Green Puffer? Brackish?

[meehan09]

Hello.

I today got 4 green puffers in my big tank.

Just a few newbie questions has the lfs gave me no advice really, just sold me the fish.

I have a freshwater tropical tank up and running with them in, they are quite small at the moment, and was asking the way to go if they need salty water?

Do the green puffers need a little salt? and if so can someone help me on how to do this and what type of salt is needed,

Regards,
Paul

EDIT :: P.S ( also whats is the ideal constant temp for the green puffers )

 

[nmonks]

Do the green puffers need a little salt?

They don't need "salt" as in cooking salt or aquarium salt, they need marine salt mix, which is something else entirely. Lots of inexperienced aquarists confuse the two things. Marine salt mix (things like Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals) contain sodium chloride plus a bunch of other minerals that raise pH, hardness, and carbonate hardness. For juvenile green spotted puffers, 6 to 9 grammes per litre is adequate; this corresponds to a specific gravity of 1.003 to 1.005 at 25 degrees C. Adult puffers will need somewhat more, around 15 grammes per litre (1.010 at 25 C) being ideal.

can someone help me on how to do this and what type of salt is needed,

It's very easy. First grab a bucket. Let's say it contains 15 litres of water. Take out one or more buckets of water as you'd usually do for a water change; 25% per week is normal but you might do more or less depending on the circumstances. Empty the buckets. Now add the right amount of marine salt mix, in this case, let's say 15 x 6 grammes = 90 grammes. Add lukewarm tap water, and stir well. You can check the specific gravity is correct with a hydrometer, if you have one. Add to the aquarium. Repeat until you've replaced all the water you took out. Do this each weekend, and you should find the salinity of the aquarium adjusts to SG 1.003 after a few weeks. As and when you want to change the salinity, simply repeat the process, adding more salt to each bucket as required.

EDIT :: P.S ( also whats is the ideal constant temp for the green puffers )

About 25 degrees C.

Cheers, Neale

 

[meehan09]

Ok can you possibly link me to an example of the marine mix, do i need to buy Marine Mix?

Or do i need some Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals??


And thankyou for the quide i will get this sorted once i know witch i need to buy. Glad you have been able to help has i thought it was just marine salt i needed.


Regards,
Paul

 

[nmonks]

I think you're confused. What you shouldn't use is aquarium salt. This is the tonic salt sold under brands like Doc Wellfish Salt. This is the salt that some people use in freshwater aquaria to treat whitespot and certain other parasitic infections. What you want for a brackish water system is the salt used in marine aquaria. Use whatever brand is cheapest. Ask your retailer for the salt needed in a marine aquarium, or shop online while looking for such. Bear in mind that normal seawater is 35 grammes per litre, so a box that will make 20 gallons of marine water will make about six times as much low-end brackish water at 5-6 grammes per litre.

Cheers, Neale