New To Aquariums

[Crazypoetgirl]

I was at the store and totally fell in love with these fish. I was very mislead about their care. The "Care Sheet" at the store said they were fresh water fish and would eat tropical flake food, and would reach a max size of 2-3 inches. We originally bought 2 juveniles (about 1 inch) and a small round acylic tank. A few days after we got them home to find one of them died. So I started to research them, and found out they are brackish water fish and are carnivores, and reach up to 6 inches, along with the issue of thier teeth. So we bought a used 55 gal tank with a fluval 304 filter, using it with bio and carbon. We set it up with a sand and coral bottom. We have have been acclimating the water to brackish at .002/week for the last 3 weeks.

We considered possible tank mates and ultimately decided to make it a species tank only. We went back to the store and bought 2 more, so we have a total of three. I put the 2 new ones (approximately the same size) in the small tank for a few days treat them for ick and parasites. we pretreated the larger tank as well when we added them to it (we read it would not harm the 1st one) the 2 new ones immediated changed colors (nice bright green spot on the top of thier heads and belly's nice and bright white). But our first one's belly immediately darkened. (I read that this can happen when they are upset as well as ill). Its been about three days now. The first one which was very sociable with us humans seems to be angry at me (am I crazy). He used to eat from my hands and follow my finger along the tank. Now he hides in one corner rarely comming out. We did a dip test the day we put the new ones in the tank, everything came back normal. We skipped this weeks addition acclimation to the brackish water to not stress the new ones too much at once. but this morning when I tested it again and its only been 3 days the water is changing but the test strips I bought only came with a chart for fresh or salt, not brackish. so this is how the strip came out, acording to the chart:

Nitrate (no3) 20 (safe for fresh, Okay for salt)
Nitrate (no2) .7 (in the caution for both fresh and salt)
Harness 150
alkalinity 200
ph 8.8 (too high)

I have read these are not fish that are not recomended for beginner aquarists, but I love them and want to figure this out.

So here is my main question, from what I have read a partial water change will lower the ph, but with us acclimating the tank to brackish and not wanting to stress the new fish who are new to any salt in thier water, should I go ahead and add the .002 for this week with the partial water change or not? Is the orginal 1st puffers behavior normal when adding new tank mates, or do you think something is wrong with him?

 

[KittyKat]

You haven't said what species they are?

0.7ppm nitrite is too high, it means your tank has not cycled for some reason and that amount will harm fish. You should do water changes to bring it down to 0.5ppm or lower.

pH 8.8 is high, but not absurdly so.. it should come down with time. The salt and coral sand will raise it.

 

[nmonks]

Green spotted puffers aren't especially difficult to maintain. But they do grow quickly, and sometimes they're pretty mean towards one another (I suspect that's the males). Do bear in mind they get to about 15 cm in length, and so you'll need a good 30-40 gallons for just a single specimen, at least once fully grown. If you're lucky enough to be able to maintain a group, you'll need a good 20 gallons on top of that per extra specimen.

They can be maintained in either brackish or marine conditions. The salinity doesn't matter hugely, but you will need at least SG 1.005 for long term success. Juveniles will be fine at SG 1.003 at 25 C, which is only 6 grammes of marine salt mix per litre of water.

Now, puffers are quickly stressed by non-zero nitrite and ammonia levels. Don't feed them at all if you can detect either. Concentrate on cycling the filter as quickly as possible. Changing the salinity at this stage isn't crucial, so leave the salinity steady. I'd aim for SG 1.002-1.003, i.e., 5-6 grammes of marine aquarium salt mix per litre. A year from now you can raise the salinity further if you need to. But for now, use a low salinity, and you should find the tank cycles quickly. In fact you can speed the cycling up by adding live media from a freshwater aquarium if you keep the salinity this low.

