Im totally resetting my tank to a brackish setup! I got 2 Fig 8s in fresh...but do i just mix the marine salt with the salt in my aquarium? Do i need to cycle the tank again? I only have a 20 gallon...itll just be the two puffer fish in the tank
Brackish problem!
- Thread starter Oddball~
- Start date
And another thing.... I may just give away the figure eights and get like 6 dwarf puffers....but the problem is that i paid ~$40 dollars online, $25 was the shipping price... so i dont want to just GIVE them away.....is brackish hard to maintain? Can i convert it to fresh again?
"but do i just mix the marine salt with the salt in my aquarium?"
Why do you have salt in the aquarium already?
"I may just give away the figure eights and get like 6 dwarf puffers."
If you are giving your F8's away, then don't bother switching over to brackish. Dwarf puffers are freshwater.
Go buy a hydrometer because you should only raise the salinity .002 at a time, although I've heard of people raising it by .005 per week. I use one tablespoon of marine salt per gallon of water.
Check this page out, it answers a lot of questions
http://wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/BrackishSubWebIndex.htm
Why do you have salt in the aquarium already?
"I may just give away the figure eights and get like 6 dwarf puffers."
If you are giving your F8's away, then don't bother switching over to brackish. Dwarf puffers are freshwater.
Go buy a hydrometer because you should only raise the salinity .002 at a time, although I've heard of people raising it by .005 per week. I use one tablespoon of marine salt per gallon of water.
Check this page out, it answers a lot of questions
http://wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/BrackishSubWebIndex.htm
BTW I found my Dwarf Puffers hidden in a tank at PetSmart believe it or not. I think they were about $2.88 each. A lot cheaper than $40. Have you called around locally to make sure they aren't lurking in the shadows of some tank? It'll save you money for other fun stuff!
If you push the specific gravity up faster than 0.002 per week, you stand a chance of killing of the FW bacteria before the SW bacteria have a chance to establish. Puffers do not deal with ammonia or nitrite well at all. However, F-8s do not need to be at high density, so their final specific gravity is likely still within FW range for the bacteria.
The marine mix should be added to water in a separate container and dissolved before adding to the tank - unlike table salt, it does not dissolve instantly. I allow a minimum of 48 hours before use to allow it to fully dissolve and stabilize.
One tablespoon per gallon is not much marine mix at all, does it even register on a hydrometer? That may do for very small GSPs fo a while, but not for more mature ones.
To me BW is no different from FW in upkeep. Puffers are messy fish (similar to Oscars) and do require more upkeep than some fish, but that is true whether they are FW, BW, or SW.
If you F-8s are healthy, they should live more than a decade, so a quick change back to FW is not likely to be needed. If you get rid of them after the change to BW, gradual reduction of the specific gravity would be the best, but in practice would take longer than breaking the tank down and restarting with a fishless cycle or Bio-Spira. I don't use the same substrates in BW as in FW, so I would have to swap that out anyway - I use crushed coral or aragonite to help support the high pH and alkalinity BW needs.
HTH
The marine mix should be added to water in a separate container and dissolved before adding to the tank - unlike table salt, it does not dissolve instantly. I allow a minimum of 48 hours before use to allow it to fully dissolve and stabilize.
One tablespoon per gallon is not much marine mix at all, does it even register on a hydrometer? That may do for very small GSPs fo a while, but not for more mature ones.
To me BW is no different from FW in upkeep. Puffers are messy fish (similar to Oscars) and do require more upkeep than some fish, but that is true whether they are FW, BW, or SW.
If you F-8s are healthy, they should live more than a decade, so a quick change back to FW is not likely to be needed. If you get rid of them after the change to BW, gradual reduction of the specific gravity would be the best, but in practice would take longer than breaking the tank down and restarting with a fishless cycle or Bio-Spira. I don't use the same substrates in BW as in FW, so I would have to swap that out anyway - I use crushed coral or aragonite to help support the high pH and alkalinity BW needs.
HTH
Why would you want to get rid of your F8s? It sure sounded as if you wanted them, if you were willing to pay that much for them. They sell for around $6 at most LFS, so don't expect to recoup your expenses on them. I find them much more active, personable & prettier than dwarves.
Oh, I read wrong. I thought you were paying that much for Dwarf Puffers. Ooops! 
I agree with Pufferpunk though, F8's are much more interesting to keep.
I agree with Pufferpunk though, F8's are much more interesting to keep.
Stellablu, I notice you are keeping GSPs w/a pleco? What's the SG? GSPs need a really high-BW SG & plecos like NO salt at all.
stellablu said:
oops....i don't have salt in my aquarium yet....and i REALLY wanted my figure eights, the problem is that is worse comes to worst and the bacteria in my tank wont survive and i KNOW that the bacteria wont survive and that my figure eights wont survive, than its better to give them away then to make them suffer....I REALLY LOVE MY FIGURE EIGHTS, but they are lightly colored, unlike when i see them in brackish!...........
is the SG of FW 1???
and what SG do i have to achieve for just 2 Figure eight puffers?
Would a knight goby do well in these conditions? My LFS only restocks those and no bumblebee gobies....
DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD LFS IN IRVING/COPPELL AREA??? Its in the Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex