The Puffer Forum

Okay...so my eagerly awaited delivery arrived this morning...I got my Refractometer (better late than never!!!) and now, can finally start to raise the salinity in my Ceylon's tank!!!. Before I start I just want to double check on the process..... using Marine Salt I raise the level by 0.002 each week until I reach 1.005 sg. Is that the correct final reading I am aiming at for a Ceylon???

Thx

Oh.....I JUST found this in the Forum...what do you guys think??? Sounds like a nice simple way to do it


Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 5:57 am Post subject:

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I'll make this comment: I've never lost any filtration capacity at all going from SG 1.000 to 1.005. Above 1.005 is when the filter bacteria begin to die/change into marine bacteria. Until that point, all you have to do is not put them into shock.

I'd suggest making 20% water changes once a week, adding SG 1.005 water each time. Over time, that'll raise the salinity nicely without stressing the bacteria in the least (not in my experience anyway). Certainly, do a nitrite test a day or two after the water change just to check, and obviously if there are problems don't raise the salinity for a week or two extra until things have settled down.

Cheers,

Neale

And found this on another Forum"The salinity should slowly be raised to at least 1.015 while the puffer is still small" so......which IS the correct salinity for a Ceylon????

There is no such thing as "a" salinity for a GSP; it's a euryhaline, brackish water fish that's able to adapt to anything between freshwater and marine conditions. True, they will live longer and be happier in salty water than fresh, but over the short term (days/weeks/months) rather than the long term (years) it couldn't make less difference.

What matters in the short term is pH/hardness and water quality (zero ammonium/nitrites and low nitrates). Oyxgen level is probably important, too.

If you have a mature freshwater aquarium, by all means put a brackish water fish in there and get it settled in. Add something to raise the pH/hardness, such as coral sand. In the short term, unwanted acidity in the aquarium stresses brackish water fish FAR more than a low salinity.

Once it is settled in, then you can slowly raise the SG, checking the nitrites/ammonium all the time. Add water at SG 1.003-1.005 at each weekly water change, checking the nitrites or ammonium each time. Over the course of a few weeks the SG will approach 1.005 and the filter bacteria will be stable. Subsequent increases in SG should be, in my opinion, very small because you want the saltwater filter bacteria to come online at the same rate as the freshwater bacteria die off (or whatever the heck it is that happens!). If you take 3 or 4 months to do this, it won't harm most brackish water fish at all.

Oh, and 1.015 sounds an insanely high SG for a baby GSP. Others may have comments (this is one species I have no personal experience of; my only brackish puffer is Arothron hispidus and a few Atlantic Ocean species kept for "fun" in outdoor tanks for a few days at a time). A baby GSP should be fine at SG 1.000-1.005, and mature adults at anything from 1.010 upwards.

Cheers,

Neale

Neale, although he's refering to a Ceylon, SG goals are the same for both species. Baby Ceylons will do fine at 1.005-8. I'd continue raising it throughout the next couple of years, with a goal of around 1.018-22, so you can add liverock & a skimmer.

Yes, there's no rush. Maybe add a little more salt every week or so, doesn't even have to be more than a tablespoon or additional each time.

Thanks everyone