too much rock, not enough space?

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Tjr1992

Member
I have a green spotted puffer fish and I'm upgrading from a 20 gallon to a 30 gallon. The puffer is about 3 inches long now. I would like to know if you think I have too much rock and not enough space for the puffer to swim, or if it's alright. I'm not very artistic, so it took me a while to come up with this rock scape.













 
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Gasturbineguy

Member
I can't answer your question tbh but it (rock work) does look really nice. It almost sounds like you'd need a bigger tank in a year or two but I dunno.... not a biological guy myself. Just wanted to commend you on the rock-scape. :wave:
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
You usually want about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of LR per gallon of water. It's really hard to tell just by looking if you don't have enough rock or too much.

Obviously the weight for live rock is for wet rock, so with dry rock you might use a little less.

Offhand, it looks like you don't have enough rock, but I can't be sure.

As for your puffer, you might want to reconsider the fish. They grow to about 6 inches, and they are noted for not being very compatible with other fish. They also require some special care. Make sure you are able to keep up with it's requirements.
 
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Tjr1992

Member
I've had my puffer for about 4 years now, so I've grown to learn a lot about them. I have roughly 35 lbs of dry rock in there. The puffer is the only fish I plan on having in the aquarium, just as it is now. And thanks gast :p
 
ziggy

ziggy

Active Member
Tjr1992 said:
I've had my puffer for about 4 years now, so I've grown to learn a lot about them. I have roughly 35 lbs of dry rock in there. The puffer is the only fish I plan on having in the aquarium, just as it is now. And thanks gast :p
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Although a bigger tank would be better and more ideal, it's got to be better then the 20 he had the last year.

You should be OK for the next year or 2 as long as you don't get too crazy with too much bio load and do weekly WC
 
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Steve L

Member
One suggestion on the rock. It looks like some parts of the rock are very close to the glass. If you plan on using a magnet cleaner for the glass, leave enough room for the cleaner to fit between the rock and the glass. Puffers create a lot of nutrients and algae, and you don't want spots that are difficult to clean. A large rock structure is also kind of a problem with puffers because they are sloppy eaters, you can't keep a CUC with them and a lot of waste will build up in the rock. You'll need to be blowing it off all of the time.
 
ziggy

ziggy

Active Member
Steve L said:
One suggestion on the rock. It looks like some parts of the rock are very close to the glass. If you plan on using a magnet cleaner for the glass, leave enough room for the cleaner to fit between the rock and the glass. Puffers create a lot of nutrients and algae, and you don't want spots that are difficult to clean. A large rock structure is also kind of a problem with puffers because they are sloppy eaters, you can't keep a CUC with them and a lot of waste will build up in the rock. You'll need to be blowing it off all of the time.
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Steve

Wondering why you can't keep a CUC with a Puffer?
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
Puffers have strong powerful jaws made just for eating most of the crabs and snails we typically use as a CUC. You end up with a well fed puffer and no CUC.
 
Bearjohnson

Bearjohnson

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
RS Ambassador
Rock looks great!

One think I'd say and it was already mentioned is wherever my Mag Float will go there needs to be at least enough room for it to pass by any rock in the tank. If my Mag can't get by then the I would make adjustments to the rock work so that it can.

This is just my own personal preference. I find if I don't do that, I always have a dirty spot on the glass where the float can't get to.

Pics of the puffer would be great:)

Edit: If the only thing going in the tank is the puffer than I think you have plenty of rock in the tank already. Personally I'd like to see him have as much room to swim in that tank as he could.
 
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Tjr1992

Member
He will definitely have more room to swim in this tank than his current tank. I use a handheld scraper with an extending handle for my glass, so it shouldn't be a problem. As for the CUC comments, I have successfully kept a CUC with this puffer. The hermits do more damage to the snails than he does.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Rock work looks very nice.

Yes hermits LOVE snails :) that's just part of it :) Fortunately snails are usually fairly cheap :)
 
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