The Puffer Forum

I have 2 spotted green puffer I bought from wal-mart { i know}. anyway they seem to lay at the bottom of the tank during the day but 1 comes out in the evening but the other just lays there in the cave they have. is he sick or what i like the fish and do lots to take care of them any help would be appreciated.

14 gallon tank.
no other fish just 2 gsp's
feed 1 time a day in late evening.
set up tank 3 months ago.
not sure of water parameters. I added 2 1/2 tablespoons of aquarium salt to tank at water change.
change water at least 2 times a month but will do it once a week from now on.

after I changed my water on tuesday night both puffers seemed happy. but i got home from on wed afternoon same puffer at bottom of tank hiding with black belly. I chatted with a person and he said that my puffer might have ip's.

I'm moving this th the Hospital Forum. Please read all the questions in red.

We need a list with as much information as you can provide. Most of it is listed in red at the top of the page, but we also need to know the type of water you keep them in (freshwater, brackish, or marine), as well as their sizes. Do their stomachs look sunken at all, are the fins tattered, and what colour are their bellies? How long ago did you purchase the puffers?

We can't help until you provide us with the information to diagnose your situation.

I have had the puffers about 2-3 months, their fins are fine not torn up at all. their bellies don't really look sunken to me. but 1 of them is always laying at bottom with black belly while the other is swimming around with a white belly. they are about 1 inch long or the size of your thumb, I add ad tablespoon of aquarium salt when i change the water. I do a 50% change around once every 2 weeks maybe 3. I need to do what to help them feel better.

Please answers all the questions that are in red above.
It sounds like it's either
!) Overstocking, they need 30 galons each and your gonna need to upgrade soon
2)Bad water quality, depending on the tank size you will probably need a lot more water changes, I'd recommend 50% a week.
3)They need salt, aquarium salt won't do much, you need actual marine salt, raise the sg by .002 a week until you get it at a good level.

Have you read the article on them in the library?

From what I've read, a black belly is indicative of sickness due to water quality. GSPs go to the bathroom quite a lot. They are very messy. I usually do a 50% change every 5 days. However, once a week will do.

ok i changed my tank last night probably 50%. both of my puffers seemed happy after i did the change. but today i get home from work and the same problem 1 puffer happy with white belly the other black belly. now what. I added 3 tablespoons of aquarium salt fed them last night and still angry puffer so i give up.

No one is going to be able to help you any more that what was said unless you answer the questions above in red.

guessing they can't answer the questions...

if you read this, please look into test kits for ammonia/nitrite and nitrate... they are not expensive and they are essential.

Do big water changes every other day and only feed every other day until you can upgrade the fish or they may well die from the toxic poisons in their tank...

please don't use aquarium salt, get some marine salt and a hydrometer and only raise the salt levels by 0.002 a week, otherwise all your good bacteria will be killed off and again you fish will die of ammonia poisoning.

What's going on with your fish now?

Unfortunately I think we're seeing here an all-too-common example of what happens when people adopt puffers from stores that have no clue about what they're selling. The person, seeing a cute little fish and meaning well, without being adequately or correctly informed by the store, adopts a puffer or two and takes them home, only to find that these little critters require just a tad more care than keeping guppies. Sooner, rather than later, problems arise and while initially they may try to help their fish, they end up getting frustrated, or unable to afford the added expense involved for things like crushed coral, marine salt, and a hydrometer, and...something awful ends up happening to the puffer.

Sounds like what happened to me. But, fortunately I found this place and learned a lot, before trying again.

Thanks, everyone!