The Puffer Forum

so i have had this tank established with 2 red eye tetras, 2 mollies, and 2 gobies. Thats what i used to cycle the tank 2 months ago.
Today, i called the pet store i ALWAYS do buisness with , and they said they had 3 fahaku puffers in. They know i like puffers. haha
So i go over and pick out the strongest looking guy in the bunch.
I take him home and give him some guppies and snails. he was chasing them around and eating great.
it became late so i was just about to turn out the light and he started swimming up and down the sides like crazy. i tested the water tons of times...i used to have saltwater so i know how all that goes...and nothing. everything was reading great.
i had some green spots who used to do this at night as well from reflection i think..it was dark in the room. maybe?
i just brought this fish home...think its sick? any ideas??

Did you remove the cycling fish? There is only enough bacteria to support them. Otherwise, the bacteria will need to catch up to the bioload of the puffer. Essentially, cycling the tank with the puffer.

no i didnt move them out yet. i woke up and tested the water this morning. the nitrates and ammonia were trace, i changed about 25% of the water. i will test it again this afternoon. i will keep on changing water if needed.
he ate all the guppies and snails i brought him in with yesterday. so at least its eating.
i tried brine shrimp and he was not interested. so i just polluted the tank a bit more.
yesterday he seemed to be leaving the other fish alone. now he is going after them...he ate about 10 small guppies last night..baby ones..now hes goin for the larger fish. relocation of those other fish will be a must.
crystal k

if you keep feeding him live fish you are asking for trouble as it's not part of their natural diet and can bring parasites/bacteria into your tank and into your puffer.

Try shrimp, cockles, mussles, crabs .... as well as snails.

He is more than likely acclimatising and pacing because of it.. are there lots of rocks and plants in the tank for him to investigate? How big is the tank?

oh..that makes sense. so. i am getting some ghost shrimp, a small crayfish today, and am gonna try and feed him some regular shrimp. should it be cooked??
i am willing to do anything to get this guy as healthy as can be.
OH! and i looked on its tail, while swimming there is a small ball looking thing on it, its white...what can that be??

if you use raw food you need to freeze it first, then defrost it in a bowl of tank water and feed..

that way any bigs will be killed before they get a chance to get into your puffer..

as for the white ball on the tail, can you get a picture? Or discribe it better, as there are many thing sit could be..

using melafix and primafix is going to be a good place to start...

still need that tank size... Fahaka's get big and need large tanks.. he will be stressed and could be why he's pacing if his tank is too small...

i bought him a 65 gallon hex tank today and set it up. unfortunately the place i can set it up (floor bracing ) is where the smaller one was. so now he has a 65 gallon all to himself. i will have to keep an eye on the tail, and the nitrate ammonia levels.
i will send pics soon