CHoffman

I called about a ad on craigslist. Here it is
http://wichita.craigslist.org/pet/1009789735.html

I called her asked how many she had..She has two..I asked what size tank they were in and she said 1.5 gallons. Then proceeded to tell me they won't need a bigger tank for a long time.....I said ohhh no that's not right. For two of them they will eventually need up to 80 gallons..She said nope "Tails and Scales told me they would only get to be 6"...I said yup..That's the green spotted puffer and they are a brackish fish and need lots of space...I told her I would talk it over with hubby and call her back...Pink...What is the min. tank they need righ now..They are still young and I wouldn't mind upgrading later..I have not a clue about brackish water or these puffers but this is sooo sad and I can learn fast. .

pinkfloydpuffer

Oh my gosh. You should definitely save those poor babies.
Eventually they will need 60 gallons, but as you know mine are in a 20g (they're both at most 2"). If those guys are small then a 20 should be ok for a little while. For reference, the average growth rate seems to be 1 inch a year.
Brackish is easy, so don't worry about it. I can walk you through everything you'll need for these guys.
How in the heck could you keep two 6" fish in a 1.5g?!?!?!?! What is wrong with these people!

CHoffman

My thinking exactly..What are people thinking...I dont' have a 20 gallon now..All I have is a 16...Would they be ok in a 16 gallon for like 1 month and then I could get them a 60..It will actually be less then a month. Also if I have to go get these guys they are 2 hours away..What else will I need..What kind of salt??,,Any other measuring device or anything..I don't have a LFS near me so I should pick it up while I'm there.

agabr123

oh my god....that's horrible! i have the tank that she has in the picture (it was a temporary home for a wal-mart betta that i rescued), now the only thing that it's good for is a quarantine tank, but i STILL don't think it's big enough. its DEFINITELY not big enough for even one dwarf puffer!!!!!! i hope you can rescue those poor little guys....

pinkfloydpuffer

A 16 for a month and then a 60? That sounds great! I'm sure they'd appreciate anything when compared to that 1.5 gallon craphole.
The salt is marine salt. Not the aquarium kind, but the stuff for SW aquariums. You'll also want a hydrometer (or refractometer, but they're pricey) to measure salinity. Find out what SG that lady is keeping them in (probably none). You'll want to slowly move them up from that, no more than .002 SG per week to allow the bacteria to catch up.
Also, a substrate or rocks that will buffer pH is very helpful... like aragonite substrate, or those rocks they use in some cichlid tanks...

agabr123

yeah, you'll need a refractometer (more expensive than a hydrometer, but WAY better from what i hear), and marine salt, NOT aquarium salt.

lol, PFP beat me to it....ninja'd!!!

CHoffman

Am I wanting a high ph for them?? Is that why I need the rock?

pinkfloydpuffer

Yes. You don't need the rock persay... I just use aragonite substrate.
They like a ph of around 8

CHoffman

Perfect....My Ph out of my tap is 8..lol..The very thing that made me start researching the Malawi Mbunas...Also what kind of snails do I need...Pond snails??

pinkfloydpuffer

Oh, and another thing. Their diet. I'm sure the lady's been feeding them for food. They like mussel meat, shrimp, crabs, bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, snails snails and more snails. And lots of other stuff...
Pond snails and ramshorns work fine. They just need to be about the size of the puffs' eyes.

EDIT: oh good... I thought I was the only one, mine comes out at 7.8 lol

CHoffman

Ok..I'll take a list with me..I have the bloodworms and brine shrimp..I had a hard time finding snails last time I looked so I call ahead of time and try to find some...I'm trying to get a hold of my hubby for the go ahead and can't get him. URGHHH...What could he possibly be doing at work that he can't answer the phone..lol..(He's a power lineman so probably up a pole)..

CHoffman

Just called one place all they have is trumpet snails..I thought I remembered you saying trumpet snails wouldn't work

pinkfloydpuffer

Lol.
I've found a good way to get them is put an ad in the local listings. People have their tanks overrun with snail infestations and love to have you take a few off their hands
And once you get some then you can breed them yourself. In fact, you could use the tank the puffs are in now for snail breeding. Check the tanks in the store you're at. Sometimes you'll see them crawling around.

pinkfloydpuffer

They can work, but you have to be careful. Their shells are very hard, and it happens on occasion that the puffers will break their teeth on the shells. What you need to do with those is crush them beforehand. I've fed a few to my puffers this way.

sirdarksol

Wow... dumb, dumb people.
"They only get to be 6", so they'll be fine in a tiny little tank." They'll love a 16 gallon with an upgrade coming at some point in the future.

pinkfloydpuffer

Yeah, no kidding... nevermind they are also round and extremely fat, plus very aggressive, and active swimmers...

CHoffman

I know...I tried really hard not to be mean on the phone..lol..I was as nice as I could be..I just felt like I had to correct her because she'll keep telling people that.

I called every LFS I know of but only 1 store carried trumpet snails...I'm going to call Walmart..lol...See they are good for something.

Still can't get ahold of hubby.

pinkfloydpuffer

Well good luck with your calling adventures!
I'm glad you corrected her... puffers are a very misunderstood fish

sirdarksol

If you want pond snails, you could try introducing them to one or more of your other tanks. I'm sure someone around here has some they could send to you if you could pay for shipping (which wouldn't be much, given that it doesn't have to be overnight). I might even, though I honestly haven't seen all that many pond snails. I probably have trumpets I could send.

CHoffman

Hey...I did look at the ad again and she has salt listed as a item to give away with them..But who knows if she is doing it right. I will find out though. Walmart didn't have them either..lol...ONly mystery snails.

pinkfloydpuffer

It's probably aquarium salt... but we'll hope it's marine
Maybe if you could get them to breed then you could feed the babies to the puffs.

CHoffman

Thanks Sirdarksol...I keep you in mind...I can't find any pond snails..lol..I did find some trumpet snails but I would rather have pond snails..If I end up saving these guys I'll put a thread on here to see if someone would give me their unwanted ones..I wouldnt' mind paying for shipping at all...It takes me $20.00 in gas just to get to the LFS and back. Thanks for the great idea..I wouldn't have thought of it.

sirdarksol

Baby mystery snails are pretty much identical to pond snails, and their shells aren't terribly hard. That would work pretty well. However, mystery snails do have a kind of high bioload.

CHoffman

I called back and the snails aren't babies..
Talked to hubby and he said tonight won't work, He had to go to class from 6-9 and the roads are bad so he didn't want me driving with the girls..Me either. ..So if they are still available tomorrow I'll go get them!!!..Hopefully they will be.

pinkfloydpuffer

I hope you can get them!

Amanda

Do you live near a Petsamart? I know my local one is OVERRIDDEN with baby mystery snails. Literally thousands all over the tanks.

CHoffman

I hope I can get them too...I'm going to call again tonight and see if she'll just sell me the fish and see if she'll hold them untill tomorrow..I'll let ya know how it goes.

CHoffman

OHHH my goodness....I had emailed someone I know to see if she had any snails...It was the gal that took my CAE and the two black moors..She just emailed me back and explained that her friend who had GSP's says they don't need snails..and her friend knows what she is talking about because she runs the Pet Dept in Walmart...The EXACT walmart that I emailed about and got a call from the Manager..LOL..OH my goodness..and her friend has a friend that owns a LFS in the same town that also says they don't need snails....So ironic...anyway..I explained most people don't know they need snails and provided several links. I also let her know, nicely, how nasty the Walmart fish dept was

agabr123

yes because the pet department at wal mart is SO specialized.....there is a test on the application!

pinkfloydpuffer