The Puffer Forum

I don't know what I did wrong, everything was exactly right, and I killed him

Sorry for your loss. Is it possible that the store you got him from can offer an exchange or refund?

Sometimes just the stress of being moved from tank to tank can make a puffer sick. It's not your fault mate. These things happen.

I'm a bit scared of getting another one, I think I need to learn more first. Spud was amazing, fascinating, but he worried me so much. I've spent the whole time frantically monitoring him, his tank, fretting over every little colour change. Plus, nobody round here really sells them, he was given to the LFS because he ate his tank mates - his previous owner had him in with a miscellaneous load of fish, and he naturally saw them as on tap dinner

I can't think of anything I've actually done to him, all I can come up with is stress, or that they moved him into the going home bag in a net, I didn't actually see them put him in though as I was buying him moss balls and more plants. He's the only big puffer they had, they have a couple of little greenish patterned ones in, but they don't normally stock them.

Stop kicking yourself! You did all you could, you were on here before you took him home. I'm afraid it is just one of those things. I think you should get another puff, not many people care enough to seek more informed peoples opinions prior to bringing a puffer home, you did though so puffers belong in your life. Maintain the tanks cycle whilst you work out what to do as you don't want to start from scratch

sucks when it happens, had a new abei die on me last year, it took a week for him to die (had no clue his activity/feeding level were not correct being my first abei). when they were catching him to put him in the bag they were going to take him out of the water to do so, I stopped him from doing that but it turned out he had a large air bubble in him anyway(only guess is when they moved him from their holding tank to display tank they pulled him out of water just like they do with every other fish). When I went back for a new one I had them pull it from their holding tank while I watched to make sure it did not come out of the water at all. This one immeadiately ate waayyyy more than the previous one and was a lot more hyper. Fish shops that don't normally deal with puffers don't necessarily understand there are different methods you have to use on these fish, and it doesn't help when there are 20 different employees some know and most don't.