The Puffer Forum

Hi,

I recently purchased 2 GSP's and adore them. For now they are 11/2 to 2" and are doing fine in my 10g tank. I know I'll have to move them but when? What substrate should I use, marine sand or regular old gravel? Can they get along in a 30g tank or do I need to go bigger? Thanks!

A 55 is generally considered to be the smallest tank two can do well in, but a 65 fits better in many people's homes, because it's only 3 feet long, but is 18" deep, so it still gives a lot of floor space but doesn't take up a 4 foot long section of the room. You can use regular gravel when you move them if you prefer the look, but marine sand can be made "live" by seeding it with sand from an old well established salt water tank or by adding good quality live rock, so many people use that so they can get better water quality and can do less water changes.

I've upgraded to a 55g. Right now I'm staying low brackish so I am using a mixture of clay and gravel for substrate, with live plants, driftwood, etc. Puffers like it but Pillow is a little sick, hope he recovers, see my string in the Hospital forum on that. I just added my light upgrade and it made a huge difference. More later...

Best luck

Hey guys!

I am Tinus; I got my 3 GPS's yesterday! They are so awesome!!!
But there is some issues that concern me; please can someone direct me to an conclusion please?
They arrived yesterday at the pet shop where I ordered them from and placed them in my home tank!
When I switched the light on after they adjusted to my water tem/quality and environment I saw that they are very thin and their fins are bitten very badly; I can see their jaw lines and their stomachs are not pure white!!!!

Did I buy sick GPS fish or are they just stressed due to the travel from provider to pet shop to my house and what can I do to get them round and healthy again???? I have Tetra min and Tetra veggie do I need other food to help them reach their full body healthy glow again other than the usual shrimp, snails and blood worms that I will give them from time to time????

Thank you
Tinus

Please read the articles in our Library on GSPs & also on fishless cycling.

tinuspuff wrote:Hey guys!

I am Tinus; I got my 3 GPS's yesterday! They are so awesome!!!
But there is some issues that concern me; please can someone direct me to an conclusion please?
They arrived yesterday at the pet shop where I ordered them from and placed them in my home tank!
When I switched the light on after they adjusted to my water tem/quality and environment I saw that they are very thin and their fins are bitten very badly; I can see their jaw lines and their stomachs are not pure white!!!!

Did I buy sick GPS fish or are they just stressed due to the travel from provider to pet shop to my house and what can I do to get them round and healthy again???? I have Tetra min and Tetra veggie do I need other food to help them reach their full body healthy glow again other than the usual shrimp, snails and blood worms that I will give them from time to time????

Thank you
Tinus

You could have a couple problems here. What size tank are they in? You'd need at least a 90gallon tank for the three of them. And the diet your giving them needs to be changed. Puffers eat hard shelled meaty foods, such as crabs, scallops, oysters, crayfish, and snails. They won't get the nutrients they need from what you're giving them.
Check out the article in the library here, and my website (greenspottedpufffer.net), it should give you a good idea of what they need.

I have read and did everything you said; my tank is the right size everything! Its how I got them that I am concerning about! I have snails; shrimp and bloodworms in their diet!! Its just that I am scared that I boaght ill ones because they are so fin!

Is it because the Pet store didnt feed them right maybe??? Or what signs must I look for illnesses
They dont have white spot
No fin wrotting and their skin looks fine

It just looks like anarexic puffers!( What else can I do???
Their apetite started to pick up yesterday after I have given them blood worms!)

Any other advice????

watch for white stringy poo. this is usually the first sign of internal parasites. now if it is IP i would not be the one to know the best treament becus ive never had to but i do know thats what to look for. Other than that i would just continue to feed them a meaty diet and try and get some weight back on them if they were underfed. im assuming you have the proper salinity (marine salt not aquarium salt), ammonia, nitrite, and all that stuff.