The Puffer Forum

I just got a really cute little puffer today, his name is Billy, and he has a cut on his belly. It isn't bleeding, it just looks like the skin is missing. The manager of the pet store said he was okay but I'm not sure. He's swimming fine but he isn't eating. Is he okay?

Please list the answers to the questions above.
What type of puffer?
What tank size?
Melafix should work.

Oh yea.
What are you feeding him?
Puffers sometime take a lil while for them to get used to the tank

1. I haven't tested for ammonia and stuff but i put nutralizer in and there should be none. The salinity is 1.025 on my hydrometer.
2. 20 gallon tank, with a silver tipped shark (about 3 inches) and a puffer (not sure what kind) he's about 2 inches.
3.flakes and sometimes prawns, i added instant ocean yesterday and stress coat and stress zyme to the water
4.i just got the tank yesterday and it had no fish in it for 24 hours and just had the filter and air running. I put my shark in after that and bought the puffer today.
5.since yesterday. i just had the water sit with nothing in it for a while and added the stuff i said earlier.

and i fed him some flakes and a few shrimp.

What does you puffer look like?They dont eat flakes by the way.they need live or frozen food

he's yellow-ish brown-ish with brown spots. he has really feathery and flowy fins and has a skinny tail and really big puppy dog eyes.

Sounds like a green spotted puffer.Pictures will be good.
They need 30 gallons each. they are brackish which they later go into full saltwater tanks.best kept alone. rlly cool fish though.hard to take care of some times.
Look at this
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Nigroviridis/
and
library/puffer-care/the-story-of-puffy- ... ed-puffer/

BTW Love your icon

Your tank is not cycled, and puffers can only be introduced to a fully cycled tank. Bacteria has to build up so that the waste products the fish produce that become poisonous to the fish can be converted to harmless substances, and this takes lots of time. If you're at 1.025, go buy some Bio-Spira immediately, which will add the bacteria you need and your tank will cycle in a week more or less instead of 1 month and a half. This is a marine puffer you bought, right?

He doesn't look like the pictures on there. I'll take a picture of him.

and thanks. =]

yes, he's a marine puffy.

that's billy.

Looks like a porcopine puffer, you need a way bigger tank. At least six times bigger, and fully cycled.

porcupine puffer.120 gallons each.

Oh my. That's a porcupine puffer and, I hate to say, will not survive long in that tank cycled or not. Porcs require at least 120 gallons to survive and even lager to thrive. Here's their link:
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Marine/D_Holocanthus/

The silver tip is a shoaling fish, needing at least 70+ gallons reaching 12+ inches in a cycled tank.

Hanna, I'm really glad you found us. If you really love that puffer (& the shark), please, please please return them both! You have not set up anything near what is necessary to keep this beautiful fish alive. After you bring them back, you must do a TON of research here to find out what you need to keep any kind of puffer. I really pray you do the right thing by that puffer.