Spotted Green Puffer Fish need Info

[jeffs10]

I just Got 2 spotted puffer fish and like them alot, Just wondering if anyone had some info on them i tried searching but not to much luck.

Is there any site where i can get more info like

what they like to eat the most

what type of salt i should add to the tank . The lfs said aquaium salt and in the forums i read instant ocean . and will this make a difference with there health using the wrong salt.

Can they live with any other fish?

any info would be helpful

thanks

jeff

 

[Pufferpunk]

Everything you should need to know is right here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/gspsart.htm

 

[flipz]

hey jeff,
i just wanted to add some personal info, as i also have a GSP (green spotted puffer). mine is a very picky eater. he won't eat anything that the LFS said they fed him, and I even bought the same exact brand. lol

what he finally ended up liking is freeze dried bloodworms. (i haven't had a chance to try frozen yet. but ive read in lots of places that once they eat frozen, they won't go back to freeze dried. so im afraid to try. haha) and his favorite snack is live crickets from the LPS. he goes NUTS for them. goes into hunting mode. lol. and those are the only 2 things he'll eat! picky little fish.

2 things. don't keep them with any other fish. i had mine with a columbian shark 3 times his size, and at least twice as fast as him (GSP's aren't the best swimmers in the world. haha) and they got along great for the first week or so, and then 1 day the shark was missing part of her dorsal fin.

and the other thing is to make sure and get a hydrometer. it's used to test the SG (salinity) of your water. they do need to be in brackish water (basically half way between FW and SW) and you can't try and guess the SG. between water changes, evaporation, etc, you will never know where it's at. so make sure you have one.

good luck!

-brent

 

[jeffs10]

what sould the sg (salinity) be for a brackish tank?

i have gotton frozen brime shrimp and they go crazy for them i also put a few guppie fry from my comminity tank in there so see if they like them.

Thanks for all the great tips im going to get a hydrometer tommorow

what type of salt do you use in your tank and how often do you check it?

jeff

 

[Pufferpunk]

I guess you didn't reat that article? All those answers are in there. Brine shrimp aren't very nutricious--mostly water.

 

[jeffs10]

I guess you didn't reat that article? All those answers are in there. Brine shrimp aren't very nutricious--mostly water.

ok i guess i can figure it out if i get a hydrometer i wasnt sure how the hydrometer where marked and if i can see that the water is half way between fw and sw

 

[flipz]

yea jeffs, it's all marked off on the hydrometer. you put it in the water, and the needle will rise and point to a number, and that number is your SG. i personally keep mine at approx 1.015 because my columbian likes it high. i think most people are lower, as that's getting pretty close to marine.

i completely forgot that my puffer absolutely loves snails. at first that was all he would eat, before i got him eating food that i actually put in the tank. he ate every single snail i had in there in 1 night... the tiny "infestation" type snails. now i buy him the larger ones (dime to nickel sized) from the LFS for 25 cents a piece and he sucks them right out of the shell, it's great to watch! hehe.

and like pufferpunk said, unfortunatly brine shrimp isn't very nutritious. i don't have to worry about that because my puffer won't touch it, but my columbian loves it. haha. it's fine for a "snack" but it's pretty much no source of nutrition. i do recommend that you read pufferpunk's article if you haven't yet. she can be a little mean to people (maybe she calls it straight forward, i don't know. don't take it personally though pufferpunk).

good luck! post if you have more questions, that's what we are here for! most of us won't jump down your throat.

-brent

 

[Pufferpunk]

No I'm not mean, just like you said--straightfoward. I've been told I have the patience of a saint for folks willing to learn, but you have to read what I suggest 1st. Then ask away. You don't just add some salt (marine salt) & try to get it somewhere in the middle. This is a living being that needs proper, exact care. You need a cycled tank (how long has your tank been set-up?). You need to start the SG at whatever the LFS has been keeping it in & raise it .002/week. It's all in the article, I highly suggest you read it several times. I wrote it so folks can get all the info they'd ever need on this fish, in one place.

