Whats wrong with my GSP?

[PuffNuts]

So I am kinda new to the puffers, been dealing with mostly Oscars and Chiclids for the last few years. I have a tank set up with one Green Spotted Puffer and two dwarf puffers. I have it set up brackish and theres lots of stuff in there the keep them somewhat entertained. All three are very healthy and active, they are fed bloodworms on a daily bases as the main part of their meal, and occasionly i will give them a few shrimp to chase around. Ok well heres my problem:

The GSP will sometimes curves his tail all the way around to the side of his body covering up his left side fin. Then he will just float around the tank like that for 4-5 mins... sometimes it will even end up just sitting on the bottom, in a little ball. if i tap on the side it just starts swimming around like normal. Is this normal behavior? Is it just palying? Anyone else's puffer do this???? Thanks!!!!! I am trying to get pics but it has only done it twice.

[julianchan]

Sounds like they are taking a rest. My little guys do the same thing. My friends puffers do it too, her GSP lies in the sand, and her takifugu burrows. They turn a little darker when they do it too, but turn back to normal when they start swimming around again. But anyone else, please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, as I am still learning and having fun with em..

[recombinantrider]

Yeah, my GSP does curl its tail when it's resting too. However, I haven't really noticed mine floating around with the curled tail at all. I think as long as your GSP is responsive to food and your presence, and it doesn't continue to have the dark coloration for a prolonged period of time, it's most likely fine. The dark coloration I notice on my GSP usually appears at both corners of the mouth, and a little bit of grey on the belly. It's normal when your GSP is sleepy or waking up, or stressed about something. You don't need to be too concerned unless it doesn't go away even if he's been awake and active for at least half an hour, or the coloration gets really dark and persists for days.

I recommend alternating the diet between FD bloodworm, FD mini krill, FD jumbo krill, frozen shrimp from supermarket for human use (just soak it in a cup of your tank water to defrost, use a little at a time), and of course the yummy ghost shrimp, live brine shrimp and baby snails. They spit out the "tropical flake" or "crisps" with contempt , so don't need to waste money on them .

[PuffNuts]

Well thats just what I wanted to hear. I was pretty sure it was normal, but never having them befor i was not sure. thanks for ur help, any other tips or anyhting would be great... how big can i expect the GSP to get in a 30gal tank now but in about 8 months it will be in a 300gal brackish tank.

[Nick]

You need to get those dwarf puffers out of the brackish tank. It's bad for them, and the GSP will eventually get large enough to kill them and will likely do so. The GSP should get full size(up to 6") in a 30 gallon tank by itself. The GSP will need the water to get more brackish as it gets older, up to about 3/4 marine when it's adult. They can also be converted to full marine. What kind of salt are you using for your brackish water, and what are the water parameters(especially ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and SG)

[PuffNuts]

Well the tanks very new so i am still getting all the parameters where they need to be... I use the instant ocean brand salt, and that just started over the weekend... they just got moved out of my other tank because i just got some long finned Oscars and i did not want them to end up as a snack. I don't have anywhere to put my DPs so i am gonna have to keep the SG super low till i get my monster 300gal up and running. The Gsp should be ok in low sg for a while right?

[PuffNuts]

O yeah heres a pic of them:

[recombinantrider]

Yeah, GSPs do fine in fresh water. I read that the juvenile ones do better in freshwater so I think it's fine. Your GSP is just a teeny bit bigger than the dwarfs. How cute!

[julianchan]

How absolutely cute!!!

I tried to get the smallest one i could find, that came up to me in the tank.....he is awesome, comes up to me all the time, and its only been 5 days. His name is Elevator.....

[crazedpuffer]

Puffers curling their tail is perfectly normal and fine. It's normally for resting or balance.

[Pufferpunk]

If you haven't pre-cycled the tank for those puffers, can you grab some filter material from the oscar's tank & put it into their filter? That will help tremendously.

I'd start doing water changes & get that tank back to FW, ASAP. I killed my 1st 3 DPs, thinking they were BW fish.

[PuffNuts]

Yeah, that pic is deciving... the macro wide angle lens on my camera makes the GSP look small but he is acctuly about 3 times the size of the DPs.

I did use one of the filter elements from my oscar tank when setting up the puffer tank for the alge and bacteria and all that good stuff. they are doing very well... the GSP name is Kiwi. dont know about the DPs yet... they are awsome fish... i want more!!!!

thanks for all ur help!!!!!

[Pufferpunk]

They really should be seperated, ASAP.