The Puffer Forum

Hi fellow forum viewers, experts and mods

I am a novice to Green Spotted Puffer and got one about a month ago.
What I am about to say below will probably sound idiotic and many of you will probably ask me to return the puffer so it doesn't suffer abuse from a terrible owner such as myself.

I started a 10 gallon tank a month ago for my Green Spotted Puffer. It's a 10 gallon tetra starter kits
The local fish store sold me the Green Spotted Puffer as a fresh water fish.
The Green Spotted Puffer was placed in a 20 gallon tanks with other fresh water fish such as fancy guppies, snails and etc.
The local fish store told me, they place it there to deal with the "snail problem" in the tank, and would gladly sell the puffer to me.
The Green Spotted Puffer had an adorable eyes and swam up and down, so I can't refuse.
I was a hobbyist of goldfish, Betta, and fancy guppies before, but never have I look deeply and taken into consideration about the pH, salinity and gravity of the aquarium. Meaning, I would change the aquarium water 100% , empty the tank, place the fish in a seperate container with 50% of original water and start fresh tank of tap water from the sink each month with 50% of the original tank water. I recently found out that by doing so, it stressed out the fish. As far as the pH, salinity and gravity for my fancy guppy/goldfish/Betta tank, I never taken much consideration. I would pour a tea spoon or rough approximation of ammonia, aquarium salt, and coating solution into the tank without putting too much care.

So, recently I bought the puffer along with a 10 gallon tetra starter kits.
I added the gravels, decorations, filter, heater, air pump into the tanks and before I release the puffer into it's new home, I let it adjust to the tank by placing the bag into tank, and do 15% water change with the bag so it can adjust. I finally let the puffer out of the bag without the original water from the local fish store's water after three hours. The water was not tested for ammonia, salinity or gravity. I added the "starter kits solutions" that came with the 10 gallon tetra fish tank along with marine salt that I purchase when I bought the Green Spotted Puffer.

The puffer seems to be doing well, it's belly is creamy white, but earlier today, it was rubbing it's belly against the decoration in the tank, and it kind of worry me.
Also another concern of mine is, it's been close to a month and I have yet to feed the puffer any "crunchy food" other than freeze dry krill. I went to petsmart and got some free ramhorn snails, but the puffer don't seem to be in any interest in them, so i took them out. I also worry that the snail might cloud up the water or carry bacteria/parasites. The ramhorn snails doesn't seem to move after i dropped it into the tank, so I worry that they might die and clouds up the water because the tank is some what brackish.
I read on the forum stating that another possible approach to possibly get puffer to eat snail is by "smashing/crack" the snails and I did that, the puffer ate one, so it's a good sign, but the petsmart is far from my dorm, so getting them is very difficult. Due to the nature of my dorm space, I am only limited to having 1 ten gallon tank. I was wondering if there are cheaper/easier alternatives to snails so it can trim it's beak. Possibly clams from safeway or something.

Regarding to puffer's diet, should I by any chance feed it any form of vegetation? or fruit?


I do no have any plants or decorations in the tank besides a bridge
The Green Spotted Puffer often hides underneath the decoration bridge that i bought and I have no other decoration besides that, should I add more decoration so it has places to hide.

Also when puffer "sleep" do they curl up in the ball like shape? I once came home from school at night found it curled up beneath the bridge decoration, and I was wondering if that is normal, since I couldn't find any information on that.

I know that 10 gallon tank is small for Green Spotted Puffer, but I was thinking because I only have 1 Green Spotted Puffer (it's about 2inch/2.5 inch), it wouldn't be a problem for the size and I will move to a larger tank when it grows bigger.

Any tips/advices or hint would be greatly appreciated

Thank you
-m3m0ri35

Wow....Let's address this point by point.

m3m0ri35 wrote:Hi fellow forum viewers, experts and mods

I am a novice to Green Spotted Puffer and got one about a month ago.
What I am about to say below will probably sound idiotic and many of you will probably ask me to return the puffer so it doesn't suffer abuse from a terrible owner such as myself.

