What is my Specific Gravity.

[Swiftt5389]

Alright so as you all know. I just got a puffer fish, a Figure Eight puffer. Patty is in Freshwater right now and I need to slowly add some marine salt to work her way up to brackish water. What is my specific gravity as of now (freshwater). 0.0 ? I really have no clue and i dont even know how to use my hydrometer. It starts at 1.012 and i really cant afford a refractometer? at this point. I get paid Friday and have some stuff to get paid and taken care of and I think this hydrometer will be fine for now. So what Im asking is what is the SG of freshwater and say i have a 5 gallon bucket. How many tablespoons or whatever should I add to raise the water just a little. IM kind of confused. Was i supposed to buy a scale to measure it in grams? Help please. Thanks!

[Pufferpunk]

1.000 is FW. You must use a hydrometer that starts there.

[side19]

do you have the deep six one? i have the same one. i bough it before i realized it didn't go low enough. i saw one that started at 1.000 and went up in .002 increments at one of the fls for 16 bucks. i forget who it was by but i think it might have been marineland. 16 bucks isn't bad and i'm sure you can prolly afford. you don't need to go get a refractometer if you can go find that one. good luck.

[bazil323]

Instant Ocean makes a hydrometer that goes down to 1.000, and it costs $11-$15. Mine was $13 and change. The only thing is that you kinda have to guess when it's between 1.004 and 1.008.

I just add a tablespoon at a time until the SG is where I want it. Then I let it sit for at least 24 hours and retest it. I use a 18 gallon rubbermaid tub, and it usually take me more than 8 tablespoons of marine salt and I leave several inches of space to the top (so there's probably less than 15 gallons in the tub.) My salt is old, so it may not take as much for you.

Just slowly start to add marine salt to the bucket and keep track of how much you've used to get it to that point. Then make a note of how much it took to get to the SG you need. Next time you can just put in that much and test it. You'll usually be at or very close to where you need it. Test it every time though!

[Swiftt5389]

ouch none of the LFS stores around me have any low ones. ANd i checked the only saltwater one and its family owned. So online i suppose?

p.s. my puffer still hasnt eaten anything since yesterday. I tried frozen krill. and a really tiny fedder guppy. The store was out of everything. TOmorrow ill go get some small snails and some brine shrimp.. What about bloodworms?


THanks

[Pufferpunk]

Excellent feeding article in our Library.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=4952
See the sticky here on ordering from DFS for discount.

[Swiftt5389]

agh wheres the stick for the discount thing. Im ready to hit checkout! its a darn good deal!

[Swiftt5389]

alright well i couldnt find the stickie on how to get a discount but i got it 16$ shipped. Thats not too bad. Will come in less than 7 days. I hope it comes soon.

[Pufferpunk]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12244

[bazil323]

Did you check out the feeding article? It really helped me when I got my F8.

This is the link to the F8 profile: ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Biocellatus/
And this is the link to the feeding article: library/feeding/feedingproblems/

F8s aren't fish eaters, so don't feed them guppies, silversides, etc. Brine shrimp aren't very nutritious, unless they are soaked in vitamin solution or spirulina. Also, krill can cause lockjaw in puffers, and it isn't nutritious either. Freeze dried foods generally aren't accepted or particularly good for puffers. Frozen bloodworms, mysis shrimp, clams, squid, mussels, uncooked, shell-on shrimp from the grocery store, live snails, and live shrimp are all good to feed. It's best to not feed the same thing twice in a row. They like variety. If you choose to feed live foods, it's best to quarantine them for a few weeks to make sure they aren't carrying disease or parasites. I keep a tank for breeding snails and shrimp to keep down on cost. A 5 or 10 gallon tank is fine for either. I keep a 20g, but it also has neon tetras.

[Swiftt5389]

what the heck!?!? she died? uhhh i was watching her swim around then i come back up a couple hours later and shes laying on her side and it looks liek she puffed up a little bit. This sucks.. what happened?

[side19]

check water perimeters?

[bazil323]

The thread in this link was started specifically regarding the death of the puffer: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13533

Btw, I'm sorry for the loss. I know how hard it is to lose a puffer so early. Don't give up on puffer keeping! Just do some more research and make sure you have a good set up that's properly cycled first. Sometimes puffers die for apparently no reason, even if we're doing everything right. But they are so rewarding when they are healthy and well kept.

[Swiftt5389]

thanks for the link to my other thread. hope im not a hassle making another one. Yea it really sucks. Im used to never losing a fish with my cichlid tank and i hate losing a fish. Especially the part of it dying probably because of me

[side19]

i know exactly how you feel. i felt horrible about losing eight ball. but i'm taking the right steps to cycle my tank and trying again as soon as it it fully cycled. good luck with your next attempt.