brackish puffer in salt tank

[dixiechicken82]

We got a Naso Tang yesterday and Carlos the pet store guy sold us a $6 brackish water puffer that was, I guess you could say converted to saltwater. It's 1" and Carlos said it will get up to 3". From the pictures I've seen online, I think it must be a Green Spotted Puffer. Carlos told us it wouldn't harm anything in our tank (55gal salt, 3 damsels, 2 bl. leg hermits, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 naso, 1 unidentified star, 1 unidentified anemone, 1 hifin cardinal, few live rock).
This morning we found the cardinal dead on the bottom, but didnt look nipped at or eaten. We added iodine to the tank for the 1st time last night but i didnt think that would kill anything.
Now that the brackish puffer is in salt water does its needs change? Does it need different foods now? I'll take all the advice you can give! We are beginners!

 

[Erised]

I'm quite sure the difference between freshwater puffers and saltwater puffers (specially a green spotted) is not to big. Which would mean that it Will hurt your fish, it's likely to have killed the cardinal you found dead, and your shrimp is definatly a gonner seeing as this is their natural food in the wild.

Also, you'll have to slowely move him to brackish water, and then slowly add him to marine. Meaning you'll need a seperate tank, with just him in it ... and raise the sg very slowly, over a period of at least a month when going onto brackish, and then probably a couple of months to go onto marine. When doing this too fast, the puffer will more than likely get very weak, ill and it might die.

Food change, well ... it depends on what you're feeding him now I guess. Shrimp & small crabs will be great for him. Bloodworms & saltwater mix are good for him too.

Even then though, chances of him being ok with your fish are very very slim.

 

[chkltcow]

Shrimp = goner
Hermit crabs = probably goner

Dixie, I don't know how much I'd trust this fish store owner in the future. Based on this and the anemone thing.... Carlos seems to be more interested in what he can sell you rather than what your tank can actually handle.

 

[Nethius]

i agree with Erised and chkltcow. Maybe he knows about other fish, but obviously not much about puffers.

 

[dixiechicken82]

It's soooo frustrating! My husband is hard headed! He says he's done with me chatting in these forums, or at least me telling him what advice I've found! He takes what Carlos and the other fish guy say for truth and gets ill when I tell him otherwise! He asks me for information on a certain animal he plans to get that day, but whatever Carlos says is golden! No matter if it contradicts what I've found! I don't know what to do! Sit by and watch the animals kill each other or die off and say I toldja so?! Maybe he needs to learn the hard way but I'm soft hearted when it comes to animals! UHHHHHHH!