| 55 Gallon Brackish Puffer Tank |
| 55 Gallon Puffer Tank AquaClear 500 Filter Heater 300 Watts Substrates: 30 lbs. Carib-Sea Bahama Sand mixed with 15lbs. Crushed Coral and flourite. Decorations/caves/glass rock/plastic plants and live plants PH 8.4 dGH 7 Temp 80F Salinity: 1.012 |
| Fish include: 2 3" Green Spotted Puffers (Tetraodon Nigroviridis) 2 2" Knight Gobies |
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| This is a Brackish tank with a salinity of 1.012. We are using Instant Ocean Salt. Once a week changes 40-50% water with thorough vacuuming of the substrate which is almost all sand. These delightful puffers eat both live and frozen foods which include, ghost shrimp clams, blackworms, bloodworms, glassfish, krill and prawn. Once a week I give them snails the size of their eyes to keep their teeth nice and trimmed as they crush the shells to get to the meat.. Sometimes I'll throw in a larger snail (ramshorn) for the added protein in their diet as they won't crush the shell but will suck the snail right out of it. Behavior as I see it in this tank: They love hunting the bottom for food so I try to sneak in the snails so that they will be surprised at the treasure they find! During the day they swim all over the tank, alot of times gliding up and down the front looking like they are actually skiing off the glass! They do swim in all patterns, backwards, sideways, straight up, straight down. Mostly I see them swimming with their heads angled downwards looking at the bottom of the tank in search for prey. These puffers are definitely predators! We did try for a day with a 7"dragon goby but it didn't work, as the puffers swooped in on him where he was hiding and pecked at his tail till we took him out. They are persistant if nothing else. Whenever we are anywhere in the room, these little guys stop what they are doing and rush to the glass to watch us with their big eyes begging us for food. There are times when I cave in, that's when I'll give them alittle snack like a snail or ghost shrimp if we have some in our 10 gallon feeder tank. I do not try to hand feed these guys, instead I give them their food either by a dropper or dropping it into their tank. I definitely would not want to feel the bite of their teeth! Normally it is wise to set up a species only tank with GSP's, but mine seem much more secure with other fish. I added Mollys to their tank with the knowledge that the GSP's may sneak up on them and enjoy a fresh meal one day. The only problem that arose with the Mollys is that the Mollys would steal the food out of the GSP's mouth, causing the puffers to thin out and not look to happy with life. So I had to take the Mollys out and replaced them with 1 Knight Gobies. So far things are working out with the Gobies, only time will tell........ Here is a wonderful site with lodes of Info on several species of puffers and including a message board-- The Puffer Forum |
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