The Puffer Forum

So I bought my Red Eyed Red Tailed puffer yesterday, my water was tested by the LFS and was fine, she ate the same day I got her and was fine, however today, she's very dark in colour, with cloudy eyes and is sitting at the bottom of the tank.

The tank size is 15 Gallons

I've not made any changes since I got her

I've fed her yesterday and attempted to feed her this morning, I've used Aqua fin dechlorinater and Tetra Safe start

The aquarium has been set up for almost 2 weeks now.

I'm sorry, I cannot give you any of the imformation above as the LFS was the one that tested my water. I have no testing kit on me.

What should I do?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I rang the LFS from where I got her, and they've said it is normal for the first couple of days, I don't think this is normal? Can someone verify that for me?

usually a change of environment can stress a puffer, but are you sure it isn't sleeping?

Probably she is just fine. But two weeks of maturation is not enough for a tank to be safe. You could be still completing the nitrogen cycle and having a peak of NO2!!! No matter which bacterial activator you used 4 weeks its the minimum to be sure that the filter is mature.

filofilo wrote:Probably she is just fine. But two weeks of maturation is not enough for a tank to be safe. You could be still completing the nitrogen cycle and having a peak of NO2!!! No matter which bacterial activator you used 4 weeks its the minimum to be sure that the filter is mature.

I'm an idiot, I was told by the LFS that it would be fine to have fish, but I should of been more weary.

Do you think she will survive? She's very dark and is still in that corner.

When did you use the tetra safe start? Your suppose to add it to the filter box and add the fish immediately, if you waited a few days between bottle and fish then some of the bacteria may have died off as it needs to be fed. Also for preparing your water pick up some prime at your lfs today if possible as something you can do right now, it will help lock up the ammonia and nitrates that are making your buddy not feel well.

opps totally missed that part.

Get a test kit, some seachem's Prime and start on the water changes.

+1 to j-p

Thanks for the replies, my LFS will be shut now but I'll rush down there early tomorrow to get some Prime, what does it do?

I've done a 20% water change, I'm guessing I shouldn't feed her while she's like this?

Prime detoxifies the ammonia.

It still helps with they cycling of the tank but it makes the ammonia harmless to fish. It is also used to treat tap water.

Right, I know it's a difficult question but do you think she'll survive the night?

oh... she'll survive most likely. How she will do tomorrow is a different story.

It has only been in the tank 1 day so I can't see a huge problem with it. Make sure to clean up any remaining food left over so that it doesn't foul the tank.

pretty much does this

" Prime removes chlorine and chloramine (even in high chloramine levels), and detoxifies ammonia and nitrite. Provides essential ions and stimulates natural slime coat. Prime also detoxifies any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels"


It locks up or neutralizes ammonia, nitrite, nitrates from affecting your fish so that they don't get poisoned by the buildup. I agree with your not feeding him right now, it will cause more build up of the nitrates inside the tank. You may want to bring some of the water to the lfs to get it tested again, but it should be on your list of stuff you need to buy (api master fw kit its about 25 bucks on amazon) this kit can only test some of the basic aspects of what is going on in your tank but these are important parameters that directly affect your fish so you should have the tools you need to test them.

Ok, I'll get that prime tomorrow morning. How should I introduce it to the tank? Just put it straight in there or add it in along with a water change? Like a 40-50% water change?

I add it with the water change. 40% should be good tomorrow. You did 20% today. Don't forget the test kits.

The only thing I managed to get was something called Nutrafin Cycle, which removes ammonia and Nitrite over the course of 3 days.

It says to add it with water changes, for the first day (today) I've added 31ml (I followed it's guidelines) Tomorrow and the day after I have to add more, hopefully it'll help her to recover. (It say's you can add it with fish in the tank)

Out of interest, could it of been the blood worm that upset her?