Patrick’s Puffer Page

[Patrick_G]

On 7/8/2022 at 10:36 AM, Zenzo said:

@Patrick_G I ended up having to run two doses of Expel-P through one of my brackish puffers (my figure 8). I would suggest giving that a try, as the Paracleanse may not be enough. Did I also see that your salinity is at 1.01 (and not 1.001)? Maybe try dropping down to around 1.006 or so to see if that changes anything. 1.010 should be fine, but it could be worth a try if it was kept in fresh water and you raised the specific gravity by .10 (maybe too much, too soon?). 

Ok, thanks I was considering trying the Expel-P.   
 

It seems like there is a building consensus towards transitioning GSP to full marine as quickly as possible. At the LFS this fish was at 1.005 snd I’ve been slowly raising salinity during water changes with the goal of getting to full marine or at least high enough to grow macro.
It’s hard to get info on their habitat but in the video I posted above, Sabrina of Be Fishy went on a collecting trip and tested the water at 1.018-1.019 on an incoming tide. 

On 7/8/2022 at 11:08 AM, eatyourpeas said:

That was going to be my question. The salinity jump seems like quite a lot. 🐡

@Odd Duck, you have advised on this in the past. Thoughts?

[Colu]

I would also recommend treating with Expel p it can take 3-4 course of treatment 1 week a part 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Colu

[Zenzo]

I know that many people have converted their GSPs to full marine, so 1.010 doesn't seem too high, especially if the store already had it at 1.005. Hopefully the Expel-P will work. At 1.010, most freshwater parasites would have died, but maybe there was something from the store since it was already at 1.005. 

[Odd Duck]

On 7/8/2022 at 1:11 PM, Patrick_G said:

Ok, thanks I was considering trying the Expel-P.   
 

It seems like there is a building consensus towards transitioning GSP to full marine as quickly as possible. At the LFS this fish was at 1.005 snd I’ve been slowly raising salinity during water changes with the goal of getting to full marine or at least high enough to grow macro.
It’s hard to get info on their habitat but in the video I posted above, Sabrina of Be Fishy went on a collecting trip and tested the water at 1.018-1.019 on an incoming tide. 

@Odd Duck, you have advised on this in the past. Thoughts?

I’ve only commented about what I’ve read, that transitioning quicker and getting them to their final salinity seems to be the most recent recommendations.  The goal being to just grow the marine BB’s and not try to slowly transition the tank since the cycle will always crash at some point during the transition.  The other thoughts are that the fish apparently are observed fairly routinely going directly from fresh to brackish to full marine by choice and it doesn’t seem to phase them.

I have ZERO experience transitioning and have only kept pea puffers, personally.  This information is only what I’ve read on puffer enthusiast pages and rabbit holing links to a couple studies reporting about the sightings of estuarial fish swimming directly from brackish to salt or fresh, etc.

[Odd Duck]

Forgot to talk about Expel-P.  This is my go to for deworming for most intestinal parasites in fish.  Dose weekly for 4 weeks.

[Patrick_G]

Detailed info on habitat and care is hard to find and mostly antidotal compared to some of the freshwater and marine species puffers. It’s clear that they’re euryhaline but not clear that they’re anadromous fish that seek freshwater to spawn. I bet there’s some researcher in Singapore or Jakarta that the absolute expert on these fish, but info hasn’t trickled down to the English speaking aquarium hobby. 

[Patrick_G]

@Zenzo, I just watched the new video. Great content, you really covered all the basics for someone new to GSPs. Much better than combing through old forums for a bit of info here and there. 
What salinity are you keeping yours at? 
 

[Zenzo]

@Patrick_G Usually around 1.006 or so. 

[Patrick_G]

A few pics from today. Does he look skinny aside from the snail belly. 
 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Patrick_Gi think he looks healthy. My red eyes look like this after some snails and blood worms.

[FLFishChik]

What a cute little murder bean! I dream of one day having a Pea Puffer tank… but that’s in the distant future! 

[eatyourpeas]

How is little Globo doing? I hope all is well.

[Patrick_G]

Señor Globo is doing pretty well aside from some excessive glass surfing. We might try introducing a few Mollies as dithers, and adding to or rearranging the hardscape in hopes of getting him off the glass.
 I decided to hold off on the expel-p for a while because he doesn’t seem to be losing weight. 

The tank is making a lot of diatom type algae. I've been brushing it off but it actually looks ok on the wood. Not everyone would agree, but I think it looks natural. 

[eatyourpeas]

On 7/29/2022 at 8:14 AM, Patrick_G said:

Señor Globo is doing pretty well aside from some excessive glass surfing. We might try introducing a few Mollies as dithers, and adding to or rearranging the hardscape in hopes of getting him off the glass.
 I decided to hold off on the expel-p for a while because he doesn’t seem to be losing weight. 

The tank is making a lot of diatom type algae. I've been brushing it off but it actually looks ok on the wood. Not everyone would agree, but I think it looks natural. 

If you can get a hold off some amphipods, they’ll feed on the diatoms and provide food for Globo. Usually on the beach under muddy rocks and shells.

Edited July 29, 2022 by eatyourpeas

[Patrick_G]

On 7/29/2022 at 8:16 AM, eatyourpeas said:

If you can get a hold off some amphipods, they’ll feed on the diatoms and provide food for Globo. Usually on the beach under muddy rocks and shells.

Ok, good advice. I was going to gather a few little crabs, I look for some amohpids while I'm down there. 

[Kilrkitty08]

Thank you so much for sharing this story Patrick!  Would you mind going over his diet?  I am thinking about getting a Figure 8 puffer which should require about the same variety of food and I have ramshorn snails but the type you have look different (the off limit ones) hehe.  Also, are you trying any plants in your Brackish water?  I was thinking about trying Java Fern, I heard somewhere it would adjusts to brackish.  Would it be possible to get a wide angle shot of your aquarium to see your decor.  Sorry, I don't mean to be a pest just excited to see your awesome puffer's home and maybe steal some ideas 😁.

[Patrick_G]

On 8/6/2022 at 8:04 AM, Kilrkitty08 said:

Thank you so much for sharing this story Patrick!  Would you mind going over his diet?  I am thinking about getting a Figure 8 puffer which should require about the same variety of food and I have ramshorn snails but the type you have look different (the off limit ones) hehe.  Also, are you trying any plants in your Brackish water?  I was thinking about trying Java Fern, I heard somewhere it would adjusts to brackish.  Would it be possible to get a wide angle shot of your aquarium to see your decor.  Sorry, I don't mean to be a pest just excited to see your awesome puffer's home and maybe steal some ideas 😁.

I feed him whatever “pest” snails that grow in my other tanks. I have both Ramshorn and Pond/Bladder snails. The Ramshorns are a bit harder for him to get his little beak on but I figure it just makes him try harder and helps trim the beak. He also gets frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp. Eventually I'll try gathering tiny shore crabs and molluscs and try him on those. 

My water is too salty for plants, but for a F8 you can use much lower salinity and try growing plants like Java fern and Anubias.

I'll post a pic if the tank. It's pretty much just some locally gathered rock and drift wood. When I get to full marine salinity I'll scape it with macro algae so it looks like a planted tank. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Patrick_G