a separate container to mix the water in. What use is a large Rubbermaid container to do my mixing. Easiest way to bring up your SG is by doing 50% water changes. 24 hours before the water change, fill the Rubbermaid container with half your tank volume in new clean water, add the salt to get to the desired mix concentration and place a power head in to keep the water circulating. I keep testing the mix water over the next 24 hours to make sure that it's the SG I want it at. After 24 hours drain half your tank and add the new salt water. DO NOT add the salt directly to the tank. Doing that can burn the fishes gills and other sensitive parts.

Figuring out what SG the water you make ahead of time can be tricky. Just remember you can only raise your tank SG by .002 per week. So, if your tank is freshwater right now (1.000) and you want to bring it up to 1.002 by doing a 50% water change, the water you premix needs to be 1.004. (1.004 + 1.000= 1.004 then divide by 2) I have a math equation to help figure this out, if you need it (I do, I'm a visual person), that works well.

[Mrs.Puff]

Wow! Ok well im glad you told me all of that. Looks like im talking to the right person here haha. Ok well my math skills arnt the best but im not too bad with equations. So im just going to kind of read back to you what you told me just for my own good. So i should dissolve the salt in a separate container with about as much as half of the water that is in my tank but im not going to use my tank water and let it set for 24 hrs and check the SG and make sure im only adding .002 a week. Il take out 50% of my tank water, and than add the salt mixture (now how do i add it if i cant add it directly to the tank? through my filter maybe?) Than ill check the SG again and again to make sure im where i want to be. I appreciate all your information im extremely new at this!

[Dadof4]

I love to talk about salt mixing. One of my favorite topics, all the chemistry and all that. Once the water is pre mixed and all the salt is dissolved, you can add it directly to your tank like you would for any other water change. Make sure when you premix the water you have a powerhead in with it to keep the water moving. You can buy them relatively cheap at most pet stores. Also make sure you give a stir to the premix water about an hour after putting in the salt to make sure that the stuff that gets to the bottom gets in the water flow.

[Mrs.Puff]

Great thats awsome advice!! By the way how do you get a picture on your profile...its certainly different than myspace haha. I want to put a picture of my gun on and i cant find any link to do it. Maybe ill get some cool pictures of my puffer fish and put them up there too. Once again thanks sooo much for your advice. by the way are you a science major?? if not you def should be!!

[Dadof4]

To get a picture on your profile there is a link at the top of the page "User Control Panel". Click on that, click on the profile tab. Under the profile tab there is a "edit avatar" area. You can upload one there. Oh, BTW I'm a Trauma Nurse and a Trauma Research Nurse. Basically I work in a trauma ICU and help gather data and develop plans to prevent and treat traumatic injury. I also have a degree in computer engineering that started off as a Marine biology degree...go figure. My brain has traveled...

[Mrs.Puff]

Thanx ill get started on my pic now. Thats kool that your a trauma nurse. My first step mom is an RN and my "new" step mom (if you will) is also an RN. I thought about going into the nursing field myself...but its such hard work...at least what they were doing anyways. So i figured i'd go into the occupational therapy field...it looks really fun and awsome...and im into helping people regain their strength and stuff like that. But the marine biology thing sounds awsome!! That crossed my mind a few times too. Just to see some of the amazing things in the ocean that no one has ever seen would just be wonderful. I bet theres some things out there no one even knows about.

[mrgreen]

Mrs. Puff, I know you're new here, but there's something I've been wondering for quite some time and I think you can help me: Have you ever tried to sneak into Spongebob's house and eat Gary? It must be a huge temptation for you, especially since Spongebob keeps failing your driving class. Spongebob will have to come give his imput on this, too, I imagine, but I just wondered....

[Mrs.Puff]

Well MrGreen...as a matter of fact it is tempting to eat Gary. lol But it hasnt been a success 'yet'