The Puffer Forum

hi
ive recently moved my 3 baby GSPs to a 40 gallon tank, brackish water. the nitrites are peaking at about .50 and they wont go down! its also causing a brown algae bloom. i had them in a smaller tank before and it was a two month battle changing water and testing every other day. not to mention all the sleep and peace of mind im missing worrying about my little chalupas. ive heard to do water changes and add good bacteria. but i swear whatever is suposed to be turning my nitrite into nitrate isnt doing so well. i spent so much time and money getting these guys into a better environment, and its so disheartening!

please help me avoid the never ending nitrite battle i see ahead of me!

Shy, and her 3 little cutie GSP's...

How big are your babies? I'm afraid you will be upgrading again. The bacteria refered to is called, Bio-Spira. No other product will work.

hi pufferpunk, so glad to hear from you!
2 of my fishies are less than an inch and one might be an inch* i think i need an ocean for these guys ?!
i got my bacteria from a freshwater store, & not sure if its the brand you mentioned but i will check and replace it if its not.
is this bacteria plus water changes my only recourse?
thanks so much
shy +3

yes, keep up the water changes if you want your puffs to survive. and if you have access to filter media or substrate from an established tank with good bacteria, then use that too. how did you cycle your new tank?
also, I know you won't want to hear this, but PP was eluding to your tank size. GSP need a minimum of 30 gallons per fish.

not sure how much you know, but a good article to read (if you haven't already)
library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/

thank you!
I cycled my tank with time and I think super bac ( not the puffs)
How fast do these guys grow ?
I have read that artcle!it's super helpful. I have done so much research. The nitrite thing kills me though because it seems like it's supposed to go down on it's own and I feel like I tried everything. I think I need to do larger wcs. And slowly add the good bacteria. At least I have a game plan now!

Superbac doesn't work (as you can tell). The ONLY product that can cycle a tank is Bio-Spira.

I never got to thank you guys so much. bio spira did the trick and the tank has been stable! happy fishies!
it looks like there is some greyness on one of thier back fins, so back to research it is...

Good to hear that your tank is stable! The greyness could just be colouration (as both of my Ceylons has brown & grey markings on their tail), but look into it to make sure its not fin rot or something.

Make a post in the Hospital section and post up a picture of the tail. Even if it's just colouration, it's good to have posts about these things so people can search it.

Glad to hear you won the fight! I just have one question about nitrites: I've read in many articles that nitrites are neutralized by salt (NaCl). Then, is it so harmful in a BW or SW tank?

I am just goin on my own logic here, but I think since Sg changes of over .002 kill your bacteria, then the opposite is try in that the bacteria that develops for certain Sg is just as deadly as any Nitrite.

... that was hard for me to try to explain. sorry if it makes no sense

its been forever. just wanted to say that they are actually developing pokadots on their tail fins. little perfect rows of them! one has a lot and one other one looks like he might be getting some too.

Cute pics! They look very happy and healthy!

OMG! They are wonderful!

I'm waiting you to show more pictures and pictures of the whole tank!

Congrats!