The Puffer Forum

Hi!


Ok so I am brand new here but plan to hang around
I just took in a couple of f8's from a fellow who was no longer able to care for them.
It was an urgent situation so I have the F8's & a few guppies who lived with them??

(I've had fish.. I've had a saltwater tank before so I am not completely without knowledge.. I know these guys are supposed to be brackish to marine, but they are currently FW, they are small about an inch big.)

Here is my dilemma I do not currently have ANY existing tanks set up, I have a 10 Gallon I have set up temporarily with sand substrate and a bio wheel filter.
I have set it up, dechlorinated it and the filter is running, the fish are currently in a large tupperware container with the tank water they used to live in, I have actually alternated hooking the filter up to this until I figure out how best to proceed.

I have Tetra Safestart, I have googled that it does work.. but obviously I am concerned.
Should I leave the fish together? (the guppies) I know they technically cannot live together but they have been?
And should it be ok to let the tank run overnight and then add in the safestart and then add the fish? should I also include the existing water they have been in?
I've never owned puffers before so sorry for all the questions.

For diet I have krill for them is this adequate? what about the guppies?

*sigh*

Keep all the fish together for now as you only have one tank.
Pour the Safestart in the filter, and then add the fish. Don't remove the puffers from the water, keep them submerged at all times. Add a small amount of your tank water to the container to acclimate them.
Please avoid krill:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29156&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Here is a feeding article: viewtopic.php?f=66&t=28566
And care: viewtopic.php?f=68&t=28469

Thankyou!!

I think I have discovered something, as I said I don't know puffers very well I think these guys are F8 puffers going by pics I am seeing! does that change anything?
In the interim until I can find something else to feed them is it ok to feed the guppies their flake food?
What would you suggest in the interim for feeding the puffers?

You can feed them earthworms from the bait section, unseasoned shell fish from the grocery store, you could feed them primarily pond or ramshorn snails if you can start a colony.
Figure 8: viewtopic.php?f=68&t=28692

Do not add flakes to their diet.

Small update I was able to re-home the Guppies with my neighbour who has a tropical tank with existing Guppies!
So now it's just the two Puffers who currently seem happy in the tank.
Crossing my fingers and really hoping this Tetra Safestart stuff works.. The filter I am using with the Bio Wheel has been previously run in an established tank as well.

Kitty wrote:Small update I was able to re-home the Guppies with my neighbour who has a tropical tank with existing Guppies!
So now it's just the two Puffers who currently seem happy in the tank.
Crossing my fingers and really hoping this Tetra Safestart stuff works.. The filter I am using with the Bio Wheel has been previously run in an established tank as well.

You need blood worms or small earthworms for them.

Thank you! I'll get these tomorrow.. is one better than the other?
What about seafood from the grocery store? I have a local 24 hour grocer.. I fed them some more Krill one loved it one seems to not like it?

Here is a pic of one of them! sorry it uploaded sideways from my phone!

Gosh, you'd think if someone dumps their fish on you, they'd give you the tank too? Or were they in a small tank to begin with? You're a good soul for taking them, either way. We'll get you & your new friends through this!

ok, go to the seafood section (if they sell it by the pound) if there are any clams or mussles, buy one, bring it home and freeze it overnight in the bag it came in. but it would be easier to wait until morning if you have an aquarium store or a pet store that sells frozen fish food and buy some hikari bloodworms. the long flat packs are better because you can break off the small amount you need for them. use a small glass shotglass or candle holder to put a bit of tankwater to thaw them out and use an eye dropper to feed them. i have a tealight candle holder that i got from michaels for a dollar and a dropper (from petco i think) that i use for figgy. i always pull the dropper apart and rinse it and the holder in cold tap water before letting it air dry after feeding. i feed figgy every other day or every 2 days.

im sorry, if i had checked this earlier, you probably could have gotten the food today, but its better if theyre in a tank before you feed them so the food isnt just sitting there making the water dirty. i also wouldnt keep anything else in their tank. they will eventually pick on and maybe kill the other fish.

edit again: sorry, didnt see the post that you rehomed the guppies! good for you and them!

Kitty wrote:Thank you! I'll get these tomorrow.. is one better than the other?
What about seafood from the grocery store? I have a local 24 hour grocer.. I fed them some more Krill one loved it one seems to not like it?

Don't worry about krill either way, it's not the best thing for them to eat as it has been linked to lockjaw. Get some shrimp, scallop, tilapia, mussels, ect. Freeze first, defrost. Open the mussels and they will scrape the meat off the shell. Remove the food from the tank when they are slightly rounded and keep in the fridge for a few days at the most before throwing out and gettting a fresh batch.
Look into ordering some vitamins to soak the food in, like Vitachem.