Walmart always gives people crap info on GSP care, and they sell a lot of them. It amazes me how many folks in the town where I live have bought a juvenile there, followed the employees directions on care, and had their puff die. The main things they do wrong IMO is tell the buyers to use aquarium salt, and fail to mention that a commitment to a GSP involves moving up to Marine conditions... So I cooked up some mega-chain-store espionage....
I slapped that sticker on the GSP tank there, printed one that looks just like the labels that they use saying "Cold Tank 1", et cetera. So far it's been there for 2 months, and I bet every employee just assumes another one put it up. If I have saved ONE puffer from going to an inappropriate home... just imagine what a sticker like that in every Wal-mart would accomplish... Think about it guys, fight the power!!!
29 Gallon Marine tank, with refugium, skimmer. Base rock, coral skeletons. Stock: Baby Ocellaurus Clown, young Saddled Toby, 3 Hermit crabs,one 2 inch Bristle Worm, hitch hiking starfish.
10g Biotope. 3 C. Travancoricus (Dwarf Puffer) Some Ghost shrimp, gravel/sand substrate, heavily planted with Swords and Java Moss.
10g LR Culture Tank. 10+ pounds fiji LR / base rock. Assorted hitch hiking inverts
Some FW tanks.
In My Experience, Fishkeeping is like Cooking. Five or ten basics will keep anyone from getting sick. But to be truly magnificent... You have to know the right Recipies.
My Puffers: Puffers I have kept: T lineatus T miurus A modestus T biocellatus C valentini C coranata C papuan C lorteti DPs suvattii burrfish T niphobles
I'm surprised to see what looks like salt in the picture of that tank. The store I bought my juvenile puffer from had no salt in it and the tank had about 8 - 10 juvenile puffers in the same tank with about 20 bala sharks. I went to the same Wal-mart the other day (I have no choice as it is the nearest grocery store to my home or college) and I stopped by the fish tanks to see if the store had changed the labels on their puffer tanks or stopped carrying them (which they promised me they would do one or the other). Sadly, neither have been done, and there were 2 dying puffers and one dead puffer in the tank. I would love to rescue the dying ones but I do not have a suitable home for them and I have been told that continuing to buy these puffers will only perpetuate Wal-marts sale of them. So how can I get my local Wal-mart to quit selling them, or at the very least sell them with the proper information?
Energizerfish, best way I've figured out is the stickers. You can stand around the tanks all day and try to convince pple this fish or that fish is a bad idea... but their usually as stubborn as the employees and act all righteous that you would presume to give em advice. there was a lady who came in once a week to the Petco where I live and bought fish to put in a 2 gallon bowl. Of course they all died and all the employees hated it, but were told to keep making sales. I finally got upset enough to dress her down.. told her for all the money she was spending on fish for her 5 year old to kill, she could have allready bought a heater, tank, and filter to do it right. She huffed out and I haven't seen her since. Got a high-five from the aquatics specialist... heh heh
29 Gallon Marine tank, with refugium, skimmer. Base rock, coral skeletons. Stock: Baby Ocellaurus Clown, young Saddled Toby, 3 Hermit crabs,one 2 inch Bristle Worm, hitch hiking starfish.
10g Biotope. 3 C. Travancoricus (Dwarf Puffer) Some Ghost shrimp, gravel/sand substrate, heavily planted with Swords and Java Moss.
10g LR Culture Tank. 10+ pounds fiji LR / base rock. Assorted hitch hiking inverts
Some FW tanks.
In My Experience, Fishkeeping is like Cooking. Five or ten basics will keep anyone from getting sick. But to be truly magnificent... You have to know the right Recipies.
Does that tag say tankmates: "Barbs"? Barbs are aggressive, arent they? Wont they bully even GSPs? and it makes me mad the label says "feed flake food" because they dont eat that, mine wouldnt ever touch it they ignore it. Its no wonder their puffers always die. RRgh.
"It is never easy, sweet child, to have a real gift: something else is withheld to compensate."
Yeah and it says Corys for tankmates too. Salt burns Corys.... Grrr
29 Gallon Marine tank, with refugium, skimmer. Base rock, coral skeletons. Stock: Baby Ocellaurus Clown, young Saddled Toby, 3 Hermit crabs,one 2 inch Bristle Worm, hitch hiking starfish.
10g Biotope. 3 C. Travancoricus (Dwarf Puffer) Some Ghost shrimp, gravel/sand substrate, heavily planted with Swords and Java Moss.
10g LR Culture Tank. 10+ pounds fiji LR / base rock. Assorted hitch hiking inverts
Some FW tanks.
In My Experience, Fishkeeping is like Cooking. Five or ten basics will keep anyone from getting sick. But to be truly magnificent... You have to know the right Recipies.
Needless to say Danios make a terrible tankmate since they are a small fish that makes a great tasty snack for puffers. I originally had my puffer with my glofish (danios) and my puffer at my glo fish.
You know what, I was comparing the GSPs to my F8s and now I think about it youre right, none of those fish would make good tankmates. I dont even have Corys in with my F8s cuz they dont tolerate salt. I cant stand how ill-advised the walmart staff are and they only propagate more ignorance for people that buy them... why is this tolerated???
"It is never easy, sweet child, to have a real gift: something else is withheld to compensate."
