The Puffer Forum

Well I ended up getting a great deal on a 46g bowfront. Beautiful tank. So my plans have changed. Originally I was going for a 55g tank with 2 GSPs. I've reconsidered getting 2 because that just wouldn't be fair. So now I am planning on one GSP plus a couple other friends that do not require too much space. I know it's usually a gamble but I still want to try. So far, all I've seen them with are mollies. Any other suggestions for cool looking brackish fish?

I went to a LFS, one i've been to a few times to grab quick supplies. To my surprise there was a tank with 2 GSPs in it. In it were a few mollies and some kind of a sucker fish. The GSPs could not have been bigger than an inch. I was talking to the owner of the small shop, and it turns out they had no clue what puffers they had, and their care requirements. I let her know as much as I could, trying not to show her up or anything. They also had a F8 in a mixed environment tank in pretty much a puddle. I felt so bad.

Anyway... My driftwood should be coming in tomorrow. My water levels seem to be perfect, but I'm going to check again after the wood settles in. The water is fresh right now since that is how the store receives their shipments. I wanted to get the other fish first so that they could settle in before the GSP. Any ideas of what I could try?

If you're going saltwater, try a tomato clownfish. I know both PufferPunk and I have both had success with them.

Well I'm starting fresh them moving brackish, then later on possibly marine depending on what i have in the tank.

Do you think it matters what i introduce first?

Hmmm... Not sure about the whole introduction thing. Both of my GSPs have always been fairly docile, so I've never had aggression issues with them and other tankmates. If anything, they get picked on much more than they pick on other fish. With puffers, you never really know how they will react with other tankmates though. It just depends on their individual personality.

If you're planning to convert it slowly to full marine by starting off as having a freshwater tank, you may possibly want to pickup a mono sebae or something of that sort. They get fairly large, though. I hear the young ones can be kept in fresh and do best as adults in full marine, similar to a GSP.

There really are no other fish that can make that kind of transition from
FW-SW. Wait until it's marine & then get a tank mate.

Mollies or platies maybe? Mollies for sure, not so sure if platies can handle full marine?

I really deepends on the personality of your puffer. Mine is in a 40 gallon with 1 ballon mollie, originally 3 platy but that number has become around 15 to 20, and 2 guppies. He never takes a second glance at even the platy fry. He is pushing 3 inches now and I have my salinity at about 1.004 which I don't plan on pushing past 1.008 until I get a new home for my platies. Which I'm not rushing. But eventually I plan on tiger barbs, mollies, and a dragon gobie as his final and long term tank mates. May sound like alot but I think with over filtration and lots of decor ( tall plants, and hideing places) it should be ok. Hope you can get some ideas from this and long live your puffer and it's future tankmates.

Bcummings,

My GSPs would have eaten a molly in one night, as they did with a false perc clownfish.
They do get more aggressive as they mature, so I don't think a sedentary fish like a dragon goby is a good tank mate for a GSP. Also, tiger barbs are strictly FW fish.

My bad on the tiger barb part as I am still doing alot of reading myself into brackish setups. But IMO I think gsp are widely ranged with temperments as I have seen very small ones eat rather large red clawed crabs and fish but I have also seen some housed with different types of mollies and shellfish and even guppies. So my best advice would be to determine what kinda temperments yours have and go from there. But I have 1 55 gallon cichlid tank and useing decor helped me lower any aggresion that I had and it looks great. Hope you have a great tank in the end.

What about gobies if my gravity level is .020. I have 2 GSP that i have had for about a year and that have lived in brackish water at about .012 and i recently raised it to .020. It is a 29 gallon aquarium and it does not have another fish besides these 2 puffers. I have marineland 50 gallon filter and live sand that i have just added recently also. Is this setup okay and can i put gobies in there with them? I put 2 green chromis in there a couple of days ago and they did not make it i think it might be because of the puffers. My PH is at about 8.3.

I forgot ot add not dragon gobies or bumblebee gobie, i mean saltwater gobies. There is a long list of them

Considering your GSPs require 30g ea, I definitely would not add any more fish in there. If they killed damselfish, my guess is they will kill gobies even quicker.

How did you acquire live sand? I thought you were upgrading?

Sorry for the delay in response. I am trying upgrade to a 50 gallon or maybe smething bigger, but i am at a lack of funds right now but will be getting it with in the next month. Im not sure if it live sand or just follow this link http://www.petsolutions.com/Arag-Alive- ... 1+C45.aspx. SO what types of tank mates can i have with the GSP that will eat of the bottom and what can i feed the puffers that will help with their teeth since they live in marine water now.

I suggest trying a tomato clown. They're tough, have teeth & are fast. There is no such thing as live sand in a bag, don't waste your $$$.

Well im n ot so sure that it is live but it has salt water bacteria in it for cycling a new tank quicker.