How to change a FreshWater Aquarium to a Brackish one, cuz I want to have Green Spotted Puffers!?

Question

i want to get some Green spotted Puffers, i am going to give them a tank by themselves as i know they are non-community fishes. But don't know the right way to set up, can someone help please?

Answer 1

You'll need a device to measure water salinity (a hydrometer or refractometer...the latter is more accurate), and marine salt (such as Instant Ocean or other brands)....using "aquarium salt" (which is usually sold in cartons) won't suffice. You'll need a large rubbermaid container to pre-mix your brackish or salt water and a powerhead to keep the water circulated and ensure all the salt is dissolved. Green spotted puffers (GSPs) thrive in mid-range brackish water to full marine conditions. Anything over a specific gravity (SG) of 1.010 is ideal; SG 1.015-1.018 is the recommended brackish range for GSPs, and they will excel in this type of water. Retaining them in fresh water will significantly shorten their lives and impact their health. A few tablespoons of salt per gallon WON'T suffice...true brackish conditions are comprised of much more salt than that.

Approximately 1 CUP of marine salt per 10 gal of tank volume is required to create a specific SG of 1.002-1.003. When starting from fresh water you'll have to increase salinity slowly...no more than an increase of 0.002 SG weekly. You'll need to verify your salinity with the previously mentioned devices, you don't want to shock the fish with extreme salinity variations. Pre-mix your salt and water in the rubbermaid container and circulate it with the powerhead for a day or so. If your tank is 55-gal you'd be adding 5.5 cups of salt, approximately). Adding 15gal of water containing 5.5 cups of salt to the puffer tank will suffice since it will dilute in the 55gal. This should create an SG of about 1.002. The next week add another 1 cup of salt per 10gal and compensate for any salt removed during water changes (if you did a 25% water change, you removed 25% of the salt, you'll have to adjust for that, so in the example with the 55gal, on week two you'd add nearly 7 cups of marine salt to increase SG to 1.004).

Repeat weekly (adding 1 cup of salt per 10gal of tank volume per week) until you get up to 1.010 SG or what ever level you desire. Use the refractometer or hydrometer each time so you don't over or undershoot salinity. The instruments are what you use to verify salinity, not how many cups of salt you used. My puffers are now thriving in a SG of 1.020 and their coloration is brilliant. As your tank becomes brackish or full marine, you'll have to pre-mix your salt and water in advance when you do water changes, matching the SG of the new water with that of the tank water to maintain stable salinity levels.

GSPs can be fairly aggressive to each other. Because of that 30gal per GSP is recommended (two in a 75gal, for example).

Answer 2

many people do not realize that green spotted puffers start out life in freshwater, and slowly move down streams into the ocean. By the time they are adults, they are full saltwater fish and will not live long in fresh or brackish water. Be prepared to eventually use pure salt water for your adult puffers if you go with the puffer.

Answer 3

It's really simple, I had mollies (brackish fish) you add aquarium salt to the water. I put 2 tablespoons of aquirum salt per gallon of water. Everything else is basically the same. Remeber to add more salt when you remove water at the water changes. Salt doens't evaporate so you'll have to keep trak of how much water you remove to re adjust the salt. You can also buy a salt gauge at the petstore to help get the saitlinity right. Asj the petstore if they use salt in the tanks(you'd be surpized that not many people know they need salt) if they don't you'll have to get them use to it gradulalliy(like 1 tablspoon for 5 gals, then slowly add more salt over a month) Puffers are so cute! They wrap their tails around their bodies when the sleep!

Answer 4

i would add the salt gradually as many of the puffers in pet stores have been acclimated more to the freshwater. i started with just a few teaspoons, introduced the puffers & then upped it a bit over the next few weeks. i have to agree that i think they are the coolest fish..mine were easily trained to eat the plankton from my fingers. that all being said, i was never able to keep any one puffer alive for more than a year or year & half..so hopefully you can get some expert advise from someone who's had the same ones for years & years

Answer 5

Need to do a lot of research on them. Here's a link for a good forum for them with lots of info.

You'll need to find out what kind of water the store has them in. Most ignorant stores sell them as fresh water fish, so they have them in fresh water. You'll need to have them in the same, and slowly adjust them to the brackish.

Also have to do it slowly so the beneficial bacteria can adjust to the new salinity. Hopefully you haven't emptied/cleaned out your freshwater set up.

Answer 6

i have puffers, and you now can buy them for fresh water. they are really fun, and will live with other semiaggressive fish. otherwise use marine salt from the pet store, box will tell you how much per gallon.

Answer 7

brackish water is partially salted water, you just need to add a little salt, you need to check how much salinity you need for your specific fish.

Answer 8

get a book about the puffers you may need one anyway..

Answer 9

You can buy something for this, I believe it is called Brackish.

Answer 10

Salt to taste? ;)