The Puffer Forum

I have a 1 month old GSP and he has been in freshwater. I bought him while he was in freshwater. what will happen if he stays in freshwater? is it a must to keep him in brackish?

Yes, it is a must that it be kept in brackish, low end as a juvenile, high end nearing marine as an adult. If kept in freshwater, it will most likely suffer from health issues and die prematurely.

Keeping a BW fish in FW will lower it's immune system, causing poor health, poor growth, disease & short lifespan.

A dramatically shorter lifespan.

thanks! I guess it is back to the fish store. The lady at the fish store said figure 8s do fine in FW. She said she has raised a couple? is she full of crap?

F8s can live up to 18+ years in low-end BW. They'll be lucky to live 5 in FW.

Ask her how long they lived.

That's the key.. If she's only getting them to live a year or two, I don't consider that "fine". 10+ years, that's something I'd consider to be better fishkeeping.

I know how you feel, they are both amazing fish and keeping them in fresh water would be easier, No salt mixing and you could totally plant the tanks.

I have both F8s and GSPs and I promise you they are worth the effort. Salt is way easier than I first thought and with careful aquascaping and fake plant selection the tanks still look great.

I recommend you go for the F8s as they stay at low end brackish all thier lifes so are easier to keep. You could also just stay on the look out for freshwater puffs, there are tons of cool ones out there.