The Puffer Forum

You want 0 Nitrites, 0 Ammonia and Under 20 for Nitrates

if your water is ok....your puffer will be fine....my gsp does that all the time...usually when the lights are off....after the lights go on...and after i feed it...its belly is white again....i have 2 gsps and 1 figure 8 in the same tank...and only one gsp does that...

It's important to remember, when using belly color to determine the state of a puffer, that it's a subjective emotional response on the part of the fish. Some species are moodier than others(Sabahensis comes to mind as the moodiest of the belly color changers) and some individuals are moodier than others; one may get a dark belly at the slightest hint of foul water, another, just if he's grumpy when everything is fine, and a third might be so cheery he'll have a white belly right up until some bad parameter has him at deaths door.

UPDATE: my ammonia is below .6 and my ph is between 8 and 8.5, Nitrites and Nitrates are both 0

Sounding ok now? my puffers barely ever show the black belly emotion anymore

Much better! As soon as that ammonia is down to trace(will be VERY soon) you'll be able to stop with all the water changing and settle into a weekly schedule.