The Puffer Forum

I went home over the weekend(Friday) and came back earlier today. The water temperature dropped since i left to around 68 degrees. I know this too cold for them, but am unsure if that is what caused the problem with my puffer.

I have two puffers about 3/4" in size in a 1g tank (with overhead light and air pump), even though this may be small they have kept their space, dont seem territorial, stayed lively, and been active for nearly a month, they usually even sleep next to eachother or relatively close together.

when i came back today, the smaller fish was lying at the bottom of the tank and was very disoriented, breathing heavily. would not eat after going a day and a half without food, and would occasionally swim in a disoriented manner or to the surface of the tank eating only small nibbles of the bloodworms.

I have no pH, ammonia, or nitrate testers, and have no access to any right now. The 1g was changed 2 weeks ago. I wish i could give accurate readings, but the least i can say is my other puffer is acting as lively as usual.

I placed the sick one (puffy) is in a seperate tank with conditioned water and a pinch couple salt rocks, and raised the temperature of the water to 79 degrees

I am a new to owning fish, and please tell help me find the best solution for the circumstances so Puffy can make it.
Thankyou...

Unfortunately, Green Spotted Puffers are terrible beginning fish. Welcome to the forum

Take the sick fish out of the new tank setup, and return him to the established tank. If he stays in the little one, ammonia buildup will kill him. These fish cannot live in a tank the size they are in, even tiny ones need to start in a ten gallon or lager tank, and cannot live long term (more than a few weeks) in fresh water. They need brackish, which is made with a sea salt mix, like instant ocean(not aquarium salt). It's not just small,it's inevitably fatal. See if you can get the store to hold them for you while you set up a ten gallon or larger tank and get it cycled. If you have a friend with a fish tank, you can get the ten gallon instantly cycled by putting a filter or filter cartridge(just buy him a replacement) unwashed and nasty into the new ten gallon. Check out the green spotted puffers article in the pufferpedia for an idea of what you are getting into with these fish. Change most of the water in the established tank, as well, so it's as clean as possible.

The GSP article can be found in our Library.

puffy has passed
i just returned from walmart, as that was the only place open, and checked the pH levels; They were too high so im trying to lower them now and i'll change the tank tomorrow. Luckily the other puffer is still okay.
RIP

Sorry for your loss. Please read the article in our Library on GSPs & also on fishless cycling. It will explain a bit of the biological process going on in a fish tank. You need a MUCH larger tank for this one to survive. You also need your own test kits.

You came to the righte place but you must act quickly to keep this one alive.

yeah, i shouldve came here first.
I was worried after seeing his(or her) condition, and found this website last minute to get insight :/ .
I will try to get a bigger tank ASAP (money's very tight right now)
Thanks for the help though, im sure ill have more questions in the future...

You could try looking on craigslist or in your local paper for used tanks, every once in a while you can find a cheap one on e-bay (usually for pick-up only, but there might be something close to you).
Good luck with your puffer.

Don't worry about bringing your pH down, I have no idea why people think pH is their problem when it almost never is.

Your problem is an uncycled tank, and the fish's ammonia poisoning them. Do water changes daily, or as often as you can. Clean water is your best friend.

And also read up on the articles if you haven't already.. if you aren't able to provide for this species, its best to return it to the store or find it a new home.

I totyallly agree with Myaj. If you can't get the funds to house this fish in a larger tank in the next few days, find it a more suitable home.

If you got your GSP at Walmart, please do not return it there unless you can personally watch them put the fish back in their tank. The Walmarts in our area flush live returned fish, even though the fish department people promise otherwise. We were told that it is their policy that they can not put returned fish back into their tanks for fear of disease.

FishFan wrote:If you got your GSP at Walmart, please do not return it there unless you can personally watch them put the fish back in their tank. The Walmarts in our area flush live returned fish, even though the fish department people promise otherwise. We were told that it is their policy that they can not put returned fish back into their tanks for fear of disease.

hahahaha! they're scared of getting a disease?!? have they looked in their tanks?

Jase wrote:hahahaha! [Walmarts are] scared of getting a disease?!? have they looked in their tanks?

Yeah, irony at its finest. After a year of our closest store holding to its promise to not sell GSP's anymore, we saw some GSP's there this week.

ludachris0606, how is your fishie? Hope it is doing better!