Pix of my 54 gallon corner tank

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Hate to tell you, but...
That "Leapoard Puffer" is a Green Spotted Puffer that will grow to the size of a football when properly cared for, will very likely tear apart every fish in that tank as an adult, and will need 30+ (minimum) gallons just for itself.
More importantly, it is a brackish fish that will benefit from full marine conditions as it matures (generally when it gets ~4+").
They can survive in freshwater for a short time, particularly when they're young, but that certainly doesn't mean it will be happy/healthy without marine salt.

This is only day 2 - did you cycle the tank before putting the fish in?
If not, I would go out and buy some Bio-Spira ASAP or all those fish are dead within a matter of days.

I recommend putting Bio-Spira in the tank and either putting the puffer in its own tank or taking it back to the store.
 
I have had the tank filled with water for a month and have done a couple of 20% water changes along the way. Would you consider this a full cycle? Also i am going to try to take back the puffer to the store since i think that would be best. Can i keep him for a couple of weeks until i try to bring him back since i am real busy and dont have the time to bring him back to the store, or will he kill the other fish if i dont get rid of him soon. Lastley for weekly water changes how much water do you suggest i take out. Thanks for info about the puffer and hopefully that has saved a lot of deaths in the tank. I have extra 10 gal tank that is in the mist of cycling, when it is done cycling can i put the puffer in that tank or is it too small. Thanks
 
bballsosh said:
I have had the tank filled with water for a month and have done a couple of 20% water changes along the way. Would you consider this a full cycle?

Unfortunately, no.
Cycling requires an ammonia source in order for beneficial bacteria to colonize. Once fish are in the tank, ammonia will build up as a product of their waste and uneaten food particles. which is toxic to fish (puffers in particular are very sensitive to toxins). There are beneficial bacteria that consume and "detoxify" ammonia, however they take time to colonize.
The idea of cycling is to introduce an ammonia source before fish are ever in the tank so that bacteria can colonize and ammonia never builds up (or nitrite, but I won't confuse you with that right now).
This is a great, concise article about cycling:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm

bballsosh said:
Also i am going to try to take back the puffer to the store since i think that would be best. Can i keep him for a couple of weeks until i try to bring him back since i am real busy and dont have the time to bring him back to the store, or will he kill the other fish if i dont get rid of him soon.
Thanks for info about the puffer and hopefully that has saved a lot of deaths in the tank. I have extra 10 gal tank that is in the mist of cycling, when it is done cycling can i put the puffer in that tank or is it too small.

The puffer will probably not kill anyone else in the tank right now. At a young age, they usually aren't terribly aggressive, though they may nip fins/harrass. It's when they're mature you really have to worry (some turn into cold-hearted killers)!
The thing about the puffer is that they are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, both of which your tank will experience a spike of in the near future since it wasn't cycled. I'm not sure the puff would make it through the cycle.
As far as the 10g, that would be fine for a short time, but he will need a bigger tank soon, they grow pretty quickly and need a lot of space.

If you could afford at least a 29g tank in the next few months, I'd highly recommend keeping the puffer. From the pics he looks to be a healthy GSP (green spotted puffer), and they are a very rewarding, very intelligent, high personality fish to keep. I have several Figure 8 puffers which are very similar, but don't grow as large, and wouldn't give them up for the world. Don't let the brackish thing scare you; it's really quite easy.
I urge you to take a look at this link (and browse the forum! Ask questions! We pufferkeepers are a nice bunch :)):
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library.php?p=27

bballsosh said:
Lastley for weekly water changes how much water do you suggest i take out.

It depends on your bio-load (amount of fish). Your 54 is nicely understocked at the moment, so I'd think 25% every week or two will suffice.
However, since the tank isn't cycled and is bound to experience ammonia/nitrites, you'll want to keep a careful eye on the water paramaters and do relatively large (~50%) water changes as much as needed (possibly daily) to keep the toxicity levels down.
You can pick up a liquid test kit at the LFS for ~$30. You really need to concentrate on ammonia and nitrite until the tank is cycled, and then watch nitrates after that.

If I were you, I would mix ~ a teaspoon of marine salt like "Instant Ocean" (NOT "aquarium" salt... that stuff is worthless) per gallon of water into the 10g, go out and buy some bio-spira (freshwater) to put in both tanks (one big bag would probably do it), and start saving for a 29g+ :)
Then you're all set, fishies are happy, puffer stays healthy, and you get 2 tanks instead of 1 :)
The 54 looks great BTW.
 
Tanks for all the help, but how will i know when my cycle is done? So that month in whcih i had the tank running didnt count at all for a cycle. Also this cansister filter that i am using was on my old tank so the bio pads should be helping quicken the cycle right?
 
bballsosh said:
Tanks for all the help, but how will i know when my cycle is done? So that month in whcih i had the tank running didnt count at all for a cycle. Also this cansister filter that i am using was on my old tank so the bio pads should be helping quicken the cycle right?

You'll know when the cycle is done when ammonia/nitrites drop to zero and you start seeing nitrates (meaning all the beneficial bacteria is "working").

How long has the canister been running on the 54g?
If the filter came straight off of an established tank and onto the 54g at the same time the fish were put in, then thats great, the filter media would probably give you an instant cycle.
However, if the filter has been running on an empty tank for a month, or was dry for any period of time, the bacteria will have died from lack of ammonia (food) source/water.

Do you have an established tank around? If so, anything you can grab from that to put in the 54g would help substantially - particularly filter media, but gravel, decor, etc. would also help.
 
Corey said:
bballsosh said:
Tanks for all the help, but how will i know when my cycle is done? So that month in whcih i had the tank running didnt count at all for a cycle. Also this cansister filter that i am using was on my old tank so the bio pads should be helping quicken the cycle right?

You'll know when the cycle is done when ammonia/nitrites drop to zero and you start seeing nitrates (meaning all the beneficial bacteria is "working").

How long has the canister been running on the 54g?
If the filter came straight off of an established tank and onto the 54g at the same time the fish were put in, then thats great, the filter media would probably give you an instant cycle.
However, if the filter has been running on an empty tank for a month, or was dry for any period of time, the bacteria will have died from lack of ammonia (food) source/water.

Do you have an established tank around? If so, anything you can grab from that to put in the 54g would help substantially - particularly filter media, but gravel, decor, etc. would also help.

It was from a planted tank with fish, and it was not dry for more than a day
 
The best way to know if you are cycled is to go out and get a test kit if you don't already have one. Test for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. The results will give you your answer.

Red
 
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