New to the forum! How I ended up with a GSP.

[Mrs. Puff]

Hello there! My name is Sarah and I live near Atlanta, GA. Here is the story of how I ended up with my adorable Green Spotted Puffer Fish named Samwell!

So about a month ago I saw an ad on Craigslist from someone selling a 10g tank and a filter, heater, hood/light, decorations, and a puffer fish for $10. When I saw "puffer fish" on the ad, I assumed it meant a dwarf puffer fish. That is the only kind of puffer fish I had seen for sale at pet stores near me, and I figured what other kind of puffer could live in a 10g tank? I always thought dwarf puffers were adorable and $10 for a complete setup is a pretty good deal, so I contacted the seller right away!

When I got to the seller's house, I could tell right away that that was not a dwarf puffer fish. It was way too big. He was SO adorable though! I felt bad for the little guy, he looked pretty cramped in that little tank. I asked the seller what kind of puffer it was, and he had no idea. Apparently the puffer was a gift for his son from his now ex girlfriend, and he didn't want it anymore. All the guy knew was that the puffer was a brackish fish, and he gave me a big container full of marine salt and a hydrometer. He marked on the hydrometer the salinity with a pen so that I knew how much salt to use.

As soon as I got home I set up the puffer in my extra 20g tank, and I immediately got on my computer to figure out what kind of puffer this was. It didn't take long for me to discover that he is a baby green spotted puffer fish. I searched google and YouTube for info on GSP's for hours, and I learned so much! I also discovered that he was gonna need a bigger tank really soon, so I religiously checked Craigslist for a cheap tank that would be suitable for him. As fate would have it, about a week later I scored a 40g for FREE! I was so excited!

So now my GSP (who I named Samwell) is in his 40g tank and he's doing great! I feed him live snails every day and he loves them. He has so much personality, he's pretty much an underwater puppy lol. Now for photos!

When I first brought him home. Poor guy looked pretty stressed.



Photos of him in the 20g tank:



And here he is in his current 40g setup:




Isn't he a cutie?

I also have a 55 gallon tank with 5 fancy goldfish, a 10 with a betta, and a 10g with a dwarf gourami (the tank samwell used to live in.)

I'm so excited to be apart of a community where I can meet and get advice from other puffer owners! I can't wait to meet you guys.

[bertie 83]

Welcome to the forum, good on you for providing a suitable home. He is looking a little skinny so it would be worth treating for internal parasites just to be safe, this will not stress the puffer but could potentially help long term. What salinity are you currently running at?

[RTR]

Do you have any idea how long he was under-housed (and possibly improperly fed) with the prior owner? If he does not fill out more, you may want to treat for intestinal parasites. Has he shown any white stringy feces?

The tank could use a bit more decor for exploration.

Good luck with him.

[Mrs. Puff]

Welcome to the forum, good on you for providing a suitable home. He is looking a little skinny so it would be worth treating for internal parasites just to be safe, this will not stress the puffer but could potentially help long term. What salinity are you currently running at?

I treated his tank with prazi pro just the other day. I'm not sure if he has parasites, bit I thought I'd treat just in case. He does seem a little than puffers I've seen on YouTube and stuff, but I'm not sure if that is due to parasites or malnourishment from his previous owners. (I kind of doubt they were giving him a proper diet, they didn't even know what kind of puffer he was.) how many rounds of prazi would you suggest I do?
I'm running him at 1.012 salinity, because that is what his previous owner said he was keeping it at.

[Mrs. Puff]

Do you have any idea how long he was under-housed (and possibly improperly fed) with the prior owner? If he does not fill out more, you may want to treat for intestinal parasites. Has he shown any white stringy feces?

The tank could use a bit more decor for exploration.

Good luck with him.

I don't know how long the previous owner had him, and I've been kicking myself for not asking the previous owner when I had the chance. I really wish I could have an idea how old he is. Sometimes I wonder if he's actually several years old, but has been stunted by being in such a small tank....
I haven't noticed stringy feces, but I'm treating him with prazi pro right now just in case.
I was just thinking that he could use some more decor in his tank. He seems to spend a lot of time near the front of the tank than exploring. Maybe I could add some flower pots or something and make them into caves.

