suzie-q's New Puffer

[suzie-q]

hi i am really new to this site also and have had green puffers before but have killed them with igorance. anyway i believe i have a littel figure 8 puffer i bought it a a pet store in the fish dept. so i bring it home and place it in a cute little 3 gallon tank that has been going for about 24 hours i have a whisper small filter and a small heater which is about 74 degrees i have tested the water the ammonia looks ok the ph was high , so yesterday which was th 5th of feb i wanted to make the brachkish water so i had purchased some instant ocean and began adding it to the tank. well i was notinformed enough to ask the pet store what their specfic gravity was and it seems as when i made my emergency run back to the pet store they kept the fish at a very los sp i believe she said about 04 well i had made my tank up to 1022, and the reason i ran back to the pet store i thought i had killed my puffer it was not moving floating at the top of the tank so i then took it out still not moving and was going to flush it was actually in the toilet when i saw the little fins fluttering whichi thought i was seeing things, so i removed it to a little fish bowl took it back to store where i bought it the lady tested my water which i had also taken a small bag of it along just to find out what i was doing wrong, well she wasn't much help, but the little puffer was indeed still alive, so i brought it back home and did a 25-50 percent water change the puffer which i have named spotty is still alive i did buy some blood worms frozen, but he has not eaten today, i am trying to better educate myself to be more responsible for the fish i know i will need a bigger tank but also i am a senior and have limited income but i hope that the little puffer lives, i plan on continuing to do 25-50 percent water changes, the sp now is about between 1.004 and 1.008 he also will go up and down on the side of the tank i have some shells on the bottom with gravel, some green artifical plants and a artifical coral in the tank any suggestions will be well received and helpful thank-you for your site and information.. suzie q

[kilofey]

eesh! well, keep in mind that if you switch to brackish that quickly, you will kill your biological filter... and you really need a test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, not just ammonia. so, now that your biofilter is probably thrashed, you will need to keep an eye on it... forget the brackish switch for now... it can be done later, when your biofilter is in good condition.

if i were you, id go to the store, get LIQUID tests for ammonia nitrites and nitrates. the API master test kit is better, but thats around $30... liquid is WAY more accurate than test strips. and get some good dechlorinator. and for god sake, a bigger tank! that tank will be so ungodly difficult to keep cycled with such a messy eater, you will be pulling your hair out... do your self a favor, go for at least a 15gal, you can get them on craigslist.com really cheap (i just got a complete 16gal for 10 bucks last week)

since your tank isnt cycled, you will need to do a 50-75% water change every day... no exaduration, thats what it needs. and dont forget to add the dechlorinator BEFORE you put the water in the tank, chlorine kills bacteria, which you dont want if youre trying to establish a biofilter. your tank will be fully cycled when you get the same test results for about 4 days of: ammonia and nitrite 0 and nitrate around 5 to 20, ideally, it will be at 10.

well, it sounds like you got quite a bit of work to do. in the meantime, welcome to the fourm, im sure everyone here will help you as much as you need

[Pufferpunk]

There is & will be no biological filter in an uncycled 3g bowl. Please stick around here & do a TON more research for considering purchasing another puffer. If he is still alive, then you need to buy him a 15g tank NOW!
Read these articles: library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/
library/category/water-filtration/
library/category/feeding/

[suzie-q]

thank-you for your reply, my little puffer is indeed still alive i changed the water 50-75 percent , my plan will be to buy him a larger tank as suggested, now he is swimming up and down the too small tank, probably bored out of his mind, also he will not eat , i tried the frozen krill he bumped it with his nose but that was all, the first time i tried the frozen blloodworms he ate it, the night i brought him home now he will not eat the bloodworms am i being impatient i would not want him to strave.

[Pufferpunk]

Do 75% daily & use Prime to dechlorinate & help detoxify ammonia. How soon will he be in his new tank?

[suzie-q]

Do 75% daily & use Prime to dechlorinate & help detoxify ammonia. How soon will he be in his new tank?

little cheesepuff will be in his new tank probably on friday i have been adding the de-chlorination treatment as directed, i was wondering if lava rock is ok in this tank as decoration ?