Would never call someone a terrible owner, usually they were just misinformed.

m3m0ri35 wrote:I started a 10 gallon tank a month ago for my Green Spotted Puffer. It's a 10 gallon tetra starter kits
The local fish store sold me the Green Spotted Puffer as a fresh water fish.

Like usual, like I said~misinformed..LFS's are notorious for this with puffers albeit there are some really good ones out there.

m3m0ri35 wrote:The Green Spotted Puffer was placed in a 20 gallon tanks with other fresh water fish such as fancy guppies, snails and etc.
The local fish store told me, they place it there to deal with the "snail problem" in the tank, and would gladly sell the puffer to me.
The Green Spotted Puffer had an adorable eyes and swam up and down, so I can't refuse.

They are cute little buggers aren't they?!

m3m0ri35 wrote:I was a hobbyist of goldfish, Betta, and fancy guppies before, but never have I look deeply and taken into consideration about the pH, salinity and gravity of the aquarium. Meaning, I would change the aquarium water 100% , empty the tank, place the fish in a seperate container with 50% of original water and start fresh tank of tap water from the sink each month with 50% of the original tank water. I recently found out that by doing so, it stressed out the fish. As far as the pH, salinity and gravity for my fancy guppy/goldfish/Betta tank, I never taken much consideration. I would pour a tea spoon or rough approximation of ammonia, aquarium salt, and coating solution into the tank without putting too much care.

Ok, this is a whole different ballgame. No need for aquarium salt, adding ammonia, or stress coat. This could damage a puffer. When you place a filter on a tank it serves multi purpose, obviously getting rid of waste through mechanical filtration is one. One of the other functions of a filter is to grow bacteria whose sole purpose is to breakdown ammonia and nitrites (which are poisonous to fish) and convert them in to less harmful nitrates. Aquarium salt isn't necessary for brackish water, marine salt is.

m3m0ri35 wrote:So, recently I bought the puffer along with a 10 gallon tetra starter kits.
I added the gravels, decorations, filter, heater, air pump into the tanks and before I release the puffer into it's new home, I let it adjust to the tank by placing the bag into tank, and do 15% water change with the bag so it can adjust. I finally let the puffer out of the bag without the original water from the local fish store's water after three hours. The water was not tested for ammonia, salinity or gravity. I added the "starter kits solutions" that came with the 10 gallon tetra fish tank along with marine salt that I purchase when I bought the Green Spotted Puffer.

Ok, the tank needed to cycle first before you put the fish in there. Read the article in the Puffer library on fishless cycling (excellent article will explain the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate cycle better). How much salt did you add and what kind?

m3m0ri35 wrote:The puffer seems to be doing well, it's belly is creamy white, but earlier today, it was rubbing it's belly against the decoration in the tank, and it kind of worry me.

Not sure on this, any white spots on the fins or body?

m3m0ri35 wrote:Also another concern of mine is, it's been close to a month and I have yet to feed the puffer any "crunchy food" other than freeze dry krill. I went to petsmart and got some free ramhorn snails, but the puffer don't seem to be in any interest in them, so i took them out. I also worry that the snail might cloud up the water or carry bacteria/parasites. The ramhorn snails doesn't seem to move after i dropped it into the tank, so I worry that they might die and clouds up the water because the tank is some what brackish.

Ramshorn snails may be on the big side for him. Snails you feed him should be about the size of his eye for him to be able to munch them.

m3m0ri35 wrote:I read on the forum stating that another possible approach to possibly get puffer to eat snail is by "smashing/crack" the snails and I did that, the puffer ate one, so it's a good sign, but the petsmart is far from my dorm, so getting them is very difficult. Due to the nature of my dorm space, I am only limited to having 1 ten gallon tank. I was wondering if there are cheaper/easier alternatives to snails so it can trim it's beak. Possibly clams from safeway or something.