 

[jeffs10]

No I'm not mean, just like you said--straightfoward. I've been told I have the patience of a saint for folks willing to learn, but you have to read what I suggest 1st. Then ask away. You don't just add some salt (marine salt) & try to get it somewhere in the middle. This is a living being that needs proper, exact care. You need a cycled tank (how long has your tank been set-up?). You need to start the SG at whatever the LFS has been keeping it in & raise it .002/week. It's all in the article, I highly suggest you read it several times. I wrote it so folks can get all the info they'd ever need on this fish, in one place.

My tank is fully cycled i did a fishless cycle in a 30 gallon tank. It took about 4 1/2 weeks to cycle. sorry i missunderstood about the salt but my lfs told me a half of handful of aquarium salt thats why im asking question about it. I read the artile and helped me out alot. i didnt see the post with the link to the article the second time i responded sorry if i came off rude..

Just 2 qustions that i dont get

i feed them mysis shrip thats what the lfs said i thought it was brine shrimp but i just read the package.

is aquarium salt the same as marine salt?

Thanks for all the help i and i fully understand the gsp thanks for all the help.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Nope, aquarium salt is not at all the same as marine salt. You must use marine salt. Don't believe anything your LFS tells you.

A fishless cycle shouldn't take longer than about 10-14 days tops. How was it done?

 

[jeffs10]

Nope, aquarium salt is not at all the same as marine salt. You must use marine salt. Don't believe anything your LFS tells you.

A fishless cycle shouldn't take longer than about 10-14 days tops. How was it done?

ok thanks for answering my question about the salt.

i used ammonia and tested the water everyday unitll nitrites and ammonia was 0 this is the artilce i followed.


http://www.aquahobby.org/articles/e_fishless.php


is mysis shrip anygood to feed them thats what my lfs said and they sold me the wrong salt. if not i will get the right food tommorow first thing.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Did you add something from an established tank to "seed" the bacteria colony? Have you had a nitrAte spike too?

Mysis shrimp is ok for a snack, but you need to feed it a wide variety of foods, especially crunchy foods for it's teeth.

 

[flipz]

Not all tanks will cycle in 10-14 days. There are always reasons that it can stall. I don't remember his nick but the guy who was the 5000th member. He's on week 6 of his fishless cycle! It was stalled for like 3 weeks and he is just now seeing a drop in nitrites. So it's not too abnormal.

-brent

 

[Pufferpunk]

Maybe not enough "seed" baacteria was used.

 

[jeffs10]

OK one more question in the article it sad to feed a (under 2") puffer need to eat every day, skipping one feeding/week. Is this feeding them only once a day weekly skipping one day. or twice a day?

I went and got some small snails today and krill/plankton going to start breeding my own snails thanks for the tips.


thanks for all the help and sorry about the mix up with the article i didnt see it the first time i post i didn't scroll back far enough .


jeff

 

[Pufferpunk]

No apology needed, I just want to make sure your puffers are well taken care of. Once/day should be enough.

 

[flipz]

I also feed just once a day. I'll skip a day if I know he's going to be getting a really big cricket or anything like that. Makes him happy.

Funny story. My columbian shark loves rosy red's (feeder fish) to eat. So one day I bought her a couple, and she didn't seem to be hungry. So I left one swimming on her side, and put one on the puffers side (the tank is divided). I figured the puffer had just eaten, so it would be fine. Not to mention the rosy was just as long as he is, and I had never fed the puffer any fish so I didn't think he would even want it. Not even 30 seconds later the rosy's head was missing. And the rest of her body followed within the next minute or so. haha. He completely destroyed that thing! Even before the shark, who normally gets them the second they hit the water surface!

-brent

 

[roscoe]

My puffer eats freeze dried brine shrimp and frozen blood warms. He wont touch any other foods I have tried. Seems to be happy with a SG of 1.012 and losts of bushes to explore. I keep java fern, java moss and some plastic plants to keep him busy. He's a great fish and greets me every time I enter the room.

Just my two cents.
HTH.

 

[jeffs10]

I was trying to feed the puffers the krill i got today but it floats and keeps getting caught in my filter output stream. i pre soaked them like the directions said but no luck any suggestions?

 

[roscoe]

I have tried freeze dried krill from Hikari with the little puffer picture on it but he never touched it.