new owner, help!

[mAHHggie]

I was given my first puffer fish about a week ago, and know almost nothing about care for them. It's a very small spotted green puffer ( about an inch long ), and is in a one gallon tank by itself for now. The man at the store told me that they prefer to eat dried krill, but my puffer won't eat it. Also, he rarely ever leaves the bottom of the tank. Obviously, I know very little about puffer mannerisms, but is this a bad sign?
Should I be feeding him live food?
How much salt should I have in the tank?
How often do they eat?

any advice at all is greatly appreciated

- maggie.

[Nick]

OK, this is going to be a lot to take in.
First, what you DON'T have to worry about:
Don't worry about feeding right now, but know that krill isn't a good staple food. Don't worry about salt right now, though eventually you will need a marine salt mix like instant ocean to make him brackish water.
He needs about a 30 gallon tank eventually, and will likely be dead in a few days or less in a one gallon. It's a miracle he's still alive now. Puffers generally die in uncycled tanks, was there another fish in the one gallon for at least 6 weeks before the puffer? If not, then the tank isn't cycled, and you'll need to change 80% of the water a couple times a day just to keep him alive. He's most likely sitting on the bottom not eating because they are very sensitive fish and he's being poisoned by his own waste.
He will be MUCH more likely to survive if you get him a 29 gallon or larger tank immediately. One gallon of water is so little that he starts being poisoned by his wastes again almost immediately after water changes. If you can't get a 29 or larger, get a ten gallon, this is the minimum starter tank, and will still have to be upgraded in a few months, but is still MUCH more likely to keep him alive.
If the tank is uncycled, which sounds very likely, you can fix that almost instantly if you know someone with a fish tank. Get a used filter cartridge or sponge from them, the older and grosser, the better, and figure out a way to stuff it into your filter. Make sure they understand you want it all nasty, they can't let it touch tap water or anything, just keep it damp in tank water. Find some way to cram it into your filter, even if you have to tear the material off some kind of plastic frame. Then, wait at least a day before changing more water, and hopefully, after that point the tank will be fully cycled.

[mAHHggie]

ah!
thank you so much! The fish was purchased at wal mart, and the man who sold it to me knew very little, and gave me a lot of false advice. I'm glad I found out soon enough, thank you thank you thank you!

[Pufferpunk]

Yes, very common for Walmart. Be sure to read the article about them in our Library.

[Nick]

Walmart fish people know essentially nothing about fish, walmart does not do much as far as area specific training. Glad we can help, hopefully your puffer will be ok, it sounds like he's a tough cookie Be sure to keep us updated

[mAHHggie]

I've got him in about ten gallons right now, and he seems to be doing ok. He's no longer dwelling on the bottom, and instead is primarily in the middle or just below the surface.
are there any warning signs in his behavior that I should look out for until I can put him in a less-makeshift environment?

[Nick]

Sitting on the bottom not moving(except when he's sleeping, it's ok then ) or swimming right at the surface gasping usually means he needs a water change right away. If you get a nice filthy filter cartridge to cycle the tank, you'll hopefully be able to avoid ever having to deal with either from here on out. A dark belly indicates a stressed puffer, while a white belly indicates either excited, happy, or some combination.

[Pufferpunk]

In the meantime, follow my signature...

[zombiefetus]

Put in lots of decor and rearrange it often, it should help a little in keeping him from pacing the glass (a sign of a bored puffer). As for food you want hard shelled meaty foods- crabs, snails, clams, scallops. You can get them at grocery store at the seafood section.
It sounds like you're getting on the right track though.
We also have a wonderful article in our library here
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/lib ... d-puffers/
And I've started up my own GSP website (link in signature) which should answer a lot of questions.

Did you give the little guy a name yet?