new to brackish and would like advice

[galaga-girl]

I just got a new tank and i'm thinking of putting two puffers in there but i've only ever had freshwater tropical tanks and have no idea what a brackish tank involves.

What sort of home do puffers like and how easy is it to keep a brackish tank? How do I monitor the salt level and what temp should the water be? If puffers aren't easy enough to keep what sort of fish should I look at getting?

Any info will be very much appreciated. thanks.

 

[Jayhawk]

What kind of puffers are you thinking of putting in there and what sized tank do you have? You'll need to cycle the tank first (either with ammonia or BioSpira). Brackish isn't much harder than FW, you need a hydrometer to measure salinity, water temp usually around 78ish (but could vary by fish), and you use marine salt mix (not aquarium salt or sea salt).

Puffers, however, are not the easiest fish. Most require specialized diets, lots of tank space, fully cycled tanks, and many are best as single fish in a tank. They are adorable, and I think worth the extra work. They've more like pets than most fish.

Eric

 

[Pufferpoison]

before buying puffers, I would recommend www.thepufferforum.com puffers need special care and lots of TLC. Please research before you jump in. Many people have to start breeding snails for their puffers, since most puffers require them as a main part of their diet and so their teeth don't grow too long and they starve to death from not being able to open their mouths. HTH

 

[galaga-girl]

Thanks for the sound advice guys!

 

[cherrypie]

Finding brackish (or freshwater) puffers in Australia will probably be a drama, I don't know of any of the local species that are traded in the ornamental fish industry at the moment and there are no puffers approved for live import.

 

[Puffernewbee]

I would think twice. All algae maintenance is in your hands because the only algae eaters in brackish are snails (puffers favorite meal).
I loved my Figure-8 and he had a great personality but after a year of scrubbing and cleaning the tank constantly I found him a new home. My F-8 felt that all tank mates were a food item so he lived alone.
Also, finding snails to feed them takes effort. They need them to keep their teeth ground down and they can be hard to find. I was lucky in that I had a Petsmart near by that allowed me to pick them out of their tanks. I was never able breed snail successfully. I would have success for a few weeks and then evrything would fall apart.
Good luck.