The Puffer Forum

Hello, I have 4 green spotted puffers that I am in the process of turning marine. All I have been doing is adding more and more marine salt with every water change. They seem to be loving it. Anyways tho, anyone have any extra tips on doing this? They are the only things living right now in the brackish tank. I am currently cycling a 75 gallon SW tank for them that they will be put into when I get them to the same pH and SG and such. Right now they are in a 40 gallon breeder. They are currently at 3/4 cup of salt/ 5 gallon, I been increasing the amount by 1/4 cup each water change about every 2 weeks. Another thing is can I take some of the water out of my SW tank and add a lil bit to their brackish tank to help start getting them use to the straight up salt water that has all the living rock and living sand bacteria and such in it? If anyone knows any links to a page or anything that helps explain anything better with this please send me a link, I greatly appreciate it.

I can't address the SW issues because I have no experience with keeping a saltwater tank, however, I'm not sure if I misunderstood or not, but it sounded like you were saying you do water changes every 2 weeks. If that is the case, then ideally you want to aim for doing 50% water changes weekly. If I got that wrong, then please forgive me.

I agree--4 GSPs in a 40g tank, no matter what size they are now, need a minimum of 50% WC. Also, you need a hydrometer/refractometer to measure your salinity--no guessing! If you want to keep your existing bacteria alive during the transition, then you should be raising the SG no more than .002/weekly water change. BTW, 1 cup salt/5g is only around 1.005, so you have a long way to go with your present method.

Here's an article to help you with the math: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19348

Other thing is, since the 4 puffers will require 30g ea, we're talking about a 120g tank for them as adult fish permanently. The other thing you can do, is set up the larger tank as SW & drip-acclimate them directly to those conditions.

+1 to Pufferpunk. You need to know the exact salinity. And 4 GSP in a 75g will be too small for them. Id give two up to the LFS. But it helps if theyre already acclimated to SW if you decide to give them up. Then the LFS can put them in to a SW holding tank for sale. This way no poor sucker walks in thinking hes a FW fish. I gave one of mine to the LFS, He was already acclimated to full marine conditions. The next day he was sold. And atleast I know someone with a bit more XP is keeping him happy. Plus four GSP are gonna be hard to keep snails readily available when its a staple food for them. Keep two and add other SW tankmates like a clown err something...

Yes, I have been doing 50% water changes. They still have awhile to go before they get salt. I know that the 4 of them are small for the tank, they been doing really well though and show no signs of stress, I figure as long as I have had them and how well and healthy they look and have been that I can keep going with it. As for the snails and such I have many scattered shells along the bottom of my tank, I have read that people have kept a majority of their snails and hermits from being eaten by doing this because it confuses them. I have also seen many videos of them on youtube in tanks with full grown GSP and the puffer doesnt seem like it can bite through the thickness of the shells on the saltwater snails/hermits compared to the small fresh water snails I feed them. Im sure they will get picked off here and there, but they seem like it should be pretty good. My saltwater tank at the moment is still being cycled, so I cannot put them in there for a bit even if they where ready to go. What is the drip method of acclimation you said pufferpunk? Im about to go look it up but if you have any good links you know of on it I would appreciate it, along with the other link you sent me, it is very useful, thanks.

Another thing about acclimating them to salt. I setup my new tank with all live sand and filled with live rock right off the start. All my pH, SG, salinity, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia are all in excellent shape and have been stable for over a week now. I was going to buy some damsels and keep them in there for help cycle the tank, but I know how much of a pain in the buttocks it will be getting them out of there. Can I skip the damsels and just cycle it with the puffers instead? Once again any help is greatly appreciated, thanks all for the feedback, this is an excellent forum website.

One more thing, is me adding 1/4 cup of salt each water change with my puffers too much of a change at once or am I safe?

-NEiL

As for the snails and such I have many scattered shells along the bottom of my tank, I have read that people have kept a majority of their snails and hermits from being eaten by doing this because it confuses them.

My puffers eventually got them anyway, so always consider them as food.

is me adding 1/4 cup of salt each water change with my puffers too much of a change at once or am I safe?

1/4 cup to a 40g should be fine but always check with a hydrometer/refractometer.

Here is the acclimation/drip guide from a store I order from often:

Acclimation Guide

One of the most important aspects of a healthy aquarium is proper acclimation of your new arrivals. The water used to pack the animal is going to be different than the water in your aquarium. For creatures used to living in a vast and stable ocean, those differences can be quite a shock and sometimes deadly. The most acclimation factors are temperature, PH and Salinity. The best equalizer for these is time. Spreading those changes over time allows your new animal to gently make its adjustment to the conditions in your aquarium. Following the procedure bellow is a required part of our livestock guarantee and will ensure the best chance for a full and healthy life for your new pet.

