puffs dead, monos fine, suggestions ?

[hatefire]

55 gl. tall tank, magnum 350 with charcol, intake connected to undergravel filter, lg. gravel bottom with some crushed coral. lg. airstone. and two bio wheels. brackish tank. ph-8.0, amonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate-40, sg 1.005, temp 79.0.
4 mono arg. 2", 2 fig 8 puffs 1.5".
tank stability for 3 months before adding fish
after 3 weeks the puffs stopped eating, stayed at top or bottom and then died. the monos still doing fine. eating, activity, etc.

so..... too many fish? wrong substrait? fish stress each other out? any suggestions? thanks

[jbeining75]

Hmmm. cocoa would probably know I think hes off now.. or dave 66 anyway sorry I couldn't help but good luck and welcome to AC

[SpyderSpy6]

A couple things...

1. What kind of puffer fish do you have?

2. What foods are you feeding?

I currently have 2 green spotted puffers and they are a really cool fish to keep. They are very sensitive to water conditions. Mine are kept in a black sand bottom with a handful of caves. The water is straight from the tap and it is a fairly hard water, which apparently the puffer fish like. Becareful when you are cleaning too! If you stir the substrate too much it can release pockets of toxins that will affect the stress levels of your puffers instantly.

Try some live food the next time you get puffers... it may entice them to eat immediately which will help with their acclimation into your tank.

Even though you cycled the tank, it may not be established with good bacteria.

Test your nitrate levels to make sure they are visible, and also at a safe level. You can use bio-spira to jump start the cycle, or TLC (which is a carried by my LFS and seems to work good) to help make the water safe for your little guys.

You said that they were either at the top or very bottom... were they healthy when you purchased them? I have seen some very sad looking puffers at some of the local stores. They may have already had an issue before you brought them home. I won't buy them if the batch has a handful of poor looking discus, not that I don't want to save them, it just always causes problems in my tank. You want the ones that are fluttering like hummingbirds in the store and have a little pudge to their bellies.

Did you ask the store what their salinity levels were? And did you have yours tested? If it is a brackish puffer... they need to have low salt levels as young and gradually work it up to a full brackish water. I have heard (depending on the puffer) that you can acclimate most brackish puffers to full marine water. I have never seen this though, only read about it.

I will pay attention to the post and share as much info as I can. I love the puffers and I know how difficult they can be to keep.

Just one other thing too... I have never been able to keep any other fish in the tank with them. I know in this case the puff's didn't make it, but the other fish may have contributed to the stress. They are a very very very territoral fish and need to have their own hiding spots. Mine have always eaten any tank mates I've ever had with them. I acclimated a pleco to the brackish water over time, but they nipped him up after 2 years. He was the last and longest tank mate.