The Puffer Forum

Hi, I'm Claudia and this is my first post. Sorry if my English isn't perfect, I'm Italian.

I have (had, actually) two GSPs, very small, I've bought them one month ago. Yesterday evening they ate normally (I've fed them with freezed artemia, as I was told by the seller), this morning they seemed happy and healty as usual.

This evening when I came home I found one dead (He was white, have lost all the colour, but I think it was like that beacuse he was dead). The other one appears now a bit sick, he usually swims in the top part of the tank, now he remains near the "floor".

Belly has always been white, the temperature is right and I also think water values are ok. What is grong? i don't want to loose the other one, too!

Welcome. You need to answer all of the questions at the top of the forum in red so we can try to help you. In the meantime, do a large water change.

Thank you

1) I don't know the actuak values of the water, I haven't the tests here, the seller told me that they weren't so necessary (was he wrong? I'm afraid he was )

I've of course added salt to the water, a spoon every 10 litres. This weekend I wanted to buy something to check salinity (sorry I don't know the exact name in english for that)

2) The tank is 25 litres, about 7 gallons (in fact it was just for now, I was planning to change tank for them soon). There were only the two puffers, very small ones, 2-3 inches each. Now there is only one left.

3) I feed them with artemia, one time every day. Every week I change about the 15-20% of the water. I use a product to balance the values of the water, the same that I use for my other freshwater tank, and then i put the salt.

4) I've changed nothing

5) before buying the fishes i let the tank filter the water for about 10 days, adding bacteria as indicated in the bacteria instructions

Thank you and sorry if my first message wasn't complete. I'm really a newbie about puffer fishes!!!

What "bacteria" did you add? Running a tank for a week doesn't "cycle" it, and more than likely your puffer's waste is poisoning them. They just can't handle dirty water (ammonia, nitrites) at all.

7 gallons is also way too small, these puffers need 30 gallons EACH.. and as I said, they are very sensitive, so in a tank that's too small, they'll get sick very quickly.

Right now you should be doing daily water changes to keep the water as clean as possible, and think about getting a larger tank as soon as possible.

What kind of salt are you using, aquarium salt or marine salt? You need marine salt. But by far, clean water is your #1 priority right now.

1. Yes, the seller was wrong. Its absolutely vital to know what the water parameters are. You need test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate at a minimum. What kind of salt are you using? You need marine salt, not aquarium salt.

2. 25 litres is far too small for a fish that gets 6 inches long unfortunately. You need a minimum of 30 gallons for each one of them, if it is really GSPs. What you need to do is post a photo if you can so we can correctly identify it. That will make a world of difference.

3. Artemia is insuffient a diet. Please read the food article in our library on proper varieties of food for them.

4. Unfortunately, if you are not in the US and used Biospira, your tank is completely uncycled and that is what is killing them. Bottles that supposedly contain bacteria actually contain nothing but dead bacteria and are useless for cycling tanks. As such, you need to do major water changes every day to try and keep him from being poisoned any further from his waste. Next step is to get a much larger tank (again, assuming it is a GSP) and start cycling it ASAP.

thank you very much!

I'll change the tank asap, and in the meanwhile i'll change water frequently. Surely I'll read about cycling and also feeding. Do you think krill will do better for them?

I use marine salt, thank you.

Tomorrow I'll take some pictures, now it's evening here so there isn't enough light for that, the fish seemed happy about the change of water and he is sleeping now

Thank you again. This is the only forum I found that is so good for infos about puffers, in Italy every person says something different, it's very difficult to have good information about them, not so many people have a puffer, it's not common.

p.s.: I used this bacteria: http://lnx.petingros.it/catalog/images/ ... 6d794b1c8f

In every country, unfortunately, the majority of people including shop keepers don't have any idea about the proper way to care for puffers. That's why we are here.

Krill is good for an occasional treat but not as a main diet. It tends to cause constipation and malnutrition issues. Shrimp, squid, clams, mussels, most types of seafood you can get at groceries stores (fresh or frozen, doesn't matter, just defrost first if they are frozen) is good for them. A variety is best.

Everyone here keeps saying that GSPs need 30g, which is very true for an adult & if you've got the money, by all means put it in one ASAP. If you don't have the $$$ & was tricked into buying a puffer you can't afford to house in a 30g right away, a 10-15g will suffice until it's a year old or 2". If the puffer you buy is already 2", then by all means it needs a 30g now.