The Puffer Forum

In the short time I have been keeping puffers*, I have found my fake leafy plant to be the best decoration for a few reasons

- My puffers all sleep under it. I guess maybe because it offer a fair amount of little hiding places and seem to break up the sight well.

- I find it easy to clean around. I like to net up the little piles of poop and bits of prawn shell that tend to gather on parts of the substrate. I recently neglected to do this and, though I can't be sure, it seems to be a likely explanation for a rise in ammonia I've seen.

- There's plenty of surface area on the leafs so hopefully the important bacteria will have a lot of space to grow.

Anyway, I'm going to get some more decorations similar to this and would recommend the to anyone else.


*i keep three figure 8 puffers

I also go this route, I've failed miserably at keeping real plants in FW tanks, let alone BW.

Only plant I've ever had good success with is anubias. It grows like crazy in all my tanks!

Even I have had great success with anubias, really undemanding plants. My favourite decor is rock work, it allows you to create slow flow areas for resting and looks nice and natural

Thanks for the replies
I'm still waiting for my ammonia to go back down. It's on 1ppm just as it was 2 days ago.
Do any of you notice occasional bumps in ammonia in your tanks?

I like planted tanks for FW, and generally have few problems with such tanks. But I have been keeping planted tanks a long time - I will never deny that it is a slow learning process and my FW planted tanks are set for their primary inhabitants - in this case puffers. I have done tanks w/artificial plants, but only for fish which will destroy live plants. Such tanks generall have one or two planted tanks connected to them to improve water quality. I like the look of live plants, but I equally like the benefits of live plats on water quality.

BW and SW tanks in my house are generally rock decor, but I have done some artificial plants with F-8s in light BW. In full SW these days I would always incorporate a 24/7 lighted macroalgae refugium. That again is both for water quality and nutrient export pl;us the generation of good varieties of 'pods for the fish to eat.

Complex set-ups may seen to add extra costs and work, but they are also more likely to be healthier than bacteria- only tanks, and while they are more work and costs to set, they can also be work savers. I do have a couple of 20+ years old set-ups going with little upkeep compared to "normal" FO (fish-only) tanks.

Certainly learn how to manage FO tanks while you are a novice, but do not be afraid to try more complex systems as tank handling becomes second nature to you.

If you have detectable ammonia in any occupied tank, add Seachem's "Prime" daily as long as such reading are seen. It will lock such ammonia into a harmless form.

HTH

Hi RTR!
Thanks for the reply!
Will the prime stop the ammonia being eaten by the bacteria? If so, I could use the prime and remove the ammonia through water changes but I feel that maybe it would be beneficial in the long term to allow bacteria to accumulate (providing my fish continue to seem completely healthy). The reason for this is that I suspect that part of the reason for the rise in ammonia is because I have started feeding the puffers prawns and that leaves little bits of shell, some of which I can't really get with the net.

I might get some for spare as if the ammonia level rises then I want to take swift action. What do you think?

I never see ammonia spikes in an established tank. Are there fish in there? Do a 90% WC, thoroughly cleaning substrate, especially under all decor & add Safestart to your filter.

Pufferpunk wrote:I never see ammonia spikes in an established tank. Are there fish in there? Do a 90% WC, thoroughly cleaning substrate, especially under all decor & add Safestart to your filter.

Could you give reasons and experience based evidence to back up your instructions, please?

Ummm... 40 years in this hobby???
library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=32416

Pufferpunk wrote:Ummm... 40 years in this hobby???
library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=32416

LOL! No, i'm not asking for credentials, I already know you are very experienced i mean for example, the reason why to clean particularly thoroughly under decor or past experience with safestart that makes you trust that it works.

I hope you can see where I'm coming from and know that I don't mean any offense. My fish depend on my cynicism.

Gillian McKeith has had a bazillion years experience in the field of nutrition and she is still... well let's just say she thinks you can oxygenate your blood by eating chlorophyll.

I have used Safestart when adding bioload of larger fish to my established systems, with no changes in parameters.
I suggest cleaning under everything (as I do every weekly WC), because something is rotting in there, causing an ammonia spike.

Thank you!

Yup highly decorated tanks can be a pita to thoroughly clean, however if you do less more often it is not such a chore. Mentally break your tank into sections and clean one section each time you are doing something in your tank ( a daily occurrence for my OCD ) you will be surprised what you can find that may otherwise affect water quality.