GSP: Not doing things by half

[coldmachineUK]

Hi there,
I recently lost a beautiful little figure-eight puffer fish, as some of you know. Was a very sad time since he was so active and his health declined dramatically and suddenly in the space of two days prior.
I had a 2' tank on order for him (20G), since he was being housed temporarily in a much smaller tank (sadly). I since cancelled the order and have been thinking for a month solid about what to do. He was so lovely that I'd love another fish with such a great personality! However, another F8 I think would remind me of him so I was thinking about opting for a GSP.

I have plans for a 30G tank (80cm long x 40cm high x 35cm wide/deep), and wondered if this might be a suitable home for him? I know they grow larger than F8s. The LFS employee told me that it would be too small, but I've read posts on here of people keeping GSPs in tanks this size and believed their max size was 6" or so. Can someone confirm?

I have Tropic Marin salt to hand from my last puffer, and understand GSPs need a much higher salinity than the 1.005 my F8 was housed in. I also bought lots of silk plants before my other puffer died, so have those to hand.

I'm guessing diet is the same: bloodworms, krill, SNAILS and so on. I will not be feeding mussles or the like again b/c I never discovered the cause of death with my F8 and one thought from a forum member mentioned nasties in frozen/live food from the supermarket.

Is there anything else I should know about: I realise GSPs are more difficult to keep than F8s so any tips, thoughts in advance much appreciated! (I've read the articles on here about GSPs btw! I'd just love some anectodal personal experiences/tips etc!)

[GSPdragon]

we LOVE our GSP "Wasabi", he lives in a 50g tank. Yes 30g is acceptable however it is a bare minimum... plus once your little guy is full marine and you add LR you will displace alot of the water, I would say go for a 40g at the smallest... a 50-55g even better. It was very strange at first to get used to seeing this tiny little guy in such a huge tank but as he grows it is clear we made the right choice. You'll want a refractometer (I wouldn't waste your time with a hydrometer, put the $10 towards a refractomer, check ebay some great deals). Tropic Marine is my favorite salt for my reef...but for my GSP tank I just use instant ocean as it's cheaper. You want to raise your salinity no more then .002 per week, it'll take some reading/math but you'll get the hang of it quickly. You also need a really good filter, I like aquaclears and go for the biggest one you can fit on your tank.. can't have to much filtration. Use crushed coral as your substrate to buffer your PH. I breed ramshorn snails to feed mine, along with ghost shrimp, krill, bloodworms...will get into shell on shrimp etc as he gets bigger (he's about 3" now).

One last thing, when you do get a new tank make sure it is cycled beore you add your puffer... something I'm sure you know but always safe to mention it. Do lots of reading on here using the search feature

Best of luck... we also lost our first puffer (Dragon, hence my login name) but I've never regretted getting another.

[coldmachineUK]

Hiya, thanks for the reply
Do you recommend full marine conditions then, or just high-end brackish (1.015?)?
Ok, I have a hydrometer at the minute but will go get myself a refractometer. I do keep my hydrometer clean (wash it in tap water after each use so there's no residue causing misreadings). But, it's nothing major to get

Ok, upping the SG sounds the same as with my F8; slowly does it.

I have coral sand, is this the same as crushed coral? It's sort of like normal sand but with white bits in that I'm guessing is the coral. I also have some white flakey rock (I don't know it's name offhand, it's not limestone tho :S) that raises and buffers pH (I use some of this in my malawi cichlid tank). Will this be ok?

In terms of filters: I am planning to run two to three internal powers on the tank. One of these will be dedicated to mechanical, with carbon+floss+coarse. It's an Eheim powerball, so hopefully reliable.
I always have spare filters running on my other tanks as a precaution so I usually introduce them to new tanks and have them 'ready cycled' in part. I would normally run an external on a tank this size but it's going in my bedroom and the noise would be too much

[RachelS]

I bought a 50G (60 US) cube for my ceylon puffer for £50 new on Ebay. Keep an eye out

I use instant ocean as well. SG is at 1.012 (fish is about 3.5 inches). Gonna hold it here for a bit. Again, look elsewhere as you can find it a lot cheaper than at the LFS. I get the 8kg bag for £20 off Ebay and it lasts about 2 months (2 large cupfuls per 60L freshwater gets it to 1.012 although I do check it)

Coral sand is fine

I wold go with an external if you can afford it. I have the Eheim ProII 2026 on mine and in the cupboard, it's silent. Paid £50 for it second hand (never buy new or RRP!). Cos puffers are such good jumpers, I prefer to keep mine hands out of the tank as much as possible which is why I prefer to maintain externals (plus it keeps kit out of the tank)

Do you have holey ocean rock (solid , not flaky - I also have it in my malawi tank)? Great for making caves for puffers and buffers as well. Here's a pic of my tank. I've added more rock since it was taken and removed the internal fluval

[Dinsdale]

I would buy the biggest tank you can now so you don't have to upgrade later. 30 gallons is okay when they're young, but I don't believe it would thrive once it's 6"+. 50-55 gallons is a much better permanent home.

[Pufferpunk]

Be sure to read the article on them in our Library. Lots of good info in there!

[coldmachineUK]

Hi there!
Thanks for the tips etc. I'd read all the articles on brackish puffers way back before I got my F8, but I've reread just to be sure.
Although the article says 30G is acceptable for fish >2", obviously a bigger home the better I know: this is generally what I hear lots with fishkeeping in general (I'm sure if we all had the space we'd be keeping public aquaria ). It's space the limiting factor in my home! (I already have five other tanks!).
The best I can come up with is a 37G which is 30" long (thats the max length I can go with), 24" high (height is where I can make a difference) and 12" width/depth.
I run externals on three of my other tanks, but really can't on this because as I say it's going in the bedroom (last place in the house without a tank!) and I've tried it before but the noise was unbearable (I can tolerate underwater bubbles, but not trickling water noises from a venturi!).

That ocean rocks looks great! I will definitely see if I can get my hands on some I'm sure I've seen it about. What about lava rock? I use that for my ps. saulosi cichlid tank and they love the nooks and crannies and hiding places. Would a puffer like that too?
My F8 had three little alcoves he loved to swim in and out of. I may put those in as well. They're a sort of quartzy-type rock (not as tacky as it sounds!).
I've his silk plants to hand as decor too.

Oh, tell me about the jumping! My little F8 was such a naughty one for threatening that: he never did, but if you annoyed him by going near his homes he'd bob up to the top as if to say "you go near that again and I'm outta here mister!" lol.

I know it all depends on the individual, but are GSPs more aggressive 'on the whole' than F8s? I read they are but I wanted to know how this translates to keeping them and their behaviour to their owners etc. I understand about tank mates etc.

One last question: with keeping GSPs in brackish climes, how do people go about ensuring their sand substrate doesnt build up anaerobic patches? There'd be no way of keeping kuhli loaches or snails etc. in there to 'till' it up. Any ideas on that one?