The Puffer Forum

I found Muffin, he past away last night. Of the two, I thought he would be the one to survive. I finally got Puffin to eat some brine shrimp, few bites. My daughter comes in from classes for RN school and gets him to eat a full meal. My only question is... why does he turn gray when he's on the bottom of the tank, but turns his normal color when swimming ? I did a 1 gallon water change, and put a few drops of Prime in there, the nitrate was off the scale, and waited. Muffin was on the bottom white as a sheet. And yes I flushed him and said a prayer. the testing numbers were these... ammonia = 0.5, nitrate= the highest number for that was 160 but it was higher than that nitrite= 0, ph=7.8, phosphate=7.0, that was before I put in the Prime. The lady at the saltwater store told me to put some water from the 6 gallon tank to the new tank to get a colony started so I put the 1 gallon of water from the 6 gallon tank change in there. She insisted on distilled water for the one gal. water change, which I did. Now I just have to get the big tank set up for Puffin. The delay is the filtration system for the big tank has a million parts to it. I'm not that good at putting stuff together so I'm hoping to get that done today. Any advice before I finish filling up the big tank and start putting in the chemicals ??? So far I have Prime, hydrometer, stress zyme, and a small bag, maybe for 5 gals. of water, of Oceanic salt for marine fish to acclimate Puffin to saltwater him

Sounds like if there is any bacteria in the current tank its not coping with the fish. Big daily water changes are the key to keeping the water from becoming toxic to the fish at least 50% daily, 80% preferably. Distilled water is not required for this, tap water treated with prime will do just fine. Do you know the nitrites in the tank i dont see that reading but the ammonia levels will be not good for them.

Tank water from an established tank hold very little beneficial bacteria as it clings to surfaces, filter media, decor substrate will all have more bacteria than the water, if you can add some already established filter media that woul help you along.

Sorry for the loss of your friend... Please stop listening to the folks at the store & stick with us.

Puffin seems to be doing a little better. He's swimming a little more now. I have the big tank ready for him but the marineland filtration system I got for it is not working like it should. Brand new, $150 down the toilet?? It'll come on but won't fill with water. Valves open and nothing.Me and my daughter came close to throwing it out in the street. I had to get this system because my mom, with whom I'm living with ( 2 divorces caused me to lose everything ) won't let me have a proper sump system. First time she saw one she didn't want me to get any fish at all. I feel like I'm 5 yrs. old again. Anyway I have to work this weekend so I can't find out what's going on.

Try priming the filter by filling it with water before plugging it in. Fish is still better off in the larger tank w/o filtration, than in the smaller tank.

Is it a cannister filter, hang on tank, or undergravel filter? Yes, put the fish in the new tank and attach the old filter to the new tank as well as get the new filter working.

if it's a power filter, u have to keep adding water into the filter box with a cup to get it to work (i have had that problem too, and i thought it wasn't working). sorry for ur loss.

More sad news... Puffin died this morning I was hoping he could last the weekend so I could get the filter working. He died this morning and my daughter and her husband got the filter running this afternoon. It had to be primed. Thats what Babs told me. I didn't get to read these posts til after. I have a choice on putting the other filter from the small tank on the big one or leave it off and put the light back on it, I don't have room 4 both. The hood tank is out, don't have room for it either. But all of that aside...should I get more fish ?? What do you all think ?? Honest answers Please. BTW, I never thought I would like the sound of the water being cycled. Sounds like the rain that puts me to sleep at night.

By cycled I think you mean filtered?

You already have the equipment needed to have an awesome tank so go for it. Just do it the right way this time and plan things ahead. People on this forum would be more then happy to help you Also sorry about your losses.

Ok, my spelling is a little rusty. I meant the sound of the water trickling through the tank. Thanks for the encouragement. I think I will do ALOT of research before getting anymore fish. Puffer fish are becoming my favorite fish, the only fish with personality.

Well not the only one with personality, but one of the best.

Sorry for your loss.

It sounds like you already have a good idea about testing the water, etc. I'll just note that puffers are extremely sensitive to toxins in the water, so any levels of ammonia/nitrite or high levels of nitrate can be fatal to them. If your tank was reading high levels of nitrate it sounds like the cycle was well on its way, but the tank/filtration system probably wasn't large enough to handle the fish. I always do daily water tests for a couple weeks when adding new fish to a system. If you start seeing ammonia/nitrite you'll need to do some large water changes (at least 50%). I try to keep nitrates under 20ppm (especially in salt water systems).

What type of puffer do you have?

If you have a fresh water or low-end brackish puffer then distilled water is not recommended. It is used in salt water systems though (more commonly RO/DI water) to help combat algae, but in this case the salt adds all of the minerals / nutrients you need.

What type of puffer do you have?>>>

I had 2 GSPs. But becaue of my mistakes they died a few days apart.

really sorry to hear that you lost the other puffer I think you should still keep going though now the tank is running and your hard work will be rewarded by cool little interactive fish. For the record the filter should be silent unless its the water returing to the tank through a spray bar. I don't use a spray bar for that reason and it also affects you abilty to grow plants. What filter is it?

I'm sitting in my office with 300+g worth of tanks surrounding me on 3 sides. Sounds like a small stream running thru here!