The Puffer Forum

It can't be perfect if your fish are sick I'm afraid.

I would love to know where the info is that you claim says they will be fine and who are the people that you spoke to?

Take it from me that LFS staff and knowledge and info of puffers in the public domain is very limited and very ill-informed. I too was duped by my LFS and I got Clooney as they assured me he would be fine in this tank. How very wrong they were.

You have come to this forum seeking advice and because it doesn't agree with your "findings" you have dismissed it. I feel very sorry for your puffers as at the end of the day the advice given here will keep them alive and well for many years to come. The people on here have made the mistakes and learnt from them in years and years of fishkeeping, this is passed on to those who wish to care for their puffers properly. If you cannot take this advice as it is meant to be taken, for the benefit of your fish, and not as a personal attack you should give the fish back to the store as you are not willing to care fr them properly.

If you keep your fish in too small of a tank they will probably never grow past the 2" mark because they will die first. Puffers are extremely sensitive to bad conditions, any little thing off will really hurt them. They just can't handle the stress other fish types can live through.

Go back to the people who told you it was okay to keep them in a 10 gallon tank. I'm serious now. Ask them how long they've been able to keep a GSP alive. If its not 5+ years, that right there should tell you they are doing something wrong. If its only 6 months or a year, obviously they are doing major harm to the fish to kill it that early in its life.

That should be all the "convincing" you should need to tell you which advice is better, theirs or ours. Of course, if you only want to believe what makes you happy, don't even bother, because you are going to do whatever you want to the fish anyways.

These are fish that can live 10 or more years if kept properly, and many people here are doing just that! They should grow to the size of a small football and when fully grown, could barely even turn around in a 10 gallon tank!

I'm no "fish specialist" but here's my take on the size of the tank....and some other things......

In the wild, fish can swim around free wherever they want. Just like on earth, we can roam around free. Ummm.....now I wouldn't want to be stuck in my small room all my life. A house is big enough to walk around in...but a room is just not big enough.
Same with fish.....

Imagine the tank you have.....
Imagine the tank you have... sitting in a river.
Imagine a fish from the river (like a puffer) swimmin around in the river, then getting stuck in that tank!!! It would be like "ahhhhh i wanna swim i wanna swim...let me out!!"

Hopefully you can see what I'm getting at here.

I mean, if you think your puff is comfy in his tank, you could be right!!! But at the same time, wouldn't you feel so great to upgrade him??? So he can feel more "free" when he swims around?
Does he have enough room in your current tank to swim fast??
It's a nice gesture to your fish to upgrade anyways...so why not do it?

Wouldn't you be happy moving out of a small room, into a big house!!

And....you said he's still a small puff....well if he's in a small tank...he isn't going to be able to grow. So you can't wait for him to grow, THEN upgrade....you have to upgrade and THEN he'll grow. <---very important!!!!

Or....he'll grow on the inside...but not the outside....then he'll get all sad and stop eating and turn a dark colour then die.

Hopefully this sheds some light for you, and good luck

great points there sparks42

I always think it odd when someone posts their puffer is sick but their tank is perfect. Most fish get sick because their immune system is compromiseed, usually from stress.

I would say the best thing to do is get a larger tank. The fishes are obviously stressed out because there's not enough space. You say you'll get a bigger tank when they get bigger than 2", to tell you the truth they probably won't reach 2" if you keep them in the tank that small because they'll either die from their own waste pollution or they'll be stunted and die.

You say you won't see them if you get a bigger tank. You will!!! because they come out and greet you when you approach the thank, I know this because I have a 40gal for a single GSP and he greets me all the time.

In the end it's up to the owners, if you really care for them then they'll live a long life. If not, then I just feel sorry for your GSP... Hope everything works out