The Puffer Forum

The pleco will still not like brackish water though...

I'd guess the GSP is doing well for this long due to the combination of high carbonate hardness, high PH water for cichlids, along with aquarium salt being added... it's not quite low brackish, but the combo is probably close enough for a juvenile.

Thank you very much Agnate for the extremely long post. Although it took me a long time to read it I greatly appreciate the CONSTRUCTIVE critisism. I agree that many of the posts are spiteful but they are welcome as well. Whatever. I actually bought Dr. Axelrods book a while ago and that book detail what each fish likes pH wise. That's why I figured it was high because the book says something near acidic. I have also done additional research online and it says exactly what you've stated. Juvenile puffs (like all three of mine are) can do well in freshwater but need to be gradually introduced to brackish water over time. The pleco is on his ways out. He'll be going to one of my cichlid tanks. Also the samurais looks good now. I guess he was a little stressed by the addition of the F* and the red claw crab (which has been eaten) and the snails (which are getting attacked by all three puffers as time goes on).

They love the krill but you said I should vary the food. I have squid. Is that good good? What else do you recommend? I had no idea puffers get lock jaw and I wouldn't want to add a new topic on that.

Finally, I would like to say that I have experience mainly with cichlids. Breeding them and all that. However, I am a greenhorn to the puffer species. I came on here to ask for advice and am very happy with most of the responses I have recieved. I care alot for all of my fish and I will do everything in my power to give them long happy lives. Conditions are not what everyone here says they should be but the little dudes are doing ok for now and with time they will get in the optimum tank condition in order to fulfill natural settings.

Glad you are understanding and don't just blow us off. Lots of people leave after the constructive criticism part and go on treating their puffers poorly...

squid is good, but get some other stuff in them too. Did you read the feeding article?
mine get mostly shrimp and clams/muscles because they are cheapest...

Glad you are understanding and don't just blow us off. Lots of people leave after the constructive criticism part and go on treating their puffers poorly...

Definately! Once you get past the initial TPF "initiation"... Sorry if I was a bit hard on you. Sometimes I should just back off when I've answered too many Qs for the day.

Pufferpunk wrote:

Glad you are understanding and don't just blow us off. Lots of people leave after the constructive criticism part and go on treating their puffers poorly...

Definately! Once you get past the initial TPF "initiation"... Sorry if I was a bit hard on you. Sometimes I should just back off when I've answered too many Qs for the day.

Hahaha, yeah, I figured I'd step in and try to hose everyone off with some cold water.


As for food, like to use frozen Bloodworms & Brine Shrimp/Mysis Shrimp (all mixed together), krill, clams/muscles (if your puffs are small, you'll have to remove some of the meat, as they'll just keep gorging until they literally tear open their stomachs), squid, octopus, crab, lobster, scallop, and shrimp. All of these (with the exception of the cubes) are better when they're in the frozen & raw form, but you can still feed some of the cooked stuff (so long as there are no spices, oils, butter, seasoning, or additives). I recently found a bag of frozen clams for about $9 or so, and they're a perfect size for my puffs, so they love it. It's best to find stuff with the shells still on it (crab shells, shrimp shell, muscles/clams still in the shell, etc.), as the puffers try to bust apart the shell, which means you'll be wearing down there beaks more.


In terms of your bioload, it's considerably less of a problem if your puffers are less than 1.5 inches. Sometimes we run into people who have as many fish as you, but they're all 4 inches or bigger, which is where the waste problem comes in, so it's good to know that they're still little.