New Dwarf Puffer behavior

[frootbat]

Hi,

Been reading up on these for awhile, finally made the plunge and got a single DP for a planted standard 5.5g that was housing my red cherry shrimp (did a 50% water change last night just to be safe).

Brought the little guy home, turned him loose, and he sank to the bottom like a rock and is just sitting there. I turned off the lights in case that helps calm him/her down.

Is this typical for new DPs?

[Jivenjune]

It sounds like you didn't acclimate your puffer to get it adjusted to the new water parameters. Give it a few hours, possibly a day or longer. It should snap out of it as long as the tank is cycled. It'll probably eat that shrimp at some point, also. Just a heads up.

[frootbat]

Grr....I didn't see anything about acclimating. I just did the floating bag in the tank thing to equalize the temperature...and I moved the shrimp to my 16G tank where they wont be in danger.

He's still sitting on the bottom...hope I didn't kill it

[Jivenjune]

Grr....I didn't see anything about acclimating. I just did the floating bag in the tank thing to equalize the temperature...and I moved the shrimp to my 16G tank where they wont be in danger.

He's still sitting on the bottom...hope I didn't kill it

He should be okay. I doubt you killed it. Most fish are tougher than that and can handle a little difference in water parameters as long as there's nothing toxic in in the tank. Just let him get adjusted to the new environment. Some fish just need a little time to get adjusted to things.

[frootbat]

Well, it passed away tonight.

It must have been my fault, not adding tank water a bit at a time to the bag, but since I got him locally, the water shouldn't be too much different, so I'm a bit puzzled. And all my readings are zero, except for nitrates, they were 10, which I thought was OK:?

I haven't decided for sure, but I might give it another try. <sigh>

[Jivenjune]

I would give it another try.

It doesn't sound like it's your fault, especially since your tank sounds cycled. What might of happened is that your puffer probably had internal parasites. The stress of being moved to a new location likely caused your puffers immune system to weaken significantly, so the internal parasites perhaps took advantage of this.

I don't think you should give up, nor do I think you should feel responsible.

You sound like a responsible pet owner, so you shouldn't let this experience stop you from caring for these amazing pets.

My condolences regardless.

[LilGreenPuffer]

As I said before on dwarfpuffers.com, I'm very sorry.

I agree with JJ! There's no reason not to try it again. My first puffer experience was, well, even worse than yours, but I've gotten so much joy out of my second try, and since then I've gotten into bettas and freshwater shrimp as well. With fish, if the first one ends badly, the second time's the charm. NOBODY'S first tank goes smoothly! Even if it's not a total disaster, the process is an exercise in learning from mistakes. Heck, every tank is an exercise in learning from mistakes. The site gurus here have made some crazy mistakes, even up to now, but does that stop them? No way! I've heard some of them say that their knowledge of fish doesn't just come from doing it right - it also comes from doing it wrong. Lots of people give up after their first major mistake, but the ones that get back up on the horse are glad that they did.

And was your even a major mistake? Heck no. You didn't acclimate properly. That's a small thing that actually shouldn't have killed it. There was probably something else going on you couldn't know about.

Is it just me, or was I a little ranty? Okay, getting off the soapbox now.

[frootbat]

Well, attempt #2...

I drove to a fish store I like in Austin to get 3 more CPDs, and they had DPs as well. They were 3X as expensive as they were at my local place, but I got one anyway, because I have had good luck with their fish...they seem to order fewer and better as opposed to lots of 100+.

The college kid that got the fish for me skipped the net and caught him in the tank with the bag. Got him home an hour later and axclimated him to some of my tank water (my water is harder than he is used to) then put him in after about 45 minutes.

Right now he doesny look very happy, but much better than the last one. He is swimming around at the bottom of the tank bumping his nose into the glass....well, he was...he just settled on to the substrate.

I better not lose this one too!

[LilGreenPuffer]

Wow. The nose-bumping thing seems unintentional, correct? How did you last clean the tank? Do you keep other fish in the same water? Call your water company.

[frootbat]

When I first got the tank, I rinsed it out with just hot water. It was last home to pygmy cories, ember tetras, and shrimp, and they all did just fine.

At the moment he is hanging out in the back corner near the heater (set @79)

Should I keep the light off?

[LilGreenPuffer]

Good plan.

[frootbat]

Well, before I turned the light off, I have seen him on both ends of the tank...mostly near the heater in the back left corner, sometimes near the filter intake on the back right. FYI, this is my filter (the 15 model):

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=16729

I have it set to the lowest setting...darn thing is a third of the length of my 5.5, but everything I have read says overfilter.

He is still bumping into the tank. Maybe "bumping" is the wrong word. he's kind of nudging the glass, kind of like new cories do. Hopefully he is just figuring out boundaries an not in any distress. This is looking much better than last night. I'll keep the light off, and if I feel compelled to check on him (no doubt) I'll use a flashlight.

[Jivenjune]

Sounds like things are going well Keep updating us.

[frootbat]

Well, the lights are still of, but I can see him swimming around occasionally, so if he is OK when I wake up in the morning I'll go look for snails...I have frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp, but I just have the feeling he's gonna be one of those finicky ones. I got one of those feeding cones, but it may have been a dumb purchase because no one in town sells live worms.

[Jivenjune]

Well, the lights are still of, but I can see him swimming around occasionally, so if he is OK when I wake up in the morning I'll go look for snails...I have frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp, but I just have the feeling he's gonna be one of those finicky ones. I got one of those feeding cones, but it may have been a dumb purchase because no one in town sells live worms.

I always though those cones could be used for cubes of frozen blood worms. They just suck em out of the little holes so that the worms don't get all over the place. For some odd reason, no pet store within my vicinity sells these... I feel like I've been trying to get one forever -_- Let us know how the feeding goes