Amanda

A bio-load is how much waste a fish produces.

nathan7294

ohh ok...ya my filter couldnt handle anythng in that tank....so i went to wallmart and got a big fancy filter that does a much better job

Amanda

That's a good start.
The best thing to do is not overstock, that way the bio-load is not a problem.

nathan7294

something else that i noticed is that all the pictures of tanks have alot more plants than i do... i have three decent sized plants and a hollow log and i thought it was good ...

Amanda

That is good.
The plants are just there for decoration. It all depends on the look that you are going for.

nathan7294

ok...how bout a knifefish?

Amanda

NO.
They get to be a foot long.
They need a 75 gal. tank or more.

nathan7294

awww hey do u have yahoo IM? i dont like to wait for replies...how bout a puffer of some sort?

Amanda

I don't actually, a puffer would do great.
But not with tiger barbs.
And you need to raise snails to feed the puffers.

nathan7294

my little sister has like 6 snails in her tank?and im willing to get rid of my barbs...i like them but theres so many other much more amazing fish i could havee that dont like barbs

Amanda

Pinkfloydpuffer would be able to better guide you in the world of puffers, I've never owned any. I know that they eat snails so that their teeth do not grow as fast.
If you get rid of the barbs, there are a lot of other options for your tank.

nathan7294

what i really want is a MUCH bigger tank so i can have some really awesome fish

Amanda

I have a 55 gal, and I'm realizing that even that's not big enough for the fish I want. No tank will ever be big enough!

nathan7294

ill build one then...XD10-12 feet deep/6 feet wide/10 feet long
it would be amazing

agabr123

General Guide to Puffer Care

if you're considering the puffers...

nathan7294

thanks i love the puffers but the ones i want are brackish and i dont really have the money to get more equipment and such

agabr123

someone please correct me if i'm wrong, but brackish is basically the same as freshwater, except you add salt, quite different from a complete SW tank?

Amanda

Yeah, brackish is not that much different than freshwater.
It just has some salt added to the water.
I wanted to get into that, but I don't have the room for another tank right now.

nathan7294

i could buy a cheap 10 gallon tank and put a small puffer in it rite?

Amanda

Yes.
As long as it has a filter, heater & it's cycled first.

nathan7294

on the guide it said that puffers arent good cycle fish...what to i put in there to start the cycle?

nathan7294

"They should always be added to only very established aquariums. NEVER cycle with a puffer." is waht it said exactly

Amanda

You need to do a fishless cycle.
Never cycle with fish.
They will have to go through ammonia poisoning & it's very cruel to put them through that. You can use Tetra Safestart, it starts the cycle & you can add fish a few days afterwards.

nathan7294

ohhh ya well i was told that you should let your tank and filter and everything run for atleast 2 weeks and then add sturdier fish that can handle the amonia spike. thats what they said at the petstore anyways

agabr123

oh the wonderful wealth of info that is pet store employees....

sorry to say but what they told you is quite wrong, a cycle can take anywhere from 2 to 5 or 6 weeks (depending on the size of the tank and unknown factors) and should be done fishless. IMO there is no way to get through the cycle with fish without causing stress to them, as they really really need 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 5-20 PPM nitrate. you can help the cycle along with tetra safe start, and by adding food to create ammonia as it breaks down, but please no fish

agabr123

oh, and i'm not sure if you have one but in order to monitor the levels and know when your cycle is done (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5-20 nitrate), you'll need a test kit, my recommendation would be an API freshwater master test kit

pinkfloydpuffer

Just so you know... there are no brackish puffers that will do well in a 10g aquarium. The only ones that will are dwarf puffers, and they are purely freshwater.

nathan7294

how bout 15 gallons?

pinkfloydpuffer

15gs would be good for one figure 8 puffer

Amanda

You've morphed another one Pink!