The Puffer Forum

Even as babies puffers are very very messy fish. Even as babies they should already be in there forever home. You do run the risk of stunting and doing harm to the fish

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:A lot of people feel it's okay to "upgrade as needed" but the thing is it's not because a fish won't really grow in a tank that small so you don't know when to upgrade is the thing. Puffers should be introduced into their permanent home right away, however being in there for 1 week shouldn't hurt. You do however need to do daily water changes though. Also do you have a liquid testing kit? This is one of the easiest ways to put your mind at ease because you will know how your water really is.

Now, i don't know much about cuddlefish but if the tank size is what you say it you also need to keep in mind you need AT LEAST the minimum for that fish and the minimum for the puffer.

You seem very caring though and actually interested in doing this right so I'm sure you'll get the hang of all this stuff fast.

Yea, I believe he did get a liquid testing kit. I probably should have waited until I had the 55 gallon set up before getting him. I guess I was worried that someone else would buy him (Like I said earlier, he was VERY attentive/ easiest one to pick out in tank full of puffers) and end up killing him. I also still feel bad for having him in a tank by himself (ew, way to sound like a typical girl!) I mean I know they are territorial, but I just hope he doesn't get lonely by himself in the tank. But at the same instance, I don't want to get ANOTHER puffer when he was the most aggressive one in the tank at walmart and might just hate all other puffers. Ideally, I'd like to raise him to his adult size... boat him x amount of thousands of miles to his natural region and release him into the wild. Yes, I know this is unrealistic and won't happen. But it would be cool

xrayjeeper83 wrote:Even as babies puffers are very very messy fish. Even as babies they should already be in there forever home. You do run the risk of stunting and doing harm to the fish

You guys should probably change the information on this site then, at the very least. If I didn't read that it was acceptable, I wouldn't have done it. Petition imo. Especially since whenever someone joins a forum, they are expected to have read the articles or have done their own research before submitting questions.

Zeezer wrote: I also still feel bad for having him in a tank by himself (ew, way to sound like a typical girl!) I mean I know they are territorial, but I just hope he doesn't get lonely by himself in the tank. But at the same instance, I don't want to get ANOTHER puffer when he was the most aggressive one in the tank at walmart and might just hate all other puffers. Ideally, I'd like to raise him to his adult size... boat him x amount of thousands of miles to his natural region and release him into the wild. Yes, I know this is unrealistic and won't happen. But it would be cool

Another great link.
library/puffer-care/alone-but-not-lonel ... fers-solo/

Zeezer wrote:You guys should probably change the information on this site then, at the very least. If I didn't read that it was acceptable, I wouldn't have done it. Petition imo. Especially since whenever someone joins a forum, they are expected to have read the articles or have done their own research before submitting questions.

I agree, it does say short term 10 - 15 gallon is ok in the GSP artical in our library. I believe it should say for a very short time in emergencies with daily waterchanges.

Releasing him into the wild could cause problems for him anyway, but it is nice to think about.

Anyway, short-term it's fine to have him in a cycled 10 gallon. However, the 55 was a great choice and will be an awesome upgrade for him. That article on alone but not lonely is very good too.

Short-term means as long as it takes to cycle a larger tank!

I would say that our OP is evidently a very conscientious person; she has a plan in effect, perhaps this over stressing that 10 gallon temp tank is too tiny is not necessary. She is obviously already worried, but if she does her water changes, and the puffer is just in there while she sets up her 55 gallon, there really is no reason to keep pressing the issue. She already has the tank. I just felt as I was reading this that it comes across overly harsh and stressed, and perhaps lofty, but I know it's not meant to be.
It's not as if she is being disagreeable. :/

Zeezer wrote:Have you guys ever heard of a gsp being housed with an adult cuddle fish? I've tried searching online about it, but I'm not finding much! I'm guessing a puffer fish is way too aggressive and would try to eat the cuddle fish even if they were close to the same size.

What#s a Cuddle fish? Do you mean a Cuttlefish?

Ghost shrimp, when kept in a clean and filtered tank and well fed for a few weeks (3-4), are quite suitable food nutritionally, and provide live food to chase and capture. They do not have enough crunh to be good for dental plate erosion, but then neither do market shrimp. I do not know where that pernicious myth came from, but it pure mythology that they are unhealthy. They are not nutritious unless tended properly, but isolation or QT should be done on anything which is alive. Tending it properly during that period is normal and expected right? Why abuse something you intend to have used as food and prey?

On tank upgrades, my personal opinion and practice is that fish should be moved into their permanent immediately post QT. Frequenly my puffer are kept as singletons, so frequently their QT tank is also their permanent home.

If you cannot afford the proper tank from the get-go, you cannot afford the fish. Select a smaller fish that you know you can accommodate properly. I have been told that such advice is hard and cruel. Perhaps I had rather be hard on a person who can think it out than on a pet which cam live 10-20 years and has no control over its housing and care.

