The Puffer Forum

If you are gonna keep one which I advise against then yes using the filter will be ok. You need to use marine salt not aquarium salt and buy a refractometer that will measure the salinity of the tank. You must only raise the salinity by 0.002 a week. For the record this will cost money and ultimately as the puffer grows it will place more load on the system and you will need to find a bigger tank or the puffer will die.

Personally I would listen to your parents and take all puffers back to the store. If they have Dwarf puffers these would be better and you could have about 4 in your tank and freswater too. Less hassle, less money but more importantly less trauma to pufferkind

If you don't have the money I'd suggest bringing them back to the store. These guys get really expensive really fast. I spend about $50 a month on salt, $10-20 on food, starting out I paid about $100+ for my tank, $30 for my filter, $10 for my refractometer, at least $100 on decor, $2 for a thermometer, $20 for my heater, $30 for a liquid test kit, which needs new chemicals every so often.

Not to mention the time that goes into 50% weekly water changes, if you don't breed your own snails, you'll have to find a LFS that will give you their pest snails, which sometimes is easier said than done. I remember times where no where I went had any snails and I'd end up visiting 5 different stores before finding any.

It doesn't sound like keeping them would be a good idea. If I were you I'd return them, cycle your tank, and get some Dwarf Puffers. You could get a few of them, and they live in Freshwater, they're great fish, I recently got two of them and I love them. <3

Yes, you are correct about slowly raising the salinity so you don't kill off the good bacteria. Raising it by a SG of approximately 0.002 per week should be ok.

I'm with everyone else in saying that 18 gallons is far too small, even for a single GSP. It would do much better for a Figure 8 puffer, but even then the minimum recommended size is 15 gallons.

So you know, a GSP will need high end brackish to full marine conditions when it gets older. Although it is likely to become severely stunted or killed by poor water quality before then.

Dwarf puffers are way cooler. They don't need like to be in constantly slowly changing conditions, they are smaller, and they can stay in FW their whole life!

Do you ever think you'll be able to upgrade this fish to a larger tank? If not, can you exchange it for a Figure 8 puffer? Your parents probably aren't going to want to pay for all the salt a GSP requires either.

I dont have to spend a single cent on salt. i've got loads of marine salt left in the storage and already have a filter. What i need now is just a hydrometer and a liquid test kit. Decorations are up and the puffers are exploring. I'm thinking of returning them to a fish farm maybe. Definitely not the LFS which i bought them from. They house 15 puffers in a really small tank. Maybe 3 gallons?
I will give the GSP away if i can find either dwarf puffers or F8. Any of the above is fine with me and does anyone know where to get them in Singapore? GSPs here are 2 bucks ea. Thats around 65cents GBP or 1.2 USD. Its probably cuz we are in SEA and you can find them in mangroves here. Can't seem to find dwarf and f8 though. Someone help me pls.

Don't think anyone lives in singapore on here.... (maybe i'm wrong?) so don't know if anyone can help you source other puffers...


How are they GSP's doing?

Have you got the filter up and running? And the decoration?

Or have you taken them back?

I'm pretty sure at least one person does

I moved my two puffers into a fully cycled 20 gallon tank. They have decoration and i swear they look more lively and they start hunting ghost shrimps and snails. I thought i was on the right track until my father gave me a surprise today. He bought 4 GSPs which are two times smaller than my original two and dumped them into my tank. After talking him into it, he finally agreed to let me remove 2 of the GSPs. These 4 small gsps are really territorial/agressive. They are more sociable and hunt snails on their first day in the tank. One of them is so agressive that he starts taking on the biggest GSp in the tank. Now can anyone give me a tip on which two to remove. I'm thinking of removing the two most agressive puffers. What do you think?

You're going to start having the same problems you had before. That is 5gal/puffer now... I suggest no less than 10g/puffer, as juveniles & they will each require 30g each as adults (over 2"). What was he thinking? Bring all the new guys back. Actually the best thing would be to just keep 1 out of all of them.