The Puffer Forum

ok, so im new to all of this fish stuff...
I just changed my GSP's tank water (2.5 gallons, i know i need a bigger tank. I'm working on it)
and added 1/8 of a cup of Instant Ocean marine salt. I let the tank run for half an hour and checked the salinity with a hydrometer.
it was between 1.004 and 1.008.... and then i checked it 5 minutes later and it was 1.012. How could this be? My GSP is doing ok... he's a little gray on his belly and around his mouth. maybe he;s just getting used to the new setup of my 2.5 tank? I'm not sure. I just dont want him to be shocked because of the salt. It isn't ammonia because I just did an ammonia test before I changed the tanks water... and it was yellow- the best it could be ( before i changed the water it was freshwater). Should i check the ammonia again? I dont see how it could change if I changed the water.
please help!

Thanks~ OswaldPuffPuff

You should always mix the water and leave it mixing for a few hours before you add it into the tank - because it changes salinity and pH heaps as it mixes. What probably happened is the salt hadn't dissolved fully when you first tested.

Also, it's best to increase the salinity slowly (1.002/week) because the bacteria in FW, BW and SW is different and it needs time to get established. The fish can handle much bigger salinity changes, so I'm sure the fish is totally fine.

Good you know he needs a bigger tank - remember they can be stunted in very short amounts of time, so the quicker you are able to get it set up, the better.

You should also get a refractometer instead of a hydrometer, hydrometers are really really inaccurate (I measured my tank with a hydrometer and got 1.010 and with a calibrated refractometer and got 1.024)

Please don't listen to people who work at Petsmart or any large chain. I have told you at least 3x not to add any salt to your tank until it is cycled! Please try to listen to the advise I am giving you. Have you read the fishless cycling articles or the GSP articles? Everything you need to know is in there.

Do you mind telling us how old you are?

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