Figure Of 8 Puffers...

[BadBadger]

Its driving me crazy now. For the past hour i've been searching to find out how i should keep them! Some sites say strictly brackish, some say strictly fresh, and others say either way!?! Its seems to me that its a matter of opinion and not fact.

Can anyone help me?

Cheers

 

[nmonks]

Brackish. End of.

Cheers, Neale

 

[BadBadger]

Thanks mate

 

[BadBadger]

Another couple of questions neale or anyone who can help (as my research isn't going great ):

1: Around 1.005 salinity sound about right?
2. There seems to be a few disagreements about the salt itself. Is marine salt the best option? I dont really know the other options there arguing about!?!

Cheers

EDIT: and when it comes to buying the salt, how can i calculate the amount of salt i need? (for a 160l)

 

[nmonks]

Anything between SG 1.002 to 1.010 at 25 C is fine. If you want plants, them aim low. If you plan on keeping higher-end brackish companions, then aim higher. But the precise SG doesn't matter much.

Yes, marine mix is what you want. Not tonic/aquarium salt.

Try my Brack Calc application to figure out how much salt to use. It converts between salinity, SG, and weight per litre or gallon.

Cheers, Neale

 

[BadBadger]

Thats great. So with SG 1.005 and 25C, giving a concentration of 8.9 g/l, i need 1.424 kg for my 160l tank... Awesome.

Last question neale i promise haha Im going to give the shop a ring tomorrow and ask if the puffers are been kept in freshwater or brackishwater. If they are kepping them in freshwater (as there still young), im guessing i should slowly increase the SG over a period of weeks or months(?) till i get to the desired amount?

Cheers

 

[nmonks]

Set the tank up at whatever salinity you want, even freshwater, so that you can carry across live filter media from another tank. Poor water quality harms brackish water puffers far quicker than salinity changes! It doesn't matter what SG the retailer keeps them at -- you can acclimate them between salinities within an hour, simply by using the standard method for introducing new fish. Once your fish is settled, you can do water changes across the week the bump up SG to 1.002. I'd leave it there for a few weeks, and then over the next six months, adjust the SG very slightly upwards if needs be. There's no need for a very high specific gravity here: 1.002-1.003 is ample for long term health.

Cheers, Neale

 

[BadBadger]

Thanks neale. Much appreciated