Requirements Of A Puffer?

[nikkifro8994]

Hello. I have been interested in Puffers for quite some time now. I was at my lfs and saw a tank of them and decided that, later on this week, I will get one. I have a 5 gallon tank that has been set up for 4 months now. It has a small filter, a few live plants, and annoying ramshorn and pond snails that came with the plants (for FREE!). I have a few (or rather a lot of) questions for those with puffers.

I am only planning on putting ONE puffer in my tank.

1. Since puffers are brackish, I need salt. How much aquarium salt should I add for 5 gallons?
2. Is it okay that I have salt for freshwater fish? Should I buy different salt?
3. What is the ideal temperature range?
4. Do the puffers need an air stone to help add oxygen to the water? My filter has virtually no current.
5. Would they enjoy a cave or a few more plants to hide and explore in?
6. If I only have 1 puffer, would he like a friend? Or should he live alone?
7. Live, frozen, freeze dried? Do they sell pellets? Would my lfs sell snails? Please keep in mind that the only place i have to house LIVE FOOD is a 2 quart bowl.
8. Do I need a lid for the tank? Since my filter sits inside the tank, the water is always an inch and a half below the top.

Thank you so much for your help!
Nikki

 

[divegirl]

Hi first question....what kind of puffer is it? Not all Puffers are brackish

Let us know this and we can help you out more. Oh and the other thing is Puffers are notoriously dirty fish and need good filtration on their tanks.

But like I say, first things first....what type is it?

Lisa x

 

[nikkifro8994]

its a figure 8 puffer

 

[divegirl]

Ok!
First off I really have to say that IMO 5g is not a big enough tank.

F8S are brackish so yes you are going to need salt but not aquarium salt. You need a marine grade salt as it contains the trace elements and minerals that your fish will need!

Temperature should sit at around 25c.

An air stone will make little or no difference....it's good filtration that these messy creatures need!

They are very playful, curious fish and need an interesting environment!

Yes they can work well in groups but your tank is too small!

They happily accept frozen food and your LFS are normally more than happy to give for free any pest snails that they have!

Puffers jump!!!!!

Now the salt!
Is the tank cycled to freshwater? To change it to brackish you will need to buy the salt and a hydrometer [or refractometer....cheaper but less accurate]. I would start to cycle your filter in at 1 tbs per litre and then test to see what this gives you....should be a nice low sp. You need to give time for the bacteria to convert to brackish.
So basically you would do a 50% water change and for every litre of water that you take out you add back the litre + 1 tbs of salt.
The water needs to be pre-mixed....I do mine in a bucket the night before....Never add salt directly to the tank!

Please feel free to ask all the questions you need and I promise it's not as confusing as it sounds.

Lisa

Lisa x

 

[nikkifro8994]

feeding plan:
monday: half of block 1
tuesday: half of block 2
wednesday: small shrimp?
thursday: half of block 3
friday: half of block 4
saturday: small clam?
sunday: nothing



does this look good?

 

[divegirl]

Looks just fine, you may of course find foods that he likes more than others and once again....feed just a little at a time ans chuck the left overs.

Lisa x

ps....how are you going with the tank set up?

 

[nikkifro8994]

right now he is in a temporary 10 gallon tank. he is going to move to a 20 gallon soon tho. he has a good filter and some swords to play in. the only problem i have had with him so far is that it takes him a while to see the food and eat it. even when it is right in front of his face. he was pretty funny with the live feeder shrimp. i think he was scared of it at first. then he figured out that he was bigger and it was tasty. silly fish

 

[Nastihabits]

I got a few questions:
Why don't you add salt directly to the tank?
can you use sea salt?