I too got GSP's from WalMart!!HELP please!!?

[zookey]

So did you loose a fish or did you just move one into a 10 gallon and leave the other in the original tank?

The color and behavior could be due to an uncycled tank. You did not mention if the "new" 10 gallon had been cycled or not.

In the first post you said you bought them snails. What kind of snails did you get? How big are the snails? A puffer can only eat snails that are about the size of their eye. If they are larger the puffer more than likely can't fit it in their mouth and you said your puffers are quite small so I am guessing that the snails may be too big for them to eat. Personally I use a forcept to feed my GSP and when I give him snails I crush them in the jaws of the forcept first. My puffer goes nuts over them.

[Garfed]

I'm glad you found us! 90% of people in here because of their dire warnings of a Wal-Mart store that purchased them GSP. All of the above advice is great. What are your immediate plans for these fish?

[solothedrunk]

A Few things Greenpuffer:

1) Juvinile GSPs change color when they're sleeping, so don't be alarmed, they perk up and turn into their normal color when the lights come on and they are fed; they also change color when they're hunting their food.
2) Aquarium Salt does not equal marine salt. You want to get yourself at very least a hydrometer a 5 gallon bucket from home depot (Don't forget the lid! Why they would put the lid across from the buckets just astounds me) a small powerhead to help stir your salt mix and a measuring cup.
3) For GSPs and no coral keeping I would recommend you get yourself a box of instant ocean; 3/4 of a cup brings your Specific Gravity (SG) up to 1.008 - 1.010 usually with Instant Ocean salt mix which is the recommended Brackish setting for their puffers.
4) Since the tank is not cycled I suggest you buy: Dr. Tim's One and only to emergency cycle the tank; it has worked wonders for me and I highly recommend it. You can order online or directly from Drtimsaquatics.com.
5) 10 gallons is okay when they are itty bitties as they are now, but will very quickly become inadequate for them. Honestly if you rear them together and are diligent about your water changes; Once a week, you could possibly keep 2 of them in a 30 gallon tank with minimal aggression, but as was said their bioload is very large.
6) Dwarf puffers could ive in a small tank like a 5g but if you want to keep it nice and healthy a 10g is recommended. Of course any of us can put fish into a small tank, but it will stunt and could cause health problems down the road. Why give yourself the heartache of losing a beloved pet when they should live for years and only last a few months because the tank size was inadequate for them?

And though I don't own a respected LA fish store I know a little bit about keeping aquariums. Doll don't be so sensitive we're not attacking you, just trying to give you facts that will only help you.

All of those products you bought are really stop gap measures for things, and most just bind the ammonia compounds along with the Nitrite and Nitrates until you can perform water changes. They're for emergencies not for normal use.

first off i'm not going to give my fish away sevenyearnight all i needed was to know what i needed to do not someone to tell me i'm not capable of giving my fish what it needs!and to the person that said my 1 fish needs a 30 gal tank..your crazy!the minimum a puffer can live in is a 5 due to the amount of ammonia they produce and how such a small space will thus lead to the fishes death due to the ammonia.we now have a 10 gal tank and it's working great..that is if you have drive to get your butt up off the couch to change the water every 2-3 weeks..and that i have but if you dont then i see how you need a 30 gal tank.just an FYI for the people mentioned in this section.

Now to the real question..
We tranferred our puffer into his new tank and he was very veryyy stressed he even puffed a little.when we put him into the new tank he was fine for a sec and then his belly turned black.it turned back to white for a couple minutes and then black again when we fed him.he has never turned this color before and i have read on many websites that it can be because of distress, which is very likely, and also because he is sick.at what point should i be worried if he does not turn back to normal?he's swimming around and acting like he always has.we treated the water with various things:chlorine eliminator drops, ammonia neutralizer, aquarium salt and we put a little fizzy thing shaped like a fish in there that is suppose to also neutralize nitrates/pH as well as improve color and help reduce stress..with all of things i'm pretty sure that he is fine.he devoured his shrimp as he usually does so there's nothing wrong with he appetite..so is his belly black just due to stress and the fact that he is in a new tank with new toys he is not familiar with or what?

[Pufferpunk]

10 gallons is okay when they are itty bitties as they are now, but will very quickly become inadequate for them. Honestly if you rear them together and are diligent about your water changes; Once a week, you could possibly keep 2 of them in a 30 gallon tank with minimal aggression, but as was said their bioload is very large.

Again--this is inly until they grow >2" & then they need to be ugraded to 30g ea (60g for 2). Do you still have 2 puffers?