Quarantine Tanks: We highly recommend their use to reduce the possibility of introducing disease and parasites into your aquarium.

Tools Needed:

Our care package provides you with most of the items you will need:

Drip Line
Stress Guard
Acclimation steps
Sterile Styrofoam Container
additional salt water
Scissors / knife – to open bags
There are two basic methods for acclimation: Float Method & Drip Method. The Drip Method is considered the best for sensitive animals and that is why we recommend this exclusively. We are committed to the health of your animal and have included the tools you will need to do this. Because we have separate holding systems fish, invertebrates & corals need to be acclimated separately. Please be present during acclimation to avoid spillage.

Drip Method: (for fish and corals)

Turn off aquarium lights and keep them off for a few hours after introduction of your new animals. Also dim lights in room.
Open all boxes to ensure that all animals have arrived safely, bags are intact and you have received a complete order (do not do this in bright light).
Separate fish, inverts and corals into their own groups. Do not acclimate any of these 3 groups together (same body of water) because they likely do not share the same water parameters. If you don’t have enough styros, do one group at a time in the order they are listed above.
Float as many bags as will comfortably fit in your aquarium for 15-20 min. This will bring the temperature of the water in the bag to what the tank is. Do not open bags.
The Styrofoam box “styro” sent inside the cardboard box makes a great sterile acclimation container and never gets confused as a cleaning bucket. If a bucket is used it must be sterile (no soaps or other chemicals). New 3-5 gallon buckets are fine, just rinse them and mark them for aquarium use only.
Remove first group of animals and place them into the styro. Cut open the tops of each bag and empty water gently into styro. You may need to prop up one side in the beginning to allow water to submerge the animal(s). Repeat process for all. The level of the water should not be more than half way up the styro- if it is, split up the acclimation into multiple styros.
If possible, it is a good idea to cover the top with something so that fish don’t jump out and to reduce light.
Prepare your drip line by sticking the suction cup on the top or front of the aquarium so that one end is submerged (in the aquarium water). Tie two loose knots somewhere in the middle of the tubing. This will control the amount of flow by tightening/loosening.
Begin a siphon by sucking on the end you will be placing into one of the styros. Start by having the knots tighter, then loosen to achieve desired flow (2-4 drops per second). You want the water volume in the styro to double in 30-60 minuets. Remember it is better to fill slowly than to fill too fast.
Keep an eye on things so that nothing spills onto floor and you can adjust flow if needed
Once water volume doubles, discard half the water from the styro and then repeat process. If you plug the end of the tube and put it into tank with the other end, it should keep its siphon. For the next round- make sure it’s secure.
Repeat this process two to three times.
Net one fish at a time to prevent scratches or wounds, place gently get into tank.
Corals & Anemones- gently place into tank (following placement tips listed below and on our website product page). We recommend using sterile rubber gloves because some are allergic to the toxins they can release plus it ensures clean hands and prevents you from being stung by certain corals and inverts.
Congrats- that’s it. Wait a few hours or next day before feeding.
Drip method (Invertebrates: Snails, Crabs)

These animals will ship in much less water and are therefore easily acclimated in their original bag.
cut open (or off) the top of the bag to allow water from your drip line to be added and then secure them so they don’t tip over when more water is added
Often there is newspaper or paper towel to keep them moist. Create a drip volume that adds maybe one drop or less per second (see above). This should create about an inch of water over a period of one hour. For these creatures slower truly is better.
You do not have to discard any water like above. After one hour, simply add the animals to the sand bed by hand (do not put acclimation water into tank).
Tips:

never expose bags to bright light
always have enough mixed salt water on hand
acclimate everything – even if it looks dead (many animals can recover if properly acclimated)
be patient
Behavior During Acclimation:

Fish- will usually breath heavily and some will lay on their side or at the bottom of the aquarium (Wrasses sometimes will play dead- continue with full acclimation)
Corals & Anemones- will deflate/shrink, these might take hours or days to fully open and color up.
Snails & Crabs- may not open or move for days at a time- after this time if you suspect death pick them out of tank (if they smell bad, they're dead – don’t put them back)
Starfish- may not move for days, pick them up and look for signs of disintegration

Thanks punk, this is a pretty cool way to acclimate, sounds easy enough also. Any idea if all my pH and all those levels are right if I can put the puffers straight to the tank without first having in some damsels for awhile to cycle it? The tank is loaded with live rock and live sand and has been pretty stable in the last week or so.

If you added live rock & there is no ammonia/nitrite & some nitrate, the tank should be able to be stocked with fish. Especially a 75g with 4 sm fish.