How to acclimate new F8 puffer to brackish?

So a few days ago my GF came home with an F8 puffer. The LFS had them in straight freshwater. She was told and I have read that they can stay in freshwater for a little while but we need to slowly add salt and get the salinity up. We have Instant ocean salt and a hydrometer now but, where to start?

The puffer is in a 10ga with a piece of driftwood, a few small rock caves, fake plant, and 2 bristlenose pleco's.

I have read the bristlenose plecos should be ok in brackish ...is that correct?

We have been feeding the F8 frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp (we thaw them first of course). The F8 is a little too small to eat even small snails yet but, we will try to introduce them soon.

MY LFS was stupid busy when the GF bought the F8 and couldn't as the questions she wanted to.

Another question:

Whats the easiest way to start growing my own snails? I have read a simple bucket with a live plant in sunlight?

Sorry I am a super newb to puffers as well as my GF but, she just couldn't resist.

Also our puffer is eating but is constantly going up and down around the glass. Have read that's because he is bored. Should I add more plants? Live plants? Try to cover the glass and keep outside light out?

How tank is setup now. The plant on the right is live and shoved inside a piece of treated driftwood.


I plant on switching to led in this tank as well.

 

The bristlenose plecos aren't brackish fish & a 10 gallon isn't big enough for them either, I'd suggest you either consider getting a separate bigger tank for the Bn's or rehome them

 

The F8 is maybe 1" at this point fyi. I know eventually it will need a bigger tank and I plan on that.

Any other advice?

 

I can't help much with the F8 but maybe Gena can,
great looking tank btw

 

I also use Instant Ocean for my brackish tank and I have 3 F8s. They are nice to their tank mates as long as they're not too small to be considered food (like neon tetra small). My advice is that you buy a salinity refractometer as they are getting cheaper nowadays because of the hobby's demand and China's mass manufacturing capability. Hydrometers are notoriously inaccurate especially with low salinities like brackish tanks. For F8s you should have a salinity of between 1.003 to 1.005 specific gravity. With Instant Ocean that's about half to 1 cup per 10 gallons. Prepare the brackish water aside in a container and keep using it as your weekly water changes. Eventually you will reach target salinity and your F8 fully acclimated. Target the lower salinity of 1.003sg if you still want to keep some freshwater fish that will tolerate it.

A word of warning if you are using RO or RO-DI water when making brackish water. Instant Ocean may add some KH but it will not be enough. You will have to use a product like Kent RO-Right or Seachem Equilibrium or Alkaline Buffer. As for me, I use 1tbsp Epsom salt per 10 gallons, 1tsp lime powder (pure calcium carbonate), and half a teaspoon baking soda. My KH is a bit on the high side but it works for my tank and the pH is stable.

 

Wow awesome thanks for the tips!

Can you recommend a cheap salinity refractometer?

Well I just put a Sunsun jvp-110 wavemaker in and it seems the puffer likes it. He keeps swimming against the current and it seems to keep him occupied/busy.

I mainly installed it to help control the fish waste as these guys are freaking messy.

However this jvp110 is a bit too powerful for such a small tank. Will be purchasing a hydor nano 240 soon.

The 2pack of jvp110's I bought was meant for my 30gal however it is packed with about 150fry right now and the strong current would likely harm them.

 

Wow awesome thanks for the tips!

Can you recommend a cheap salinity refractometer?

Here you go. It's not the cheapest but construction looks ok. You can calibrate with distilled water and/or a 35ppt Salinity Standard solution.

 

Well my puffer came down with ich ... likely due to stress and possibly boredom.

Have been doing daily 50% water changes and rid ich plus treatments along with seachem prime.

I have not started adding salt yet and prob won't until next weekend. Going to order the fractometer this weekend and do some research on how to use it.


I also trimmed one of my plants in my 30 and attached it to another piece of wood just like the previous piece. After 3 days the other piece had major roots growing after the cut.

How it sits now. Loving this tank more and more every day even though its only a 10.



Def going to be getting an led for this 10 to save power and help the plants out.

Will also be ditching the giant thermometer for another digital like my other tanks have

The bristlenose plecos aren't brackish fish & a 10 gallon isn't big enough for them either, I'd suggest you either consider getting a separate bigger tank for the Bn's or rehome them

Sorry I totally misread your post. Thought you said the F8. And yes I know the 10 is a little small for the BN's. They where in my 30 with a pair of convicts. However my female laid eggs and they both got pretty aggressive towards my BN's which is why they got moved. I would put them in my 55 but, they wouldn't stand a chance against my larger cichlids and oscar.

Also best place to buy some snails? Ramshorn are the best for F8's?

Was thinking about buying a dozen or so and throwing them in a 5 gallon with an air pump and let them go crazy.


Best way to prepare/feed the puffer frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp?

What live things can I feed the puffer that easily accessable?

 

Puffers don't do so well in uncycled tanks so watch out for ammonia and nitrite spikes. Yes ramshorn snails are best but only the ones that can fit in their mouth. Yes growing your own ramshorns is ideal so you don't get disease or parasites.

Using a refractometer is easy. The eyepiece rotates to focus a clear of the measurements and horizon. The "horizon" is the straight line separating the light top from the dark bottom. You look through the eyepiece while facing a very bright light source. The calibration screw is underneath a small rubber cap on top of the device. You adjust this with a small screwdriver and this will move the horizon up and down. Calibration is easy. You lift the plastic cover from the prism and put 3 drops of fluid. If it is distilled water you adjust the horizon to 1.000sg. If it is 35ppt standard saline then move the horizon there. After calibration you wipe off the prism with a clean cloth. I just use toilet paper since reusing cloth might leave some residue. Then put 3 drops of tank your water. You will then see your salinity.

