AdamHorton
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I'm looking to add a puffer fish to my 150G Saltwater tank. For details on the livestock of the tank, go here: Roll Call | Adam's Flog. For details on the specs/hardware of the tank, go here: Tank Specs | Adam's Flog.
This weekend I'd like to start cycling my quarantine tank, so I'm a ways off from making any decisions that commit me to something other than "I want a puffer fish." I'd like to get more educated on how to acclimate a puffer to my tank and care for it properly.
Quarantine: it's going to be a 20G Tall tank, I have PVC pipes for hiding behind and he'll be alone in there. I'm going to fishless-cycle it like I do with all my tanks, so it will be 4-6 weeks before I'm ready to go out and get a fish.
I realize this probably depends on the type of puffer I end up getting, but I'm wondering what I should be doing in the quarantine other than just observing for disease. I've done preventative hyposalinity treatment when I added tangs to my SW tank in the past, and if that's a good idea for a puffer fish then I'd like to do that. Is this something I should do? I really don't want my display tank getting ich or something bad. The hyposalinity will take 4-6 weeks but if I don't do that, how long should I QT the fish for until I know it's good?
Type of puffer: I'm leaning towards a porcupine puffer, but I'm wondering what other possibilities there are that might be a good fit for my tank. Are there any recommendations out there? If any of them pique my/the g/f's interest then I'll look into what it will take to get one around these parts.
Feeding: In the short term I have a shrimp tank with red cherry shrimp that I can feed in a pinch, but in the long term I'd like to not have to target-feed the puffer when it goes into the display tank with the other fish. I've had small freshwater/brackish puffers before and I had a tough time feeding them, is this the same with saltwater puffers? Do you think frozen krill, in addition to what the tank is already getting, would be sufficient? There are plenty of snails in the bottom that I'm OK with them becoming snacks, and there are even more empty snail shells that the puffer will eventually find...
Is there any other advice that experienced SW Puffer owners have for me?
This weekend I'd like to start cycling my quarantine tank, so I'm a ways off from making any decisions that commit me to something other than "I want a puffer fish." I'd like to get more educated on how to acclimate a puffer to my tank and care for it properly.
Quarantine: it's going to be a 20G Tall tank, I have PVC pipes for hiding behind and he'll be alone in there. I'm going to fishless-cycle it like I do with all my tanks, so it will be 4-6 weeks before I'm ready to go out and get a fish.
I realize this probably depends on the type of puffer I end up getting, but I'm wondering what I should be doing in the quarantine other than just observing for disease. I've done preventative hyposalinity treatment when I added tangs to my SW tank in the past, and if that's a good idea for a puffer fish then I'd like to do that. Is this something I should do? I really don't want my display tank getting ich or something bad. The hyposalinity will take 4-6 weeks but if I don't do that, how long should I QT the fish for until I know it's good?
Type of puffer: I'm leaning towards a porcupine puffer, but I'm wondering what other possibilities there are that might be a good fit for my tank. Are there any recommendations out there? If any of them pique my/the g/f's interest then I'll look into what it will take to get one around these parts.
Feeding: In the short term I have a shrimp tank with red cherry shrimp that I can feed in a pinch, but in the long term I'd like to not have to target-feed the puffer when it goes into the display tank with the other fish. I've had small freshwater/brackish puffers before and I had a tough time feeding them, is this the same with saltwater puffers? Do you think frozen krill, in addition to what the tank is already getting, would be sufficient? There are plenty of snails in the bottom that I'm OK with them becoming snacks, and there are even more empty snail shells that the puffer will eventually find...
Is there any other advice that experienced SW Puffer owners have for me?