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help with my puffers plzzz!

5K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  Dudders 
#1 ·
hello, i have had 2 puffers since around december january now, they are bout 3 maybe 4 inches long,

i got them as a present so put them in with my other fish, wich were all mostly catfish so they had tough skin so were ok,
then a load of things hapend i moved etcetc, put all the other fish in with my mum fish and had the puffers in the tank by themselves

they had just normal tropical water, thing is since ive had them theyve never really done much they just sat on the bottom all the time, and they dont seem to eat much ither.

i then got them a new tank because the one i had was quite pants and old, so this one was all lush and new, has nice new lights and everything.

so when i got it all set up the man in the store said they need to go to brakish and eventually marine, so he toild me some things but he was talking too much mumbo jumbo for me, but he gave me some salt to work with.

so i put some in, not sure how much think bout a cupfull or sumthing like that (i put it in a bucket first till it had cleared)
the one puffer livened up when i put the salt in and i was really happy, then the next day they were both the same again just sitting on the bottom, so do they need more salt?

also shall i upgrade them to marine at some point? or are they ok as they are?

also today i cleaned the tank because as i have no sucker fish there was a bit of alge creeping about, then when i put them back in the tank (im too scared to clean the tank with them in i put them in a bucket with there water till ive cleaned it) they are really happy now, they are both swimming alll around the tank, so i must of done sumthing right.

so the things i need to know are
shall i upgrade to marine?
how much salt do i need them to have? and how can i moniter this?
also can i get any other types of fish as some friends?
oh and finally can any1 tell me what type they are i think ive put a photo on my page or sumwhere, they have a white belly and are spotted all over, they are a yellowy greeny colour and have a red spot on each side of them at there back end.
 
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#3 ·
i dont know what type, like i said they are bout 3 or 4 inches long, they are yellowy grenny in colour, and are spotted all over, have white bellys, and a red spot on each side at back end.
also sumtimes they are really dull and dark green and then other times they are bright yellowy greeny,

the tank im tryna work out when i find tape measure, but i think its around 140 litres.
 
#4 ·
they sound like green sporred puffers.

they should be kept in salinty of 1.010-15. and when 4 inch plus 1.018-22

for the tank that size i could only suggest a paior of knight gobies. but bear in mind puffers can nibble on other fishes fins.

also are u feein them some cockles as i had a puffer that was also on the ground of the tank for a while and i then noticed its teeth were getting to big.
 
#5 ·
wats? salinty of 1.010-15. and when 4 inch plus 1.018-22
at the moment ive bin feeding them prawns, they seemd to like them ok, but i think they may be bord of them, they have bloodworms every now and then, but i read sumthin about snails also, shood i try that,

thank you
 
#10 ·
shevstar said:
wikid cheers for all the help, finaly, silly question but, wats the best sort of background to get?? i was thinking blue or back? but im not really sure i dont like the wildlife or plant backgrounds? to just one colour ones look ok?
Brackish water would go with brown. Blue will suit marine.:)
 
#11 ·
shevstar said:
wikid cheers for all the help, finaly, silly question but, wats the best sort of background to get?? i was thinking blue or back? but im not really sure i dont like the wildlife or plant backgrounds? to just one colour ones look ok?
Personally the only backgrounds I like are either black, or really dark blue. Just my opinion.
 
#12 ·
From your description they do sound like Green Spotted Puffers, i have a pair of them, but they are new to my tank and still small, but they get on fine with my Mono's..they dont even seem to bother the otocinlus and hes tiny..Im sure you could put a Plec in with them, that will help clean up the tank aswel.
 
#13 ·
Dudders said:
From your description they do sound like Green Spotted Puffers, i have a pair of them, but they are new to my tank and still small, but they get on fine with my Mono's..they dont even seem to bother the otocinlus and hes tiny..Im sure you could put a Plec in with them, that will help clean up the tank aswel.
The plecs or otos will not appreciate the salt. It's important not to mix these with fresh water fish as they will suffer.

I have no experience with puffers personally but from reading about them abd speaking with people who do own them, it seems they are best kept with only their own species.
 
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