The Puffer Forum

I just have a quick question about adopting a GSP. It's about 4inches long and I'm planning on housing him in a full marine 40gal tank. The real question I have is whether I should bother with live rock if I'm going to start with an HOB filter and live sand, and if I do introduce live rock, would it be better to put the rocks into the cycled tank before I move the puffer? Or should I be looking to slowly introduce the rocks into the tank after the puffer is introduced? I don't want my nitrates spiraling out of control because of a messy fish and I'm just wondering the best way to go about this.

Right now the tank has been running for almost four months with a couple of hermit crabs, a molly and live sand. SG is 1.026 nitrite nitrate ammonia all zero. PH is a steady 8. It's got a pretty sizable HOB filter, skimmer, four smallish power heads because I had planned on a reef, but I love puffers and this one needs a new home as he's in a 20gal right now with a porc at an LFS who got him as a surrender.

I'd say go ahead and add the live rock and then add the puffer...and unless there's something I'm not thinking about, I don't know why you couldn't do both on the same day. If it's good live rock, and you're getting enough of it (30-40 lbs) it will be able to handle the jump in bioload.

Ok sweet. I was just worried about the extra nitrate output of a biological system in my HOB but I figured it'd probably be ok. I hope to get that GSP into a better home as soon as possible!!

With live rock you don't need that HOB, just live rock, power head, and protein skimmer. (Although if your HOB turns over a lot of water, you can keep using it for water movement instead of replacing it with a power head.) Of course I mean if you're using enough live rock - 5 lbs in a 40 gallon won't do the job that 40 lbs will.

Oh yeah definitely, I had planned on emptying the filter once I had a good amount of rock in the tank and put some smaller pieces into the filter for a little extra weenie-critter space. It does have a good flow, I'll probably end up doing that for the extra movement like you said.

Unless you are getting that rock directly from a well-established tank, it will need some time to cure. Don't add the puffer until you are where there is no ammonia or nitrrite coming from that rock.

I also think first the rock and a few weeks later the GSP.

Where lives the GSP now? Already full marine?
When i got my latest GSP ( FW in the LFS ) i've did it in three days.. every minute a few drops in a bukket and after almoust three days the bukket was full and than i put the GSP in the tank.

Good Luck with you're new friend!!

Sorry to butt in.. haha

But how many lbs. of LR should be put in a 24 gallon?

The general rule is one pound of live rock per gallon.

I also think first the rock and a few weeks later the GSP.

You MUST be sure the LR is completely cured before you add any fish.

Yes, either make dang sure that rock is never exposed to air for more than a few seconds and transport it home in water and get it in the tank asap, or be safe and put the rock in a tub of water with circulation (powerhead) at the same salinity and watch it for a few weeks to make sure there's no die off before putting it in the tank.

I think that would be your best option, as the tank already has livestock in it.

Thanks for all the advice guys. The live rock would be coming from a huge tank that's been running for almost 8 years so I assume it'd be cured already...I added about 40lbs to my tank three days ago and have scheduled to pick up the GSP in a little under a week...bad idea? All of the levels in my tank have been lower than my test can register and have remained stable for the three days the rock has been in there.

You should probably be okay then. People run into trouble when they buy live rock from a fellow hobbiest or the store, transport it home in a box, and then put it in their tank.. all the good little buggies, corals, etc die during that short transport from being out of the water, and then rot, polluting the tank.

But if its been 3 days and your levels are good, i'd say you're good to go

pictures please

I unfortunately don't have a camera and I'm at school now where I can't keep my larger tank. The puff is doing splendidly though and he's become my mom's new favorite among my assorted fish! Told her so. My tank at school is much smaller, a nano marine (20gal) with a couple damsels and a percula clown, working on adding some frags.

I do have a question though...can puffers go blind? I mean I assume they can but this is under some pretty specific circumstances. One of my friends has a baby GSP in a 55 fowlr with two blue damsels and hermits (I think I got him hooked on puffers...woops!). He was forced to acclimate the puffer to a higher salinity than it was being kept in at the lfs...I think the original number was around 1.015 and his tank is high enough for inverts, I want to say 1.023 or so. He drip-acclimated for six or so hours which I thought was pretty fast for this kind of sg change and now the baby is swimming into things. It also has trouble hunting snails. It doesn't act like any of my puffers do at all, no circling or fascination, his eyes look like a clownfish's eyes, not independently moving or focusing. It looks like it's feeling around for its lunch!! It has been in this condition for a while now I guess but it was just the strangest thing I've ever seen. The poor fellow can't be more than an inch or so long, I felt so bad but I guess he's been eating ok...just thought it was interesting I guess.