The Puffer Forum

Hi there..My name is Lubo I am from from Slovakia and I would like to ask you about help, or some informations about "care" of tetraodons.. In our country, there is not so much fishkeepers who knows this fish.. I bought today 4 tetraodons biocellatus, they are small, young around 3 centimetres. they are still swimming up and down at the left and right sides of the fishtank. is it ok? Saler told me, they can be in "freshwater" but.. I should start with salting, to be brackfish water.. I will buy "seasalt" in shop, but I dont know how many grams (kilograms) goes to 70 litres tank. I really hope you will help me.. THANK YOU VERY MUCH..

Hello Lubo,

I apologize that's our links are down. We are in the process of moving the site to a new server, so some links don't work.
To make your water brackish, you will need to purchase a hydrometer to measure the marine salt. You can raise the salinity by 0.002 a week to reach the specific gravity of 1.003 -1.005.
And some info:
viewtopic.php?f=38&t=28645

Thank you very much for your info. Can I leave them in freshwater couple of days yet? the are small, 3centimetres. and next thing, i am a bit afraid because they are still in the corners, swiming up and down.. is it their characteristic behavior? Thankx

Freshwateris fine temporarily, was the tank cycled?
They "glass dance" for a little while, a reaction from stress. They need 15 US gallons per puffer and a complicated environment to explore to prevent from getting bored.

yes it was.. that stress will stop, or not? saler sad me 19 gallons for them is fine, because they are small..

How was the tank cycled? Do you have any test kits? They will be needing a much larger tank.

Is there a lot of decoration in there?

19 gallons is far to small long term. 15g each minimum is essential. Also they may not get along so seperate tanks may be needed. How did you cycle the tank? What is you waterchange and feeding schedule?

tested only ph 7,2 and not so much decorations. I ll post any picture tomorrow. Now I know I have to sell some of them because of tank size. I cant buy bigger tank, there is no place for it in my flat.. I have those fish couple of hours and I love them so much!!

It is very important that you test for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate. What did you do to prepare this tank biologically, for them? I agree--you are better to only keep on in there. Do find homes for the others, as soon as possible.

Hi. Here is photo of my tank. http://i40.tinypic.com/119ayde.jpg In thank before, there were fishes (freshwater). I ll buy tester for water (ammonia, nitrite & nitrate) and I ll see. And what about feeding? I bought for them frozen beef heart but they dont want it!!! they didnt eat from yesterday, 2pm, nothing.. only snails nibble.. how often I should feed them? BIG thanx for every single answer and advice..

my first successful feeding..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4poGLsWxUkY

Get those tests, and if all is well you can start on raising their salinity to 1.003 - 1.005. A lot of sites suggest a higher salinity, but they live longer in the lower range. Use marine salt to mix their water, not any other kind of salt. Use an aragonite substrate to maintain the KH. Make sure your salt is mixed thoroughly for several hours before adding to the tank. If the tank is freshwater at the moment, take 2 weeks to hit your target, raise no more than .02 a week to keep your bacteria intact. 15 gallons minimum per figure 8 puffer. Some feeding ideas, you can get some non-seasoned, uncooked seafood from a grocery store, like mussels, shrimp, squid etc. I also like to include tilapia and earthworms to offer some thiaminase (An enzyme that inhibits the body's ability to uptake b1) free/low food sources. If you can get cockles, they are the only shelled bivalve I am aware of that does not contain thiaminase, so that is an excellent choice. If the seafood is fresh, freeze it first, and thaw/ soak the food in a bit of tank water (Don't use straight tap) with the addition of vitamins, such as vitachem and Selcon to make sure they are getting balanced nutrition, as freezing does break some of the nutritional value, but it is important to freeze to kill bacteria and or parasites. And of course, pond and/or ramshorn snails are fantastic.

Thank you very much for your advices. For all.. beef hearts was stupid advice from saler I think.. how often should I feed them?

At their age, feed daily. Stop listening the the seller! I will try to get our F8 article posted here.

Here you go: viewtopic.php?f=68&t=28692