My puffer is turning black is there anything wrong?
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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Jase
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1579
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Montana
Re: My puffer is turning black is there anything wrong?
the black belly generally is a sign of stress. some do change back and forth, but it should usually be white unless startled or just upset about something. check your water and make sure everything is looking good. btw, how big is your tank, and how big are the puffers?
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.
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Woland
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 376
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 3:12 am
- My Puffers: 1 X Tetraodon nigroviridis, 1 X Monotrete palembangensis.
- Location (country): Norway
- Location: Oslo, NORWAY
Re: My puffer is turning black is there anything wrong?
This is a bad advice.FudgePudgeNibbler wrote:your puffer will be fine....my gsp does that all the time...usually when the lights are off....after the lights go on...and after i feed it...its belly is white again....i have 2 gsps and 1 figure 8 in the same tank...and only one gsp does that...
The puffers will sustain damage in a to small uncycled tank.
In most cases a black belly is a sign of stress.
Stress can emerge in a feeding situation, sudden changes in light, feeling vulnerable, over aggression and territorial issues, and finally:
when water conditions are BAD.
Firey One
Your tank is to small for even one GSP, it is overstocked and uncycled.
Trust the puffer who shows discomfort and resolve the situation.
Take the fish back to the place you bought it.
Regards
Woland
Woland
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FudgePudgeNibbler
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2007 11:14 pm
- My Puffers: 2 GSP's, 1 Figure 8
Re: My puffer is turning black is there anything wrong?
theyll be fineWoland wrote:This is a bad advice.FudgePudgeNibbler wrote:your puffer will be fine....my gsp does that all the time...usually when the lights are off....after the lights go on...and after i feed it...its belly is white again....i have 2 gsps and 1 figure 8 in the same tank...and only one gsp does that...
The puffers will sustain damage in a to small uncycled tank.
In most cases a black belly is a sign of stress.
Stress can emerge in a feeding situation, sudden changes in light, feeling vulnerable, over aggression and territorial issues, and finally:
when water conditions are BAD.
Firey One
Your tank is to small for even one GSP, it is overstocked and uncycled.
Trust the puffer who shows discomfort and resolve the situation.
Take the fish back to the place you bought it.
SWF: 1 Hippo Tang, 1 Lavender Tang, 2 Percula Clowns, 1 Chocolate Chip Star, 1 Condylactis Anemone, 1 Haitian Pink Tipped Anemone, 1 Sebae Anemone, 1 4 striped Damsel, 1 Scooter Blenny, Button Polyp
FWF: 2 GSP, 1 Figure 8
FWF: 2 GSP, 1 Figure 8
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Jase
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1579
- Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Montana
Re: My puffer is turning black is there anything wrong?
there is a time to argue your opinion, sorry but this isn't it...FudgePudgeNibbler wrote:theyll be fineWoland wrote:This is a bad advice.FudgePudgeNibbler wrote:your puffer will be fine....my gsp does that all the time...usually when the lights are off....after the lights go on...and after i feed it...its belly is white again....i have 2 gsps and 1 figure 8 in the same tank...and only one gsp does that...
The puffers will sustain damage in a to small uncycled tank.
In most cases a black belly is a sign of stress.
Stress can emerge in a feeding situation, sudden changes in light, feeling vulnerable, over aggression and territorial issues, and finally:
when water conditions are BAD.
Firey One
Your tank is to small for even one GSP, it is overstocked and uncycled.
Trust the puffer who shows discomfort and resolve the situation.
Take the fish back to the place you bought it.
Firey One, please take Wolands advice as he is a very knowledgeable leader in the forum. as are the rest of the team.
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.
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zombiefetus
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 532
- Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 1:57 am
- Gender: Female
- Location (country): Illinois, USA
- Contact:
Re: My puffer is turning black is there anything wrong?
You're giving very bad advice. They will not be "fine". A Green Spotted Puffer needs a larger tank to survive. It's guaranteed to die in a tank that small. Sudden changes in belly color are caused by stress, and in this situation, being in a tank too small and bad water conditions.FudgePudgeNibbler wrote:theyll be fineWoland wrote:This is a bad advice.FudgePudgeNibbler wrote:your puffer will be fine....my gsp does that all the time...usually when the lights are off....after the lights go on...and after i feed it...its belly is white again....i have 2 gsps and 1 figure 8 in the same tank...and only one gsp does that...
The puffers will sustain damage in a to small uncycled tank.
In most cases a black belly is a sign of stress.
Stress can emerge in a feeding situation, sudden changes in light, feeling vulnerable, over aggression and territorial issues, and finally:
when water conditions are BAD.
Firey One
Your tank is to small for even one GSP, it is overstocked and uncycled.
Trust the puffer who shows discomfort and resolve the situation.
Take the fish back to the place you bought it.
These fish need a larger tank. If you can't afford to buy a new one try looking on craigslist, or placing an add in your paper. You'll be surprised what you find. If you can't get them into a larger tank soon then you'll have to re-home them.
