40g Single Green Spotted Puffer Tank

[justinp]

I have had no luck with finding suitable tank mates for puffers in the past. But I have had friends who have kept them with many different types of large brackish fish in a large tank and had no problems...Unfortunatly I do not have a large tank for him...

I am looking for something I can keep with my single GSP (he has never been with other fish since the fish store) in a 40g tank. Right now he is about 2 inches. He is in higher end brackish water (1.015) and I dont want to lower that because he seems to love it...

Any ideas?

 

[AMS]

What are the dimensions of the tank?

You could try a shoal of Target fish (Terapon jarbua), although they would be more comfortable in a larger tank, around 55 gallons. I wrote a profile on them in the index if you are interested.

The Crazy Fish (Butis butis) would be a good choice with a GSP, but I would not bring your current SG up any higher.

The White Cheeked Freshwater Moray Eel (Echidna rhodochilus) would also be another good choice. This is the smallest of the "freshwater" moray species, and the only small enough for your tank.

You could try an Orange Chromide (Etroplus maculatus) although your SG is a bit too high.

A Freshwater Stone Fish (Batrachus trispinosus ) would be another option.

Those are just some of the fish I can think of off the top of my head right now. Neale would probably have some more suggestions.

EDIT: Unfortunately, your tank size limits a lot of fish. Bear in mind though, the GSP's can (and arguably should) be moved into full marine conditions. When in full marine conditions, you can introduce marine fish, or even in very high end brackish water around 1.018.

 

[justinp]

Im not sure of the exact dimensions but it is not a long tank, it is quite deep (high). It was used for my Archers when they were young (able to comfortably fill it 3/4 full).

 

[nmonks]

Frankly, I'd expand on what AMS has said above, and work around a fish-only marine tank.

If you go for one of the more pushy damselfish, it should get along with the pufferfish, and return any aggression right back. Something like a sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis) or a jewel damsel (Neoglyphidodon oxyodon). Maybe even a domino damsel (Dascyllus trimaculatus).

These damsels are very resilient and couldn't care less about how badly you maintain the salinity or nitrate levels. They will do fine at 1.018 and tolerate all kinds of abuses in terms of water quality. In fact, they're much tougher than your puffer!

While damsels are hardy and easy to keep, they are territorial, so you need to make sure that it and the puffer are of similar sizes, and that each has a cave to call home. Also, there are dozens of species of damsel, and some are small and delicate. What you want are the tough, fairly large species like those listed above.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[justinp]

Right now the puffer is in 1.014, if I raise the Salinity by .001 a week until 1.018 or 1.019 will he be ok? Ive ususally raised it a bit slower...How should I do this?

 

[nmonks]

How old/big is the puffer? As I understand it, you shouldn't really keep anything less than a half-grown specimen in seawater. So if it's less than 8 cm long, leave it at the salinity it is at for the time being.

There are some true, brackish water damsels, by the way, but sadly they are very rarely traded. An alternative might be one of the brackish/salt water cichlids. There are several. But in all honestly, keeping a companion with a puffer, especially in a relatively small tank, is going to very dicey. Possibly, another pufferfish is the answer? Some people have kept multiple GSPs together with reasonable results.

But I have no personal experience of this species, so won't stick my neck out either way!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[AMS]

There are some true, brackish water damsels, by the way, but sadly they are very rarely traded. An alternative might be one of the brackish/salt water cichlids. There are several. But in all honestly, keeping a companion with a puffer, especially in a relatively small tank, is going to very dicey. Possibly, another pufferfish is the answer? Some people have kept multiple GSPs together with reasonable results.

But I have no personal experience of this species, so won't stick my neck out either way!

Cheers,

Neale

I would advise not adding another GSP to this tank this small, you could possibly get away with two in a 40 gallon with relative ease, but it is best not to risk it.

The semi-aggressive to aggressive eels seem to be a good choice for puffers. Again, Echidna rhodochilus may be a well-suited tankmate. You could also try the Green Wolf Eel (Congrogadus subducens), (which is actually a Pseudochromis not eel). Dave Legacy keeps one with his GSP. I assume this combination would work as the GWE is highly aggressive, and very aggressive towards food. The GSP should not pick on a GWE much. But the tank size is still a problem, I personally would not keep a GWE in nothing less than 65 gallons.

Neale makes a good point, work around a FO marine system. Your options are greatly increased.

Two of the often labeled "Fish Only System Wrasses" that come to mind are Thalassoma lucasanum and Thalassoma quinquevittatum. These fish both grow to about 5-6 inches and are aggressive.

Check out the SW fish index and other sources for aggressive SW fish for a searching point.

