Help With Figure 8 Puffer Fish

[tommyg123]

Hello,

I just got a new Figure 8 puffer fish last friday, the only problem that i have noticed is that he is kind of losing hes colouring around hes sides. Is there anything or any advice you can give me as to why this has happened? my nitrare (NO3) is quite high... is this the problem?

AM= 0
PH= 7.6
Nitrate= 80-100

I have the figure 8 puffer with 3 bumblebee gobies in a 60L tank 2 plants, bog wood and a big shell which has all been washed.

My LFS had him in Fresh water but i have added alittle bit of Aqualibrium Salt as i have read that they do better in brackish waters.

If you need anymore information please feel free to ask.

Thanks for the help.

 

[nmonks]

Figure-8 puffers will go dark when stressed. Maintenance at insufficient salinity is a common reason, but do also check the hardness is nice and high and you have a stable pH between 7.5 and 8. The use of marine aquarium salt mix -- not tonic salt -- will ensure all these things. Use about 6 grammes per litre for a specific gravity of 1.003 at 25 degrees C.

Your nitrate level is alarming high. Again, salt helps a bit here by detoxifying nitrate to a degree, but few pufferfish tolerate nitrate levels above 50 mg/l for long. You need to get this down via regular water changes and strict control of the amount of food going into the tank. In the long run, your tank will be too small for this species, so you really want to be thinking about something at least 90 litres in size.

Cheers, Neale

 

[tommyg123]

Ok mate, thanks for the tip, im going to do a water change tomorrow when i wake up and get the nirate down.
Also im feeding them half a muscle and some blood worms every morning, how much should i cut that down by?

thanks

 

[nmonks]

Mussels should be used only sparingly; like prawns, they contain thiaminase, and this breaks down vitamin B1, leading to dietary problems over the long run. By all means use either mussels or prawns once or twice a week, but otherwise concentrate on bloodworms, krill, cockles, earthworms, woodlice, and small pieces of tilapia fillet.

Pufferfish, and indeed carnivorous fish generally, shouldn't be fed too much. If the fish has a gentle rounded abdomen, he's fine; if the belly looks distended, he's been fed too much. Generally, meals 1-2 times the size of the eye are about right. The killer for nitrate levels is usually uneaten food that ends up in the filter rather than the fish.

Cheers, Neale

Also im feeding them half a muscle and some blood worms every morning, how much should i cut that down by?