 

Sure looks like ich to me. What do you think?

I have been putting off getting an apI master test kit for too long! Will be ordering one tomorrow.

The more I think about it I think the puffer got ich from cross contamination from old equipment and the previous setup of this tank.

I should have cycled this tank longer and used some high heat during the cycle. But unfort my GF kind of just showed up one day with the puffer.. We had no choice but to setup a tank.

FYI: The dirty spot in the tank is the dead spot in the front right corner. I can't put the wavemaker any lower in the tank without seriously disturbing the plants and sand due to the high gph of the pump. Which is why I willbe buying a less powerful hydor nano 240

 

Ich is an opportunistic disease. It's present in most tanks. Symptoms only show up when the fish are distressed. Just watch carefully and do what you can to make sure it doesn't get any worse.

 

Unfort the puffer can't handle more than 82deg or I would crank the heater up to 86. I managed to get rid of ich in my 55 within just a few days with heat, rid ich, and airation.

I am trying not to disturb the puffer but, I must continue with my water changes daily and ich treatment.

 

Are you sure it's ich? F8s have spike like protrusions that come out when they puff and so are supposed to have faint white markings.

See the faint white markings?

Also, those plants probably won't survive long. I have 't heard of much other than java ferns and moss balls surviving in brackish. Was the package labeled "Water Fern"? I think I recognize them as a non-aquatic plant the is sold by PetSmart and Petco as aquatic under the name water fern.

 

My tank is at 1.003sg and I have thriving dwarf lily, corkscrew and jungle vals. Many plants can adapt to low brackish. I also used to have tons of baby tears carpeting my tank but I grew tired of unclogging my overflow so I got rid of them. My water has a lot of calcium, magnesium, and iron and I'm guessing it helps strengthening the plants. It's a high light setup with CO2 using dry ferts on EI method.

I just finished a 20 gallon water change just minutes ago and here's my water mix.
20g RO/DI water
1 cup Instant Ocean marine salt
2 tbsp epsom salt
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp CSM+B
1/4 tsp potassium sulfate
5ml Flourish Iron
2 tsp calcium carbonate (diluted separately and added last directly to the tank)

Other products I add:
10ml Prime (optional)
10ml Microbacter7
1tsp Tetra Pond Sludge Reducer

The calcium carbonate makes the water very cloudy but will become crystal clear by next morning. My fish are used to the water chemistry and don't seem to be bothered by the momentary cloudiness. The sludge reducer breaks down organic waste and they all collect in my filter sock which I rinse daily.

 

That's a great point about their spikes, Gena. It threw me off when I started with puffers. However, if you zoom in on his photo it looks to me like they are protruding out a little bit, or at least more than the normal spikes. And IMO, normally spikes look darker on lighter colors (such as the yellow). Plus it looks like the Ich is on its face/beak too, which I don't believe there are any spiky protrusions there normally (could be wrong).

Are the same white spots on its fins and tail. If so, then it's Ich.

 

The F8's spikes are very tiny though and hard to see. Ich are bigger, whiter, and more pronounced. I believe g25racer's F8 may have something though. Could be ich could be something else. Those dots aren't supposed to be all over the body, especially up top. The bottom could collect debris due sticking to the slime coat but the top should be smooth and clean.

 

It's def not spikes. The white spots do stick out and I can even see some of the spots moving like its a tiny parasite attached.

And yes the spots are on his tail as well.

Could it be debri? I mean my wavemaker is quite strong for this tank and does stir up the sand a good bit.

 

The F8's spikes are very tiny though and hard to see. Ich are bigger, whiter, and more pronounced. I believe g25racer's F8 may have something though. Could be ich could be something else. Those dots aren't supposed to be all over the body, especially up top. The bottom could collect debris due sticking to the slime coat but the top should be smooth and clean.

My larger puffer, who likes to rest on his sand usually has things stick to his stomach. It was a little weird at first, now it's just funny.

Are things getting better or worse with your little guy?

 

You mean g25racer's F8? Yeah, I'm wondering as well.

 

Yes things appear just fine now! I'm not entirely convinced it was ich though. I'm starting to think it was just debris.

The spots are gone for the most part so, I did a final water change and put my carbon back in.

Also just picked up a 5.5gal, mesh hood, and whisper air pump in order to start a snail tank.

Trustworthy site for snails to breed?

 

Just ask for Ramshorns in the buy/sell/trade section here

 

Alright cool thanks!

 

Just an update the F8 is still doing great as well as BN's. All are growing and eating well! The F8 is a freaking pig. We feed him maybe half of a brine shrimp cube at a time (same size when we feed bloodworms as well).

We have been treating him with snails every once in a while but, still waiting on the babies to get bigger. The small baby ramshorns have a clear/soft shell which won't do much to trim the f8's beak. And the larger ones (one's I'm breeding) are just too big. All the F8 does is suck out the guts and leaves most of the shell. He can't really eat it.

Question: Will F8's eat or bite live plants? I am pretty sure he is chomping on the stems of the water wisteria.

Here is the tank now

 

That is a very nice tank! I'm glad to see that he is very well taken cared of. You can also add a drop of Boyd Vita-Chem and a garlic additive to the frozen food. Just to ensure a healthy immune system, better appetite (not that he needs it, LOL), and parasite resistance. Yes they will sometimes bite on plant stems. They do this when they forage and think that a tiny tasty morsel is on it and then take a bite. My F8s do not normally eat plant matter but my SAPs occasionally eat exposed plant roots and fish food like flakes and pellets.