The Puffer Forum

If you did your research before purchasing them, then you knew they needed 30+ gallons each (optimally 55, each). If you knew your space was tight and you'd be moving soon, then why not just wait in general?

You're correct when you say that a 20 gallon is better than sitting at the fish store, but by purchasing these two puffers you've made a commitment to them to care for them, and you should do it right. Since your space is tight you could try and find two used tanks that are at least 29 gallons each and separate them into separate tanks until you can purchase a 75 gallon for them, after moving.

When a fish is stunted it's a very painful thing for them, and most of the time people never even know they're doing it because there aren't many signs. However, it's not very fair to force a fish to live a life of agony.

So, please, try to find a better solution than just a 20-long for two puffers that require 30+ gallons, each.

Also, be sure to watch for ich. I know you said you did water changes and treated the tank with the ich medication, but it may still infect your puffers.

The thing is, at 1/2", they really don;t need a 30g right now. A 40 would be better but he certainly can wait on a 75. Hopefully not too long...

Pufferpunk wrote:The thing is, at 1/2", they really don;t need a 30g right now. A 40 would be better but he certainly can wait on a 75. Hopefully not too long...

I know they don't need it right now, but he's talking about waiting until the end of the year, and the problem with "upgrading as needed" is that you don't truly know when you need to upgrade because the fish don't grow as they should in the smaller environment. That's why I suggested he just get two separate tanks and separate them until he can get a 75.

Yes, that is a solution, for now.

Thank you PP for correcting that very basic misunderstanding.

Pumps move water.

Filters are intended to do things to the water which passes through them, not just move it around. Filtration is roughly divided into particle capture (mechanical filtration), or modify dissolved materials in the water (biofiltration), or capture dissolved materials (chemical filtration). Most FW & BW tanks have rather simple and straight-forward filtration processes, while SW tanks can have far more sophisticated filtration processes due to the physical differences in the water itself and it's higher replacement costs. But actually equally sophisticated processes can be applied to FW tanks equally but are only rarely actually used.

All filters require upkeep. There is no free lunch. Even pumps require upkeep.