Clams, mussels, shell on raw shrimp, and crab legs work well. Make sure these are all uncooked, buy them fresh and then freeze them to kill bacteria and parasites. With clams and mussels I open them before feeding and take the meat out but leave a little on the shell. I cut the meat in to quarters and freeze it on a plate for later. Give him the shell with a little meat on so he has to scrape his teeth on the shell. The shrimp I freeze whole and slice off tiny slivers when I need it. One shrimp last my GSP quite a while.

m3m0ri35 wrote:Regarding to puffer's diet, should I by any chance feed it any form of vegetation? or fruit?

Not too sure on this but I give mine cooked frozen peas. I cook them then take the outside shell of the pea off and drop them in. Helps keep them from getting constipated.

m3m0ri35 wrote:I do no have any plants or decorations in the tank besides a bridge
The Green Spotted Puffer often hides underneath the decoration bridge that i bought and I have no other decoration besides that, should I add more decoration so it has places to hide.

Yes, you need more decor. These guys love to hunt and explore. If they have a lot of plants and structure they are happier, some people even rearrange their tanks regularly to keep them occupied.

m3m0ri35 wrote:Also when puffer "sleep" do they curl up in the ball like shape? I once came home from school at night found it curled up beneath the bridge decoration, and I was wondering if that is normal, since I couldn't find any information on that.

This is normal, kind of like pulling up the blanket.

m3m0ri35 wrote:I know that 10 gallon tank is small for Green Spotted Puffer, but I was thinking because I only have 1 Green Spotted Puffer (it's about 2inch/2.5 inch), it wouldn't be a problem for the size and I will move to a larger tank when it grows bigger.

A 10 gallon it too small for him. These guys are messy eaters and produce a huge amount of waste for their size and in a 10 gallon the waste will overwhelm him if you do not do 50% water changes and gravel vacuuming at least every other day. GSP's require 30 gallons minimum to survive and bigger to thrive. They get up to 6-7 inches long and the size of a small Nerf football when full grown and will eventually require full marine conditions.

m3m0ri35 wrote:Any tips/advices or hint would be greatly appreciated

I'll be as gentle as I can but, I think you may need re-home him, especially if all you are allowed is a 10 gallon tank. Thing that need to be done to keep him as is for a short time: Buy a water test kit that includes ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH and test every other day. Ammonia should = 0, nitrite = 0, nitrate <40 (20 in this case). Do every other day, if not daily, 50% water changes. Get a hydrometer that measures Specific Gravity (SG) starting at 1.000 (tap water should be 1.000) to monitor how much salt (must be marine salt not aquarium salt) you are adding. By adding marine salt you change the specific gravity and that is what you need to monitor. The SG on GSP is 1.015 (high brackish) to 1.0024 (full marine). Salt mixing requires it's own bucket, power head, and heater (could write a whole entire article in itself on how to do this). Honestly I think the best you could do for him right now would be to find someone with the resources to care for him or return him to the local fish store.

Thank you
-m3m0ri35[/quote]

You NEED to get water dechlorinator, if you don't already have it. You'll need to add this every time you do a water change.

If you're unable to keep anything larger than a 10 gallon, you'll need to find a new home for your puffer. It's very sad, but in this circumstance, it is our best suggestion. If you have a friend who also keeps fish and has the space, you might consider giving him to them so the puffer can have a 30 gallon tank.

There are puffers you can keep in a 10 gallon tank called Dwarf Puffers. You should only keep 1 to 2 of them in a 10 gallon. They only get to be 1 inch at max, so they won't be as big as your GSP. They are also freshwater, so you don't have to worry about brackish water and whatnot.

I would find him a new home.

I would agree, not because you are a terrible owner or anything, but simply because a GSP can't survive very long in a 10 gallon tank. They are messy fish, very sensitive to poor water quality and get pretty darn big. Keeping them in too small of a tank even when they are small stunts them and that does permanent damage that can not be reversed later in life.

I do want to add.. I think probably 75% of the people on this forum found us because of being in the exact same situation you are in. The pet store tells us they are freshwater, will eat snails, a community fish.. that's all poor info but you go to a pet store expecting them to know SOMETHING about the live animals they are selling, so you trust them. Poor fish..