The pH is likely abnormally high because you have a non-zero ammonia level. It should settle down in time. But don't worry too much about water chemistry -- marine aquarium salt mix buffers the pH and raises the hardness automatically. Only if you have very soft water will you need to do anything else.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Crazypoetgirl]

Sorry I put that in the subtitle of the topic

They are spotted green puffers

I forgot to mention that the ammonia is at .02 which reads in the safe zone as well.

Why did the nitrates start going up when I added the new fish. they stayed at zero for the last 3 weeks then in a mater of 3 days they are raising. In fact all of it was normal until I added them.

 

[nmonks]

There's no such thing as "safe" ammonia or "safe" nitrite. Anything above zero causes problems. True, the amounts at which they become dangerous vary from fish to fish, and pH is another factor as well. But if you detect either, you have a problem with water quality. Filter isn't mature, or is too small for the tank, or the tank is overstocked, or the fish are overfed. Review, and act accordingly.

I forgot to mention that the ammonia is at .02 which reads in the safe zone as well.

 

[Crazypoetgirl]

well like I said I'm very new at this, fist time actully. I was just going by the chart on the test stip bottle. Thank you for your help. We have been feeding them brine shrip daily, and then small crabs once a week to help keep thier teeth maintanced. Thats what I found on several diferent sites was acceptable for thier age.

The two new ones dont seem to be picking on the original. In fact none of them seem hostile towards the others. But that is why I got 2 additionals, I read in several places that if you do have one that is more aggressive than the other its best to have three to "spread it around" so that one isnt constantly being bullied. I read that they can be happy alone, maybe I should have just left him (of course I dont know, but the kids gave him a male name) by himself. It just seemed like so much tank for a 1 inch fish. I did realize that I will have to upgrade to larger tank later assuming I can keep all three of them alive until they get bigger.

At what size would you recomend they be moved to a larger tank?

Should I change the bedding of the tank if the corral is an issue in water quality control?

Like I said I am really new at this and apprieciate the assistance.

I did go over and check the filter the intake was a bit gunked up with plant debris. I have removed it so hopefully it will cycle faster.

 

[nmonks]

At what size would you recomend they be moved to a larger tank?

Up to about 10 cm long they'll all be fine in a 30-55 gallon tank; but above that, you really do need about 55 gallons for the first puffer, and another 20 gallons for each additional specimen. You might get away with keeping two compatible adults in 55 gallons, but it's a crap shoot, and regular water changes will be even more critical to long term success in a tank this size. Nitrate is a silent killer of puffers, and above, say, 20 mg/l, it does seem to make them more sensitive to disease, though they're not actually delicate fish. One reason GSPs are often moved to marine aquaria is that live rock and protein skimmers makes keeping nitrate low much easier.

Should I change the bedding of the tank if the corral is an issue in water quality control?

No particular need that I can see.

Have fun! Neale

 

[Crazypoetgirl]

Thank you very much Neale

 

[nmonks]

My pleasure!

Cheers, Neale

 

[Sara0229]

One thing I'd like to add-
I wouldn't hand feed them. They will associate your fingers with food and could give you a nasty bite when you stick your hand in for maintenance. I use tongs to feed mine as well as a veggie clip. Puffs are very smart fish! Good luck!

 

[Crazypoetgirl]

Well its been a few days, we ended up doing a 50% water changewith the addition of the recomended amount of aqurium salt and bio boost. The water quality has improves nitrates are down to 0, the Ph down to 8.4.

But the first original puffer is still distressed, his belly is almost black and the bright green spot on his head has faded. He looks bad. Completely antisocial toward the new fish and us humans, hides in one corner of the tank, and wont eat. He completly puffed up last night,not just slightly, which I have read isnt good for them. Hes still alive this morning, but to be honest I kinda expected he was going to die through the night. I was planning on buying a tank divider to see if giving him his own side of the tank might increase his social behavior, but with the ice storm its impossible to get up our driveway.

I feel bad cause I thought I was doing a good thing by getting him some tank mates and ultimatley it seems to have destoyed his demeanor. The new ones are not nearly as interactive as he was. I guess I should have left him alone and happy in his own tank.