need some help and advice

[Lynn]

Hi, I wanting to turn a fresh water tank into a brackish tank. The tank size is 5 gal. I am wanting to get one puffer fish and possibly 1 or 2 bumble bee gobies.

Are these two fish compatible?
The puffer is a green spot puffer very small at the moment?
Can a gravel bed be used for this?
What type of sand if needed is best?
Can sea salt be used and at what ratio in my 5 gal?
Can a sponge filter be used in this tank?


I have also read that Java Fern will live quite well in brackish tanks, is this true?

I am able to get these two types of fish at a local store for a limited time, so I would appreciate any and all info about them as soon as possible. They are not easy to get here so all info is very much appreciated.

Lynn

 

[Pufferpack]

Hi Lynn


Green spotted puffers and Bumblebee Gobies can do well as tankmates, but a 5 gal tank is way too small for a GSP, you need IMO a minimum of 20 gals for 1 GSP, 30 gal would be better, as these fish can grow quite rapidly and reach a max. size of about 6 inches, a 5 gal tank would only be suitable for a couple of monts at the most. GSP's are a very active territorial fish as well as very messy eaters that need lots of space.
In a 5 gal tank you could house a pair of Dwarf puffers and a pair of BBG's comfortably, but as the Dwarfs are FW you would have to find s FW strain of BBG's.
For Puffer tanks I prefer fine sand because it lets you see the waste left behind by the puffers and I can keep on top of the game with small cleanings rather than larger ones. This is just my own preference, gravel works just fine as well.
Sponge filters can be used in puffer tanks, but I have no experience with them so I couldn't tell you how effecient they are. As puffers are sensitive to chemicals I prefer to have a turnover rate of about 10x/hr which helps cut down on the frequency of my water changes.
If you do set up a small BW tank you definately need to use Marine salt (Instant Ocean or other similar product) as it contains different elements that help BW fish process oxygen. As for the proper proportions, you will do best to buy a Hydrometer from the lfs (they run about $5 - 10) to measure the Specific Gravity of the water, GSP's are comfortable at Sg of about 1.010 when young but need higher concentrations as they age.
I have heard the same about Java Fern but have no experience with live plants so will leave that one for someone else.

HTH
Don.