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Brackish water acclimation
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:16 pm
by LittlePuff
How do you get a tank ready for a brackish puffer, if you don't know if they keep them in fresh or brackish and at what level of salinity? Does the water need to be mixed ahead of time, like marine? It sounds like I'd need to keep the fish in the bag quite a while.
Kim
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 11:56 pm
by RTR
It is always best to get the information up front as to what water the puffer is being kept in an then set the tank accordinly, before the puffer is due.
If they cannot or will not provide that info up front, why are you considering dealing with them?
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:39 am
by Pufferpunk
Kim, you've been around for quite a while, I'd thought you already knew that stuff.
You need a hydrometer & test the water at the LFS where the puffer is. Mix the marine salt into tank water to the same SG & cycle.
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:54 am
by LittlePuff
It would be my luck that by the time I got my water ready and the tank cycled, the puffers would be gone. If they didn't have them anymore, I'd have to do it all over again when they did, still with no idea if they'd be there the next time.
Kim
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 9:56 pm
by PetPirate
Same here. I made the assumption that they would be kept in freshwater, with a bit of salt (likely not marine) added. Whe I asked int he store, they confirmed that they were in fresh.
So, I cycled the QT tank at a salinity of 1.005 and drip acclimated the puffers over the course of a few hours. No problems. You could probably then cycle their main tank at 1.008+ and drip acclimate them again when switching them over.
They took the small jumps in salinity in their stride... and is possibly quite effective for eliminating parasites, too.
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 11:34 pm
by LittlePuff
Brilliant idea!!
Kim
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 1:53 am
by Pufferpunk
Couldn't you pay for the fish & have the shop hold them until you are ready?
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 10:56 am
by LittlePuff
The only fish places I've worked with (here in MO) are Pet Warehouse and Petsmart. They won't do that. I am getting ready to move near Peoria, though. Maybe they will have a Mom and Pop type store around there to try. I think it would probably be OK to have the main tank ready at a very low level of brackish and slowly work it up. I'll have the LFS place alot of water in the bag with him, so I can place him in another small tank in his water, then I can acclimate him that way.
Kim