The Puffer Forum

So I plan on quarantining my F8 before putting him into his 20L, just in case he needs medicine for worms, ect. Would a 5 gal be acceptable? I would put a heater and maybe a sponge filter in there (the filter wouldn't have any beneficial bacteria, but I assume some water movement and aeration would be necessary?) and I plan on doing at least 50% w/c every day just to get rid of any ammonia. Is there anything else I should throw in there? I have some silk plants I can toss in as a hide for him if needed.

Would frozen blood worms/black worms be okay to feed him as a staple food during this time? I've started a small pond snail colony but I need them to breed more before I start giving them as food.

Also, his 20L is currently freshwater, I decided to start increasing the SG to 1.005 once he was in the tank, but would it be better to start increasing both the quarantine's SG and the 20L's SG once I get him? Or rather keep the quarantine at 1.005 from the start, and gradually increase the SG of the 20L to 1.005 while he is in quarantine (to stop my cycle from crashing)? Or does it matter?

I plan on keeping him in QT for 2 weeks, to see if he has any symptoms. If he does, I will treat him and then probably keep him in a week or two more to be sure it is gone. There aren't any other inhabitants in the 20L, just live plants.

I hope you meant 20 gal and not 20 L... because if so, that is wayyy too small

If the main tank is cycled and there aren't any other fish in it why not just pop the puffer straight in the main tank?

Food: bloodworms will be fine until the snails are ready but give him a mix of frozen foods such as mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, cockles etc.

If I was going to use your quarantine tank for any reason I would have a heater, a sponge filter and an instant cycling product on hand.

As for salinity, set the tank up to suit the SG at the LFS and let the puffer settle in for at least a week before making any adjustments.

^^^^
Agree with everything posted directly above this one.

Blinkey wrote:I hope you meant 20 gal and not 20 L... because if so, that is wayyy too small

Yeah lol 20 gallon long sorry !

Iliveinazoo wrote:If the main tank is cycled and there aren't any other fish in it why not just pop the puffer straight in the main tank?

Food: bloodworms will be fine until the snails are ready but give him a mix of frozen foods such as mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, cockles etc.

If I was going to use your quarantine tank for any reason I would have a heater, a sponge filter and an instant cycling product on hand.

As for salinity, set the tank up to suit the SG at the LFS and let the puffer settle in for at least a week before making any adjustments.

Yeah, I suppose you're right haha. I was just worried about dosing any medicine into the main tank if he needed any. I was thinking it might be easier to do in a 5 gal lol.

As for the frozen foods, sounds good! I only have brine shrimp and bloodworms currently, but I was planning on purchasing a few more different varieties before picking him up! Thanks for the answer!