DO NOT PUT PUFFERFISH IN FRESH WATER!
CYCLE THE TANK FOR ATLEAST 2WEEKS-ITS GOTA BE PERFECT
DO NOT BELIEVE A THING THESE "FISH" SHOP OWNERS TELL YOU! AS THEY WILL JUST TRY AND SELL YOU LOTS OF THINGS THAT DONT WORK, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH AS WELL AS GOING TO LOTS OF DIFFERENT FISH SHOPS.
DO NOT KEEP YOUR PUFFERS IF YOU THINK THEY ARE SUFFERING, IF THE LEVELS ARE VERY VERY BAD TO A POINT OF NOT BEING ABLE TO LOWER THEM QUICKLY-GO GIVE THE FISH BACK-BCUZ THERE GOING TO DIE!
UNFORTUNALTY MY PUFFERS HAVE JUST DIED AND I THINK IT WAS A COMBO OF THINGS AND OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM WAS A STUPID FISH SHOP OWNER WHO PUT THEM IN FRESHWATER AND HAS GIVEN US BAD ADVICE FROM POINT GO AND SOLD US ALL THE WRONG THINGS. SO I AM VERY SORRY TO OUR PUFFERS WHO WE REALLY LIKED- BUT THANX TO THIS WEBSITE AS IT HAS HELPED, ITS JUST A SHAME THAT WE DIDNT FIND IT SOONER TO HELP THE FISH. ALSO WHAT I WILL SAY IS LISTEN TO PEOPLE ON THIS WEBSITE 99.99999% OF THE TIME THESE PEOPLE ARE RIGHT! THEY HAVE PUFFERS!
MY ADVICE TO PUFFER OWNERS!
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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mikeosoft
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 247
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:35 pm
- Location: Farmington Hills, MI
Re: MY ADVICE TO PUFFER OWNERS!
Sorry about your loss.
While there are many good LFS owners out there, most of them are either just out to make a buck so they don't care, or they just don't know any better.
I hope this doesn't discourage you from keeping puffers. IMO, find another LFS that knows how to care for the fish, take your time, and do things right next time. You'll have a much better result in the end.
While there are many good LFS owners out there, most of them are either just out to make a buck so they don't care, or they just don't know any better.
I hope this doesn't discourage you from keeping puffers. IMO, find another LFS that knows how to care for the fish, take your time, and do things right next time. You'll have a much better result in the end.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: MY ADVICE TO PUFFER OWNERS!
There are a whole slew of FW puffers (check our Pufferpedia). You should actually cycle your tank in whatever kind of water the fish is in at the shop & raise the SG slowly over time, if your puffer is a BW fish.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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Myaj
- Tech Team
- Posts: 4587
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:27 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Bubba, turgidus
Paris, lined burrfish - Location: SE Wisconsin
- Contact:
Re: MY ADVICE TO PUFFER OWNERS!
Glad you learned.. research any species of fish BEFORE you buy it and you'll save yourself and the fish a lot of pain and hassle.
But never say don't put puffers in freshwater. There are many, many freshwater species and even some of the brackish can live in freshwater for extended periods of time.
Bad water quality is the #1 killer of puffers though. They just are too sensitive to ammonia, nitrites and elevated nitrates.
But never say don't put puffers in freshwater. There are many, many freshwater species and even some of the brackish can live in freshwater for extended periods of time.
Bad water quality is the #1 killer of puffers though. They just are too sensitive to ammonia, nitrites and elevated nitrates.
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Troender
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1843
- Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 8:04 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 1x GSP (Bolla), 1x m. something. Bought as a leiurus, maybe a turgidus (Tiger), 1x c. irrubesco (Tott(a) aka Houdini) 1x c. salivator (Jack the Ripper), 1x m. cochinchinensis (Hufflepuff - R.I.P.), 2x c. lorteti (Tommy and Tigern = Calvin and Hubbes), 1x m. suvatti (Koseklumpen), 1x m. palembangensis (Dragonfly), 2x t. biocellatus (Koken and Fiken).
- Location: Askim, Norway
Re: MY ADVICE TO PUFFER OWNERS!
You're very right that many LFSs don't know anything about puffers. And many shops don't even know enough about keeping fish at all. Puffers are demandig fishes to keep, but sooo cool anyway. There are more freshwater puffers than brackish puffers (7 of the 9 species I keep are FW, 2 are BW). But it's true that LFSs often sell BW puffers as FW, like GSP (which was the first puffer I bought - and, yes, I thought it was FW. But she is still alive 1 year after. I must be one of the few puffer owners that haven't killed my first puffer). Puffers are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrites, and therefore the tank has to be properly cycled. The two weeks you say is far to little. A tank is not cycled before a little more than 4 weeks (I think it's actually 35 days), and even then you have to be careful. That is if you can't take any short cuts, like biospira (which you can't buy around here), letting the filter run together with a cycled one, or taking some stuff from a cycled filter and putting it into the new filter. If you don't take the short cuts, the nitrite level will be at it's highest at about 3 weeks - so putting fish in a tank before that, is asking for trouble. Putting a puffer in before that, is even more so.
You're right in not listening to the LFS. Do research before you go to the LFS. That's the best way of getting the right information.
It's too sad, but a lot of puffers die because of wrong information from the shops. Around here they seem to get more and more popular, and that also means a lot of unexperienced tank owners buy puffers as their first fish. And very often that goes wrong, and the puffer dies after a short time. It's not the easiest fish to start with.
You're right in not listening to the LFS. Do research before you go to the LFS. That's the best way of getting the right information.
It's too sad, but a lot of puffers die because of wrong information from the shops. Around here they seem to get more and more popular, and that also means a lot of unexperienced tank owners buy puffers as their first fish. And very often that goes wrong, and the puffer dies after a short time. It's not the easiest fish to start with.
Inger Anne
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just think how stupid the average person is, and then realize that half of them are even stupider! -George Carlin
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just think how stupid the average person is, and then realize that half of them are even stupider! -George Carlin
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dumpythepuffer
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 110
- Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 2:29 pm
- My Puffers: 2DP's -bumblebee & pepto
1GSP -dumpy
1-5 gallon FW tank
1-30 gallon BW tank
1-brand new 90 gallon SW tank - Location: Alberta, Canada
- Contact:
Re: MY ADVICE TO PUFFER OWNERS!
im sorry about your loss...
yet you can get fresh water puffer...like dwarf puffers for example. very small yet just as fun.
i hope you get more puffers.
also cycling a tank for about a month with most fish is recommended...2 weeks might be too soon for more sencitive fish, like puffers. and always check the water pp's.
yet you can get fresh water puffer...like dwarf puffers for example. very small yet just as fun.
i hope you get more puffers.
also cycling a tank for about a month with most fish is recommended...2 weeks might be too soon for more sencitive fish, like puffers. and always check the water pp's.
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tintin
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:13 pm
- My Puffers: One 5 inch Topaz
- Location: South Coast UK
Re: MY ADVICE TO PUFFER OWNERS!
Sorry to hear about your loss 
I always cycle for a minimum of six weeks, better to be safe than sorry.
I always cycle for a minimum of six weeks, better to be safe than sorry.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: MY ADVICE TO PUFFER OWNERS!
Cycle for as long as necessary to produce 0 amomonia/nitrites. There is an excellent fishless cycling article in our Library.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"