Just got some GSP, joined to learn more. (:

[beautifullybrooke]

That is pretty much what I was told. Then I saw online what you really should do and my reaction was O.O. I felt so bad for my fish Ive had fish before, including a betta that lived 6 freaking years, but these GSP are by far the most involved fish I have gotten. And walmart told me they lived 2 years! Bogus!

[sevenyearnight]

Snails are a very good choice for sure

[RVS]

Nice!, so, how long was th cycle period, sorry if i didn't read it hehe ç
i feel there is nothing wrong, if you have been with them for 6 months

Just to be sure, Could you tell use the actual parameters? you know the basics, i mean, ph, gh, kh, Tº and "N" compounds.

[beautifullybrooke]

It took like 11 or 12 days.
Honestly (and I know everyone will hate me for this) but every website ive seen has given me 193040379 different numbers for what all my parameters should be. I joined here to get a definite answer on that, if you can help me
Mainly, I focus on my ammonia, which I know should be at 0. and on my nitrite/nitrates. And I do often water changes. Like I said before, I'm pretty sure Ive made many mistakes along the way, I have a lot to learn, so I came here for help. I'm the kind of person that hates seeing animals suffer. So I dont want my puffers to be constantly on the brink of death. I'd rather risk public humiliation from looking ignorant than be shy and have my poor babies die.

[sevenyearnight]

Simple answer, ammonia - 0. Nitrite NO2 - 0. Nitrate NO3, under 20.

The other parameters aren't *as important to know.

The salinity/specific gravity is important, adults need to be in high end brackish, but it's easier to maintain higher water quality at saltwater level. They can be transitioned to marine before they reach adulthood though.

[beautifullybrooke]

Ok good, that's what I have been keeping it at What about temperature, mine is always mid to high 70's.

[beautifullybrooke]

By the way, finally got some good pics that will be up soon. Mom is a photographer so I got her to snap some. I think they are good.

[sevenyearnight]

I keep my puffer's temp at 76° - 78° F

[sevenyearnight]

Ooh! Can't wait
I think it's better to use the html img here than the attachment I think the attachment has size restrictions, I could be wrong. You could post on photobucket or something like that.

[xrayjeeper83]

Welcome

Glad your little guys/gals are doing well. You must be doing something right if they are still kickin after 6 months. Like others said, its nice to see someone actually do some real research before buying something. It makes for a much better experience over all.

Cant wait for pics

[beautifullybrooke]

Pictures of Link and Zelda! I'm not really sure if I am posting them right. Mom is a photographer, and her camera was nice enough to get a non blurry picture. Unlike my little digital camera.

[sevenyearnight]

Super cute!!

[bertie 83]

Nice puffers you have there

[xrayjeeper83]

Very cute healthy looking puffs

[Reaperpilot2014]

Welcome to the forum! Those are nice looking puffers, and very crisp pictures. To sum up everything, make sure those GSPs get acclimated to brackish water if they aren't already in it. A good temperature is 76-78 like sevenyearnight described. I would avoid glass thermometers as they can mistake them for snails and bite through them, which is usually fatal. It sounds like your diet is pretty good. There is a great article about feeding in the library section of the forum. Also, this is just as a word of caution, but GSPs are demons, and while your two may get along fine for now, there is always a chance that they will injure or even kill one another as they mature. I always encourage people to keep their puffers as singletons for this reason, although there are a few exceptions. In addition, 30 gallons is the minimum for a single GSP, but they do sometimes grow large enough that 55g is more preferable, so you may end up with another tank at some point. Since it would appear the tank is cycled, just keep up on at least 50% weekly water changes and you should be good to go. Welcome to the puffer addiction! One more is never enough.