The Puffer Forum

Hi Everyone,

I haven't even introduced myself yet, so I shall go and do that in a moment!!

Ok - I hope I'm asking this in the correct forum.

I was told, that in my 13.5 Gallon tank, I could keep 2 SAP's with no probs.

I am slightly concerned about the filter that we have, and if it will cope with the waste, and also a little concerned about the latest readings from the tank.

The Filter came with the tank and is an 'Aqua one 101F Maxi' (internal) - Ive just googled it and it says that its for a maximum tank size of 40ltrs??? Ours is 54 ltrs, and this is the filter that came with the tank?

They were put into a fully cycled tank, which was cycled with the 'Fish Food' method. This took about 5/6 weeks in the end to fully cycle. When the Ammonia levels had dropped to Zero, we went out and got our little puffers.

The readings from the tank when Brian and Merve were added were:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 25mg/l

We were told that this is fine at the LFS.

approx 55hrs after the Puffers have been added, the levels are as follows:

Ammonia: Between 0 and 0.25mg/l
Nitrite: Between 0.25 and 0.50mg/l
Nitrate: 12.5mg/l

Are these readings normal in these first few hours of adding the Puffers? I presume that if the cycle had completed and all was correct there should still be a reading of 0 Ammonia? Is it correct that the NitrAte levels have dropped?

I have kept coldwater fancy goldfish before, but not puffers. I really did do my research - but I'm hoping that these readings are not the start of a tank meltdown!!

I'm using a Liquid Water Test kit made by 'TetraTest'.

The Puffers are doing great, munching on Bloodworm and a few snails this evening They seem really happy, zooming around and investigating.

If anyone could offer any advice that would be great!

Sorry if this post is a bit scatty - I'm just a little worried about my new babies!!

Welcome to the Forum!

The water parameters are showing a mini cycle. This sometimes happens when you add fish to a tank. When a tank cycles it develops bacteria that "feeds" on the ammonia and nitrite converting it to a less harmful nitrate. So, when you cycled the tank, it developed enough bacteria to convert the amount of ammonia that the food was producing as it decayed, hence the 0's where you would expect and the bit of nitrate end product as you would expect. Add in a few fish that produce more waste and ammonia than you were feeding the tank and you have now created a slight waste/ammonia overload, the bacteria will produce to meet this excess load. Suggestion for the meantime is to check your parameters and then do 50% water changes to help dilute the load. Try to keep your ammonia 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates 10-20. Puffers in general do not do well with ammonia and nitrites so those have to be kept to a minimum.

I'm not a SAP expert but (someone correct me if I'm wrong) i think they will eventually need a larger tank due to their activity level.
A couple of good articles: ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/C_Asellus/
library/puffers-in-focus/sap/

Yep, they will definitely need a larger tank. 50% water changes every day are the way to keep your fish healthy until readings are normal. By the way, we usually try to keep nitrates under 20, but that's not a huge deal.

Welcome!

I've not used tetra nitrate tests, but if they have more than one bottle, shake the CRAP out of the second one, don't just give it a toss or two. One of the common components of nitrate tests won't dissolve, it only suspends, and unless you shake the crap out of the bottle, it won't read properly.

Dadof4 wrote: A couple of good articles: ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/C_Asellus/
library/puffers-in-focus/sap/

Ah ha. I have read about the tank sizes, and yes, I totally agree that soonish Brian and Merve will need a bigger tank. (im starting to curse the LFS) - I can only imagine that the staff member there presumed that 2 would be ok in 54 Litres.

Now I know 54 litres is fine for one!!

Does anyone have any more to add regarding the filteration? The info of the pump says it pumps 400ltrs per hour. I'm presuming this will not be enough. I'm so annoyed that they have sold me a tank with a filter thats not suitable for the volume of water!! I actually said to them that I want to keep puffers. And even asked them if the filter was ok for a tank bigger than the 54ltr, i.e would it provide over filtration.

For your filter you need 10X the turn over rate of your tank. If you filter is pumping 400ltrs per hour and your tank is 54ltrs, then you need another 140ltrs per hour for a total of 540ltrs per hour. Don't rush out and buy another filter, your filter is fine for now. I would work on getting a larger tank or a second tank instead.

You have to realize that most fish stores know nothing about puffers.

I agree with what you've been told.

Do some extra water changes right now to keep the water quality good. Puffers generally do best at nitrates no higher than 10, 20 starts to push it and higher than that will lead to health issues.

For the filter, you're okay for now but yes, you'd want a bigger one eventually. SAP's really are very active fish that like a lot of current, so maybe what you could do is add a powerhead at some point... either way, you're perfectly fine for now, but will probably want to upgrade/add at some point.

And yes, you'll need a bigger tank for both of them, eventually.. so start thinking about that but you're not in immediate danger.

Good job pre-cycling the tank too! It sounds like it wasn't quite enough but your biological filter will catch up in a few days, much better than weeks of ammonia

If you can plan to house three SAPs in the future, that would be best. They're actually schooling fish, as you may have read during your research, and prefer to be kept in groups of at least three. So, when you start thinking about a tank upgrade, try to take that into consideration.

For getting a larger tank, don't buy new, look for used equipment. Ebay, craigs list (or the UK equivalent), and the local news papers are great places to look. Out of 9 tanks I have only two that are new and all but one of the used were under $100 with stand and extras. I love to shop for second hand tanks, now my wife on the other hand, she hates when I shop for second hand tanks.

Be sure to read the Puffer Dentistry article in our Library too. You're gonna ndde to know how to trim your puffer's teeth, as they have a habit of overgrowing in this species, more than any other.