New puffers, was: "Overfeeding Puffers"

[Bronwyn]

The other day I went into the fish store (something I have made a concerted effort not to do for a while now in case I would be unable to resist setting up a tropical fish tank again). As I suspected, I ended up falling in love with 3 little green spotted puffers and couldn't resist taking them home with me. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of getting 3 tinfoil barbs and 3 tiger barbs as well (all of whom have been returned to the fish shop). I decided to go online and did a search on puffers and found a number of things that I did not know including that they are brackish water fish. I went the the fish store to get some aquarium salt, a hydrometer, some coral and some finer sand for the bottom of the tank (I presently have chip stone). The lady at the store told me that I don't need to make the tank brackish and that I must test the water. It turns out that the nitrite levels are very high which apparently represents stressed fish or over feeding. How much should I feed my puffers and how often? At the moment I'm feeding them blood worm until I can find a snail or 2. They've been in the tank now for 5 days and now they are going grey and I'm really worried about them. Please any help would be much appreciated.

[tbonemercy]

I came to this board wanting to ask the same question. I bought a couple of dwarf puffers. I bought myself a BiOrb. The aquarium is 6 gallons. I bought two fresh water puffers to start. I'm new to the fish thing. But since my roomate and I have Greyhounds and he has qauil, doves and finches, to take care of, my thing was to do something not as high maintance as salt water, though I want to try it. I felt bad cause I wasn't sure how much or often to feed them. But one of the puffers ended up getting stuck and died. So I replaced him with a more active one, like the one that survived. Well, that puffer ate more than my other and over ate and I believe he died that way 4 days later. My original is getting thinner, and I've been feeding him once a day, blood worms. I like him a lot and I don't want him to die!! Is there a way for me to fatten him up and get his health back up? He's very active and moves around constant. Could someone please advise me on what I should do?

[Pufferpunk]

Return the aquarium salt & buy marine salt instead. Read the info on them in the Library.