[Pufferpunk]

IPs need to be treated INTERNALLY. Your puffer does not drink water.
library/hospital/internal-parasites-pre ... treatment/

[G S P Freak]

+1 to the above, soak some food pieces (like shrimp) in the prazi, maybe even add a little garlic for taste! Soak for 1hour and feed. Repeat this for about 5 days, end of treatment.

Your GSP is probably several months old at best. The way people take care of these fish, they often live less than the sturdy "disposable" goldfish that people buy their children. Stunting could have very well happened, but its nothing to worry about. Either way YOU can make your puffer happy and healthy, regardless of whether it is stunted or not.

I'd consider going marine FOWLR if you ever manage to scrounge up the cash. It'll actually save you money and effort in the long run (less salt/water changes!)

Also, bit of advice, invest and buy one of those $25 refractometers from amazon or ebay. I used swing arm hydrometers before that and when I got a refractometer, I realized even a cheap refractometer made the hydrometers look like toys. NTM I had reliablilty issues with those plastic monstrosities.

Edit: and oh, HI! Sorry I sometimes forget my manners and just pour out information XD

[Mrs. Puff]

Thank you for the info on treating for IP internally, I had no idea! I just followed the directions on the bottle, and it claims to be able to treat internal parasites just by putting it in the water. Do you know if this method is ineffective for goldfish as well? I also treated my goldfish tank with prazi to keep the flukes population low.
Another question, what if the piece of shrimp I use doesn't soak up the entire dose of prazi? Maybe I soak two servings, and feed him one at breakfast time and one at dinner time?

[G S P Freak]

It does work when put in the water for external parasites (which includes most flukes) so your goldfish where probably properly treated. However, for intestinal worms the medicine must be ingested to do any good.

Don't worry about it soaking up all, just discard the extra liquid. After an hour soaking, it should have absorbed enough meds to treat. I never had any problem with this. if you're overly worried about it still, try using freeze-dried food like mysis shrimp or krill (it soaks up A LOT). Just don't feed any more krill after treatment is done, krill as a staple diet does more harm than good.

[Pufferpunk]

I often soak overnight & split between 2-3 feedings. Feed only medicated food for 3-5 days. You may have to re-treat.

[RTR]

My first GSPs were severely stunted (many, many years ago before I knew any better). Despite that, they lived in their too-small tank ~10 years for me and a handful more with a friend who adoted them from me before he moved to another city (with puffer) and we lost contact, so I don't know how long they actually lived. Stunting with poor care and improper feeding can definitely shorten lives. Mine had good care and a diet on small snails (from my Cichlid fry grow-out tanks when in my care, and a snail-breeding tanks with their second keeper. I have to assume they would be considered healthy but quite stunted. GSPs kept in good water quality with a proper diet but grossly too small a tank may not be as damaged by stunting as we would expect. I do not recommend such housing, but a fifteen plus year lifespan for all four of them was not seriously damaging. They were quite healthy, alert and active, they just never grew up.

It is quite possible that even if your fish does not grow to full normal size, it may still have a decent lifespan. GSPs are super-hardy fish IME.

[Mrs. Puff]

My first GSPs were severely stunted (many, many years ago before I knew any better). Despite that, they lived in their too-small tank ~10 years for me and a handful more with a friend who adoted them from me before he moved to another city (with puffer) and we lost contact, so I don't know how long they actually lived. Stunting with poor care and improper feeding can definitely shorten lives. Mine had good care and a diet on small snails (from my Cichlid fry grow-out tanks when in my care, and a snail-breeding tanks with their second keeper. I have to assume they would be considered healthy but quite stunted. GSPs kept in good water quality with a proper diet but grossly too small a tank may not be as damaged by stunting as we would expect. I do not recommend such housing, but a fifteen plus year lifespan for all four of them was not seriously damaging. They were quite healthy, alert and active, they just never grew up.

It is quite possible that even if your fish does not grow to full normal size, it may still have a decent lifespan. GSPs are super-hardy fish IME.

That is such a relief to hear! I feel a little better now.

[Mrs. Puff]

I often soak overnight & split between 2-3 feedings. Feed only medicated food for 3-5 days. You may have to re-treat.

I took your advice about feeding my puffer food soaked in prazi, and I think he's starting to gain a little weight! o:

[Pufferpunk]

Yep, he looks good!

[sgtmyers88]

Great