 

[justinp]

Ive beem told by my local shop that no marine fish will survive in 1.018...For long...Is this true? I would imagine it is not because you guys are suggesting it! Is there anything special or different I would need to do, to keep some hardy marine fish in Brackish water? I know nitrates are an issue for most marine fish (I used to have a marine set up) but I have managed to keep them very low in the 40g tank...Anyways, any more ideas or info would be great, as I would like to add one more fish at some point if possible. I am also not sure though of when my Green Spotted Puffer can go to 1.018 or higher. Hes about 4-5 cm now and in 1.014.

 

[AMS]

Ive beem told by my local shop that no marine fish will survive in 1.018...For long...Is this true? I would imagine it is not because you guys are suggesting it! Is there anything special or different I would need to do, to keep some hardy marine fish in Brackish water? I know nitrates are an issue for most marine fish (I used to have a marine set up) but I have managed to keep them very low in the 40g tank...Anyways, any more ideas or info would be great, as I would like to add one more fish at some point if possible. I am also not sure though of when my Green Spotted Puffer can go to 1.018 or higher. Hes about 4-5 cm now and in 1.014.

Many marine fish will in fact adapt to the lowered salinity (and Neale correct me if I am wrong) because the lower amount of salt makes less stress on their kidneys. Out of the brackish FAQ Neale says:

A number of commonly traded marine species will adapt to the lower salinities of brackish water aquaria, but in other regards they retain the same sensitivites as other marine fish. The water must be well oxygenated and properly filtered, with no ammonia or nitrite and only low levels of nitrates. A good dechlorinator must be used with each water change, and those water changes need to be frequent if you want to keep the nitrate, phosphate, and organic loading down. Protein skimmers generally do not work well in brackish water, and so while worth trying with systems having a specific graviity of 1.010 or above, should not be relied on. Water chemistry is important too, and all these fish demand hard, alkaline water. This is most easily ensured by including plenty of calcareuous material in the aquarium substrate and using a good quality marine salt mix.

The best way to adapt these marine fish to a brackish water aquarium is to raise the salinity of the aquarium close to marine conditions before buying the fish. Ask the aquarium store what specific gravity they keep their tanks at, and get to within one or two points of it (so, for example, if the dealer has their tanks at SG 1.018, then taking your brackish water tank to an SG of 1.016 to 1.017 will be adequate). Any fish already in your aquarium that are suitable for keeping with these marine species will do fine at this elevated salinity. Introduce the marine fish by placing the bag it comes in carefully on the surface of the aquarium, giving it plenty of time to ‘taste’ the water, by piercing the bag with a needle a few times. This will allow aquarium water to seep slowly into the bag, gently changing the salinity and giving the fish plenty of time to become accustomed to it. After 20-30 minutes, open the bag and gently lower the opening into the water so the fish can swim into its new home. Over the next weeks, with each water change you can lower the salinity a point or two on the SG scale, and then keep and eye on the new fish to see that it is happy and feeding.

One part I do not necessarily agree with is that protein skimmers do not work well in brackish aquariums. True, protein skimmers only work with a SG of at least 1.010, but I use protein skimmers in my high-end brackish tanks and they have worked wonderfully. I do agree with Neale that they should not be relied upon. IMHO protein skimmers will work fine in brackish aquariums so long as it is an quality model (do not go skimpy, the performance is worth the extra cash) and the SG is on the high end. I wouldnt use a protein skimmer in anything under 1.013 though, I kept my scats at around 1.015 and the protein skimmer was working great. I used to have a GSP in a 29 gallon tank with the SG around 1.015 as well, protein skimmer worked like magic. I am planning a large brackish predator tank around 125 gallons, there will certainly be a large skimmer.

 

[nmonks]

As AMS has said, 1.018 is absolutely fine for all hardy marines. It was standard practise for decades to keep all marine fish this way, and only because of the shift from fish-only to reef tanks is "normal" salinity standard practise now. Basically, lower salinity than normal is dangerous to invertebrates because they are something called osmoconformers, meaning their tissue fluids match the seawater, and if it gets too low, they die. Fish are osmoregulators, and can control the salinity of their tissue fluids, within limits anyway.

Pretty much anything like damsels, snappers, triggers, puffers, lionfish, and so on comes under the "hardy marines" heading. But, as I mention in the FAQ, only a certain number of marines can be adapted to reduced salinities below 1.018. Batfish, emperor snappers, reef catfish, and dog-faced puffers are perhaps the best known. In your case, it isn't the salinity that will be the issue, but tank space. I think one damsel and one pufferfish are likely to be the maximum you can get away with.

AMS -- re: skimmers. I agree, they can work in high-end brackish, I should perhaps have written that their effectiveness increases with salinity, from marginal at 1.010 to being fully effective at 1.018.

Cheers,

Neale