FWIW, HTH

I must say, I've been on several forums previously (mostly car forums) and I never knew that there was such a thing as aquarium elitists. You guys might want to take a step back and think about your behavior before responding so aggressively to new members. If someone is coming to the forum and asking for help, help them and don't be such a jerk about it. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a girl or some of you are just really miserable people but seriously...take a breather! It's not the end of the world, there's no reason to be so nasty. (Funny as to how people act so much differently online then in real life...or sad, depending on how you look at it.)

sevenyearnight wrote:I would say that our OP is evidently a very conscientious person; she has a plan in effect, perhaps this over stressing that 10 gallon temp tank is too tiny is not necessary. She is obviously already worried, but if she does her water changes, and the puffer is just in there while she sets up her 55 gallon, there really is no reason to keep pressing the issue. She already has the tank. I just felt as I was reading this that it comes across overly harsh and stressed, and perhaps lofty, but I know it's not meant to be.
It's not as if she is being disagreeable. :/

Thank you for understanding where I was coming from.

Arny wrote:

Zeezer wrote:Have you guys ever heard of a gsp being housed with an adult cuddle fish? I've tried searching online about it, but I'm not finding much! I'm guessing a puffer fish is way too aggressive and would try to eat the cuddle fish even if they were close to the same size.

What#s a Cuddle fish? Do you mean a Cuttlefish?

Because of the unprovoked underlying negativity that developed throughout this thread, I'm going to assume you were being sarcastic. If that's the case, I myself use to be a stickler for correct spelling etc. I apologize but as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I have a chronic condition. Sometimes I forget words, forget spelling, etc etc. Please accept my sincerest apology for not being a healthy adult who is able to communicate on the same level as you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgiven me. If however, you didn't jump on the bandwagon of being a jerk (Can't blame me for assuming you are a follower, most people are.) then well...not sure how else to take that but in a sarcastic manner. So no comment if that's not the case.

RTR wrote:Ghost shrimp, when kept in a clean and filtered tank and well fed for a few weeks (3-4), are quite suitable food nutritionally, and provide live food to chase and capture. They do not have enough crunh to be good for dental plate erosion, but then neither do market shrimp. I do not know where that pernicious myth came from, but it pure mythology that they are unhealthy. They are not nutritious unless tended properly, but isolation or QT should be done on anything which is alive. Tending it properly during that period is normal and expected right? Why abuse something you intend to have used as food and prey?

On tank upgrades, my personal opinion and practice is that fish should be moved into their permanent immediately post QT. Frequenly my puffer are kept as singletons, so frequently their QT tank is also their permanent home.

If you cannot afford the proper tank from the get-go, you cannot afford the fish. Select a smaller fish that you know you can accommodate properly. I have been told that such advice is hard and cruel. Perhaps I had rather be hard on a person who can think it out than on a pet which cam live 10-20 years and has no control over its housing and care.

FWIW, HTH

About whether or not I could afford the proper tank...You must have misread what I had posted (or have not read it at all.) I thought a 10 gallon would be suitable short term due to information I received off of THIS site specifically. I'm not irresponsible enough where I buy a living thing that I'm unable to take care of. (Again, I have no idea where you come up with that seeing as how I explained what had exactly happened...but whatever.) I too think that if someone can't afford a pet, I 100% agree that they shouldn't have that peet. (If this forum wasn't so sour, I would have shared a cute story about saving a dog right here .)


In closing, to all of the puffer elitists: (You know who you are.) Maybe you should think about investing some of your energy (don't take it for granted ) into more productive matters, like lobbying for Walmart to stop the sale of GSP's. Something similar to that nature, just an idea. This may seem like an overreaction, and I sure as hell will not be surprised if I get banned for standing up for myself (God forbid a noob talks back! omg!)...but whatever, this is what I get for asking for help online.

I am very definitely a fish elitish. I have been for decades and have no plans to change.

If you do not like my posts or my advice, do feel free not to read anything I write. The web is free, participation and reading and accepting what you read are purely personal choice.

As for your implications of sexual discrimination, are you aware that this forum was created by, is owned and operated by a female? It came about as outgrowth of mail groups and lists, and has developed into the primary web source for valid and workable information on a group of highly evolved and highly specialized fish? Sexual discrimination is not an option here.

OP - I think you're taking everything the wrong way. The people here are very very helpful and very nice. Perhaps you're reading posts in a negative way? I read through everyone's posts and there isn't a single negative thing. A bunch of good advice - yes.

Look at it this way... If you went on a dog forum and told them that you were housing a great dane in a small 4x4 room, do you not think you'd get some harsh answers? The same goes for a puffer in a small tank in my opinion.

My Fahaka puffer has been in its 150 gallon tank since he was the size of a nickel.

A dog forum not suggesting a 4 x 4 crate for great dane is not a good comparison. The fact is that TPF is where she read that a 10 gallon tank was a suitable quarantine size for a baby GSP.
library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/

The 55 galllon tank was already in possession and awaiting a stand in route to her house.
It's not very fair to provide information to people, only to fault them for being wrong with information this site provided. That's usually considered "a dirty trick".

It's ALWAYS best to house an animal in the best conditions available to your knowledge. If you had the knowledge available to house your puffer adequately immediately, that's fantastic. Not everyone here has had that benefit. When I first kept puffers, the internet was in the dark ages. Green spotted puffers were considered a low end brackish fish, and adult sizes were not well known.

Maybe that article needs updating. Also, it still says to use Bio-Spira & that's only for SW tanks now.