The Puffer Forum

I have a GSP that I have had for about a month and I did a routine water change and I put him in a plastic bag during the water change like I had done five times before(He is really good natured, doesn't panic or anything like that), I let the water temp acclimate and I opened the bag and let him swim out. I had just turned around to clean up a spill I had made during the water change and turned back to find him sitting right on the bottom not moving, tehre were other forums about how a fish will curl up and fall asleep and it was like that only he wasn't curled up, his mouth wa just barely moving and he had dark patches on either side of his stomach. Is he just sleeping in a straight position or s it something else. I checked on him again midway through this post about ten minutes later and he was fine, swimming around as usual. I would think that he was fine but I really don't want anything to happen to him/her.
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
nothing added to water, not even dechlorinater because the tap water where I live doesn't have chlorine added to it. I feed him shrimp once a day and clean his tank about 1-2 times a week depending on water quality. He is a GSP in a 5 gallon tank and is about oen inch long. I hope he was just sleeping (I am slightly paraniod sometimes).

Sounds like he was just sleeping... But there is no reason to put him in a bag during water changes.
Also are you positive your tap water doesn't have chlorine? Because that would be pretty odd if it didn't. Your GSP needs a bigger tank, which could also be causing some problems. Have you read the GSP article in the library?

You have had him for a month - is he in brackish water? Even a 1 inch GSP will eventually start suffering from pure fresh water eventually.

I am new to pufferfish care, I am already trying to find an affordable tank that would fit him better, do you know anywhere that has good affordable tanks? i have no idea why there is no chlorine in the water but I know that there isn't any. I just finished reading the article about GSP in the library and found it very informative.

Craigslist is the #1 stop for cheap used tanks.