The Puffer Forum

My sister gave a a fish, and I have figured out it is called a "green spotted puffer" or something to that affect. I had a fish tank and she no longer wanted the fish (had just gotten it from walmart) so I took it. Now I see I am in over my head! It is in a 2 gal tank (I think it is 2 gal, maybe 1 1/2) and that is the only tank I have. I hope to get a lager tank later this month, but for now it is just not in our budget. It seems to be happy right now, but I dont want it to die so soon.

I understand I need to add salt to the water. Can I use table salt for the time being? I can get to pets smart tomorrow night to get salt.

What kind of salt should I get?

I have read they need to eat snails. Are those the huge snails, or the itty bitty ones that breed like crazy?

What do they eat other then snails?

Do I need to provide a place for him to hide?

He is kinda hanging out at the bottom of the tank, is that normal?

Do I need to heat the water? Can I do that without buying a expensive heater?

I do not have a filter, but I do have a little thing that puts bubbles in the water, does that do anything? How often should I change the water and add new?

I am sorry if I am asking to much, I am just so in over my head and I really dont want this little guy to die. I really like him, lol.

Sorry to tell you it won't last 2 days in there, never mind months. Puffers are high waste producers & a 1" GSP requires a minimum of a 10g heated (it's a tropical fish) pre-CYCLED, tank. Eventually it'll need a minimum of 30g, as it fgrows to 6". Don't worry about the salt right now or even snails.

Please read the article on them in our Library.

You are definately in over your head. My best suggestion would be to look around for a shop to take him tomorrow.

I do not know of a fish shop around here, she got him at walmart and I dont think they will take back fish.

What can I do (other then to buy a larger tank) to help him survive until I get a larger tank?

Well, I can get a 10 gal glass tank tomorrow. What kind of filtration would I need?

It's definitely not ideal, but if you can get a heater and a filter going, you might be able to keep him for a little bit of time in a rubbermaid container. It's not a tank substitute, but a few people on this site have used it successfully for a short period of time, and a 20 gal rubbermaid container is better than a 2gal container, especially if it's uncycled.

Ahhh this is a idea. Thank you!!

welcome to the forum

you will need an actual filter too. I have an AquaClear, and they are fairly cheap, but still pretty good.

also since it's not cycled, you will need to get a liquid test kit and do daily water changes. their waste will poison them otherwise.

the best way to keep your new friend alive whilst you get a filter etc going is water change.

Big daily water changes... without fail, no excuses, everyday..

Use tap water and prime...

Have you kept fish before? Do you have other tanks? If so, use some of the substrate from those tanks? And some of the filter media?

If not, then read everything you can about green spot puffers and cycling tanks, (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates....)


and ask as many questions here as you want, no one will mind helping i promise.

good luck.

I have changed his water twice, and I got him yesterday. I plan to keep up with the water changes.

I have a small heater fan blowing on the tank an it is keeping his water warm.

I am getting a 10 gal tank this weekend (free of craigslist) to tide him over till we can get a larger tank.

I am going to petsmart as soon as my husband gets home to get a test kit, a temp gage, and I hope a small filter.

I am using tap water but I got a little bottle of stuff to hep clear out the chemicals in the water and things like that. I think next time I change the water I will use our water filter also.

The only fish I had before was a small goldfish, and the move from maryland to here kill the poor thing. This is the only tank I have.

I am reading everything I can. I have read most of the post in this fourm as well as another tropical fish site.

He seems happy, his belly is white, and from what I have read that is a good thing. He is swimming around and looks at me when I check on him. I am also going to get him a plant to play with.

Will he be ok without eating until Sunday? I have read that they are ok with only eating every few days. I am fearful of feeding him in this tank because I dont want to over load the water.

One thing he is doing that I find odd is he curves his tail quite a bit. I cant tell if he is trying to turn and it helps, or if he is sick.

calebsmama1 wrote:One thing he is doing that I find odd is he curves his tail quite a bit. I cant tell if he is trying to turn and it helps, or if he is sick.

Puffers move in a unique way. Sometimes they are only curling their tail to maneuver in the water or rotate their position/facing. I have seen one of mine curl his tail and float about in the water in a silly manner, kinda of hinting at a tummy ache, but after interacting with him he returned to swimming about. Also my puffs all sleep on the floor or on a plant leaf. When they rest like this, they usually curl their tail to maintain their position and/or just kind of cuddle with themselves.

A sick puffer will tend to not want to move its position at all, saving their energy.

Hopefully this helps you figure out why he is curling his tail.

-UMB

He is moving around. His tail looks like sme of it got ripped off, I cant tell if that was from his tank mates before I got him, or if he did it himself.

if hes curving his tail it can also be his defence stance. ive seen alot of puffers do this escpecially my dwarf puffers. im sure they all do it.
he may just not be use to you and is showing you he is frighten. the longer you have him the more he will get use to you. mine did it all the time and still does if i get too close too often. they are funny little guys. maybe this helps.

There is still hope! In Nov We ended up w/ 2 green spotted puffers from wal mart in a 2g tank thx to the sells person and us not knowing better.

Upgrade the tank ASAP. If the tank is not cycled you need to Get Bio Spira and prime shipped over night from Dr foster smith or from the fish store and make sure the bio spira was kept cold through shipping And learn, learn, learn about your new friend or... find him a good home . I can say puffers are worth a larger tank. I don't think any other fish compares to a puffer IMO.

Please don't use Bio-Spira. It's effectiveness is iffy and you could be spending your money on something that will not work at all. You can check out the article on Fishless Cycling here in the library. In the mean while keep up with those water changes and make sure that when you do change the water that the temp of the water going in matches the temp of the water going out.

Well, I went and got a testing kit, a temp gage and a small filter.

the nitrate and nitrite are 0.the total hardness is 75, or soft. Chlorine is 0. total alkalinity is 80. ph is somewhere between 7.2 and 7.8(the color on the strip is between the two.)

The ammonia was between 0 and .25, and the take temp was like 90, way to high. I turned off the heater.

The pump is a problem. He is getting drawn to it. Not getting sucked up in to it, just kinda stuck around it. I'm not sure what to do about this...

Also, he is swimming with his face down and tail up. He seems to be looking for food. I put a bit of dried shrimp (got it at petsmart to feed along with small snails) in the tank. He found some, ate it, then like jumped around the tank. I could swear he was happy.....I'm not sure fish can show they are happy in that way? Does him swimming like that mean he is dying?