Gsp

[demonmagus]

Hi, how would I acclamatise a GSP that is young from freshwater to whatever young GSP's should be living in.

Is that 1.005 or 1.010?

And how would I incorporate this into my weekly water change?

btw I don't have one yet so

Thanks

 

[AMS]

You should do the drip method for a few hours until you reach the desired SG in the bag. IMHO start the GSP at 1.010 but either would be fine. GSP's should be moved to high end brackish to full marine conditions when mature so when you puffer is near maturity replace 10%-15% of the water every week with water raised by .002 SG "points".

 

[flamingonhot]

First of all, how big is it? If it's pretty young it won't need such high levels right off the bat, the older they the more salt they need. BUT, they don't need full saltwater condtitions, just a little higher Sg of around 1.012 or a little higher should be good enough.

Puffers, at least the ones i've owned, are delicate when they are acclimated from freshwater to brackish, and like any fish they should be introduced slowly. Not only will it save your fish, but will also keep your bacteria alive.

AMS, not to come off rude because I may have read this wrong....

Did you mean taking a GSP in pure freshwater, and raising the Sg all the way up to 1.010 in a few hours with the drip method? Usually depending on the age of the puffer, they don't stand that well. I once had a baby puffer that was in freshwater, raised the Sg up 1.006 within a day and it turned black and died ( this was also when I was first starting out lol).


Oh well, I Haven't slept in like 30 some hours so hopefully I don't sound confusing >.<

 

[phlawed]

First of all, how big is it? If it's pretty young it won't need such high levels right off the bat, the older they the more salt they need. BUT, they don't need full saltwater condtitions, just a little higher Sg of around 1.012 or a little higher should be good enough.

Puffers, at least the ones i've owned, are delicate when they are acclimated from freshwater to brackish, and like any fish they should be introduced slowly. Not only will it save your fish, but will also keep your bacteria alive.

AMS, not to come off rude because I may have read this wrong....

Did you mean taking a GSP in pure freshwater, and raising the Sg all the way up to 1.010 in a few hours with the drip method? Usually depending on the age of the puffer, they don't stand that well. I once had a baby puffer that was in freshwater, raised the Sg up 1.006 within a day and it turned black and died ( this was also when I was first starting out lol).


Oh well, I Haven't slept in like 30 some hours so hopefully I don't sound confusing >.<

if its a good lfs you are buying it from, they should already be in 1.005 or so. If its a chain store, then it might be in freshwater. At around 2" you can begin putting them in anything from 1.010-1.022. They are extremely slow growers. So if you buy a young one, be prepared for a wait if looking for a marine puffer.

Sorry flamingonhot, but GSP should be in high end brackish or marine as an adult. My 2.5" is in full marine and absolutly LOVES it. He has some of the brightest colors i have seen from a GSP. As AMS pointed out, i did the .002 method to get my salt this high. Every water change, I would change about 33% or so of the water and raise the salt .002 in the water i added. Overall this would change the tank by about .001. I have zero illness and zero nitrites and nitrates the entire time by doing it this way. An adult gsp may survive in 1.012, but in nature they usually migrate to marine waters unless mating.

 

[demonmagus]

Seeing as you are probably the only person who actually has a marine GSP on this forum I assume I can trust you

so when it is small I should already be trying to raise sg to 1.022?

Thanks

 

[phlawed]

Seeing as you are probably the only person who actually has a marine GSP on this forum I assume I can trust you

so when it is small I should already be trying to raise sg to 1.022?

Thanks

i would say it takes about 4-6 months to do this. depending on the size you get it. If you get a little 1-1.5", dont raise the sg above 1.012. You should keep it more around 1.008-1.010 during this time unit it grows some. But at 2.5"+, you can raise it to full marine. Some will say 1-2" very light brackish 2-4" full brackish 4"+ Marine. But, as i did, just watch the fish. Mine handled it fine at 2.5". But, it took about 2-3 months to me to move it from 1.012-1.020. So did it pretty slow as you can see.

on a side not, as AMS said, anyone i have ever known to drip acclimate a puffer to 1.005-1.010 has done this flawlessly with no deaths. I would actually recomend doing this before adding to the tank. Givin the tank is cycled at the same sg. To do it, tie a air line in a knot and create a syphone from a salty buck to a bucket at the sg the puffer was bought at. Let it drip slowly replacing the water every so often until it reaches desired sg.

lol another note, i have yet to do the drip method as my puffer was bought in 1.010 water

 

[petpirate]

Hey... you can add me to the marine GSP list. I've got 3 in full marine (and I'm crazy about them...).

I've found that they are very versatile, and can indeed undergo changes in salinity of .05 or so over a couple of hours of drip acclimation. As was alluded to above, it is the biological filter that needs time to adjust/repopulate. For that reason alone, a maximum increase of .02 / week is recommended.

As for keeping GSPs in marine conditions, I've found that mine were much, much happier and more active in full saltwater -- and that's an S.G. of 1.026. I haven't had any health problems with them in the year they've been at that salinity. They were healthy in brackish, but were much more skittish/temperamental than they are now. I took about 6 - 8 months to fully convert them over.

Given my experience, and the stories of many others I read when moderating over at TPF, I would heartily recommend anyone keeping GSPs to transfer their GSPs to full marine (1.026 - 1.027) as they grow.

Here they are, as of about 4 months ago....

As for how to do it, I would recommend a decent brand of marine salt, and a reliable hydrometer, or refractometer, and a calculator. Salt the change water sufficiently to raise the whole tank by about 0.001 - 0.002 during the change. Mix the saltwater in a separate container for 24 hours beforehand.... and watch the fishes' reactions as you add the new water in! They love it!