my puffer needs help

[truckin35]

i have two green spotted puffers. i know these are brackish. so i have been adding salt each week. three weeks ago i added 1 cup of salt. last two weeks ago i added one and a half cups. and this week i added 2 cups. one of my puffers is dying. he cant swim very well. my ph is 8.0 my nitrites are normal my amonia is normal. but my nitrats are high i have been trying to get them down for two weeks by doing water changes and only feeding the fish every other day. what can i do to save my puffer or atleast keep the fish i have.

[OscarFan]

what is the specific gravity of the water?

[truckin35]

what is the specific gravity of the water?
it was 1.008 but i just took out 5 gallons and it now is 1.006. before i added the salt this week it was 1.004

[Miltonic]

you're not adding unmixed salt right into the tank or are you?

because unaged/unmixed salt is very harmful to fish.

[truckin35]

you're not adding unmixed salt right into the tank or are you?

because unaged/unmixed salt is very harmful to fish.
i mix it in a bucket
i think i added to much salt because the damn fish store told me 2 cups would be fine
is there anything i can do to save my fish

[Miltonic]

ok, I guess that's not the problem then, maybe its having a hard time acclimating to the salt content, or does the puffer have any other symptoms? like trouble breathing, stopped eating ect.

[truckin35]

ok, I guess that's not the problem then, maybe its having a hard time acclimating to the salt content, or does the puffer have any other symptoms? like trouble breathing, stopped eating ect.
he looks like he isnt breathing very well. as for he ate fine on saturday before the water changes but today he couldnt move very fast so i took some water from the tank and put it in a bucket and he ate a little but not like a puffer

[truckin35]

well i took five gallons out and lowered the salt today so i hope that works but if anyone has any suggestions on what i can do please leave them thank you

[Miltonic]

I would wait it out and see how he reacts to the lower salt content.

[Crispy]

small puffers start their lives in freshwater ... you shouldn't add salt right away to your tank. My puffer lives just fine in freshwater without salt.

[kaybee]

i mix it in a bucket...

Can you explain that in more detail. How much water was in the bucket, and was it tank water or de-chlorinated tap water?

Exactly how was the salt mixed, was it with a powerhead or through some other technique? How long was the salt+water mixed?

Puffers can be acclimated from FW to full SW (1.020-1.027) within a day.

The level of your salinity wouldn't harm the puffery, but it may have been the way in which the salt was dissolved.

And there's always the possibility that it could be something else.

Test your ammonia and nitrite levels. Ideally, salinity shouldn't be increased more than 0.002 SG per week in a cycled tank to allow for a gradual transition of beneficial bacteria. If you have detectable ammonia or nitrite you may have had some bacterial die-off, and puffers can be sensitive to the presence of these compounds.

[Anomaly]

Yeah, how large are these GSP's? GSP's start their lives out in fresh water. They should be slowly acclimated as they age to full marine conditions.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brackishsubwebindex/gspsart.htm

[Anomaly]

Here's another link you might find of interest:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brackishsubwebindex/gspfaqs.htm

[james decruz]

this may be a silly question but what salt are you using ,you should be using marine salt