GSP's* and a bully

[raynen]

Hello, short time lurker, first time DP owner.

So these are my first pets. 3 cute as hell DP's. Names: Rolley Pollee, Prickly Goo and Jiggly Puff.

I've had my posse for around a month and they are doing... good.

A couple of questions for you knowledgeable awesome people.

I've heard that the belly represents how they feel. White = good, darker = progressing away from good. if that is the case, is it normal that the color changes frequently and quickly?

Is 3 dp's in this too much? (10g i believe)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21632568@N03/2568354206/

How do you tell gender?

Also, here is my real concern. When i got them from a friend the three were all cool. In the past couple days i've noticed that one has some pretty significant pieces missing from his/her tail. This one (named prickly goo) has always seemed to be the timid/shy/likes to hide one. The other two like to cruise around the top/front of the tank back and forth when i'm around, that one stays about an inch below and does something similar. Now i'm pretty sure this one is getting bullied and the question is, what am i to do?

[julianchan]

Hi. If you only have one aquarium and the pictures are of your fish, you don't have DP's, you have Green Spotted Puffers. They require 30 gals per fish, and they can get aggressive. To stop the fights, you will have to either get get a 60 gallon tank, or give one back, and get a 30 gallon tank. You can read up on GSP's in the pufferpedia. I recommend you do so. Good luck with your new pets.

[raynen]

Holy cow, you are right, these are GSP's, hmmm. Guess i got what i deserve trusting some random person telling me about my own fish. Thanks for the heads up, time to hit craigslist for a bigger tank.

[julianchan]

When you do get your tank, it would be a good idea to think about a different substrate for your tank. Though the marble like stuff does look good, I don't think its porous enough to support the bacteria that needs to live in your tank. For to try and cycle the tank quicker, you can kick start the culture with Bio-Spira. It would be a good idea to learn how to cycle a tank too, here is the link to fishless cycling. library/water-filtration/fishless-cycling/

Also, just on a side note, please be aware that GSP's require brackish water, and eventually saltwater.

If you have questions, ask here. This site is a wealth of information, experience and help.

[raynen]

Again, thanks for the input. My friend asked me if i wanted some fish, i said sure and here we are. I had no clue about cycling, how often to feed, how to test water. I seriously thought, ok, keep the temp at 78f and feed them once a day. Wow was i wrong. But i've got the itch now and i'm applying at a local fish stores for a second job to start learning about the fishes, or LFS as taught by TPF

Though i still was wondering about belly color change.

[recombinantrider]

The belly color of a healthy, happy and non-sleepy GSP is usually white with barely any grey dots. If the color is persistently dark that doesn't go away even after feeding, your fish might be really stressed out. The color fluctuates a bit throughout the day, but not dramatically over a short time. I have never seen my GSP's color to switch between white and very dark color in a short time. Other than belly color, GSPs also have "stress lines" that run between the corners of their mouth along the sides and their tails. They sometimes appear when the fish is stressed out or sleepy.

You're strongly advised to buy a complete aquarium test kit that allows you to test nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and pH, and keep a close eye on those levels since you're really overloading the 10G tank with 3 very messy eaters who are sensitive to the water condition. Good luck with your fish and please update us on their status.

[julianchan]

Sorry, I read that wrong, i could have sworn I read 2, not 3...in that case 90 gals. Sorry bout that. Being the size that they are now, you might be able to get away with about 10 gals per fish, but keep in mind, that is only very very temporary.

As per color changes, ditto what recombinantrider said. I'd just like to add, till you get a new tank, water changes, water changes, water changes. And I also agree with the test kit. One other thing, the color of a GSP can change rapidly, but only if its under severe stress or feels very threatened. BTW, it looks like a 20 gal that you have right now, but photos can be very deceiving.

Good luck with the LFS job! Hopefully you can make people more aware of puffer needs while you are working there. Not a lot of LFS's that I have been to know much about FW and BW puffers.

[Pufferpunk]

I'm afraid to say, in a 10g uncycled tank, 3 GSPs are doomed... You need to get a much larger tank if they are to survive & even then, you need to find some Bio-Spira to cycle it with. Did your friend give you the tank/filter & everything they had in their tank?