The Puffer Forum

To start things off:
pH - 7.8
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrates - 20 ppm
Tank Size - 10 Gal
Inhabitants - 2 GSP (both around 2in long)
Feeding - Daily (except Saturday's), Bloodworms
Water Change - Weekly, approx 25%, add back in cycle solution after every other week of water change
Changes - No changes in the past week
Did fishless cycling for a month, fishes have been in tank for around a month.

Problem:
- Algae growing in tank, I cleaned the top area with a quick wipe with that magnetic eraser thing. There is still a lot of algae on the plastic plants and rocks on the bottom ( need to know how to clear the algae on the bottom) I've taken the tank away from sunlight in the meantime too.
- One of the GSP is getting black below the eyes and belly, been on and off, every other day it goes black...the reverts to normal
- The same one going black is twitching a lot and he's doing a HARD brush on his side against the rocks like he's got an itch or something like that, been happening since yesterday
- The same one also started to hide in the plastic plants (didn't used to do this)
- The other GSP is totally fine, swimming away and enjoying his confined life

Side note:
- Been watching the GSP's sleep (with a flashlight on), they sleep funny, they sleep vertical down head first into the ground...I thought they were dead, but they were very much alive, just a weird thing I noticed.

What is your SG?
What does the GSPs color look like? Any change(other than black lines)?

IMHO - I think your GSP is stressed from too small a tank - 2 GSPs need 55-60g of room (even at that small of a size). Black lines running horizontal across the belly and under the eyes are a sign of stress - either from water changes or environment. If your water parameters are the same every day - then I would hazard a guess that it is environment.

I would also suggest changing their diet around a bit - offer them mysis, and bits of raw shrimp with the shell attached, and mussle meat. They like a variety of food (at least mine does) so I switch it up every so often.

Not sure about the Algae - sorry about that.

Keep us posted!

I would up the water changes to 50%, 2x/week & stop adding the "cycle bacteria". Most all products are nothing but dead bacteria--adding more waste to your already overcrowded tank. What are your plans on upgrading?