The Puffer Forum

I have a small GSP (1 inch) that i recently bought from walmart. The only tank setup my mom could find in walmart was the Eclipse 5 gal. mini bow aquarium. So she bought that. I realize, now, that I should have waited.

I have a heater, a thermometer, a filter, lighting, fake plants, a little cave he likes to sleep in, and a bubble wand. I feed him freeze dried blood worms and frozen blood worms. I cruched up a ramshorn snail for him last week, and hes also had a shrimp tail.

His belly is bright white. His back end looks pinched, but his poop looks normal for a fish. Is he just skinny, or is this IPs? If it is IPs, can I use the fizztabs that go in the water, or do those not work? I dont know how to soak food in medication.

WalMart does carry 30 gallon tanks.
Was the shrimp tail cooked or raw? They really need to eat raw foods.
Pictures would be nice.
Also, can you tell us all your numbers? Water temp, pH level, ammonia, nitrates/nitrites? What SG do you have him in now?

Well.. Mine doesent carry them.

I dont have anything to measure the pH, ammonia, or nitrites/nitrates. All that I have for my tank is what I mentioned in my first post, along with Aquarium salt and a trial size water conditioner package.

My temperature, though, stays between 78 and 83 degrees farenheight.

You need to pick up water tests ASAP. You added the puffer to an uncycled tank, and with the spikes in ammonia and nitrates that will be happening, your puffer will most likely not make it.

If you can you will need to get some marine salt instead of the aquarium salt as aquarium salt doesn't do the job. All i can suggest is keep doing water changes as many as you can and see if you can get some bio-spira (i think thats what it is called) to help cyle your tank. Also a bigger tank asap. I would just like to say that you did the right thing coming and asking for help. I hope someone else can add some more advice soon for you.

Adding a puffer to an uncycled tank that is to osmall for it is a disaster to the poor puffer. Please do your best to get a larger tank ASAP & Bio-spira (or SafeStart) to instantly cycle it. DO NOT LET THE SHOPS SELL YOU ANY OTHER PRODUCTS!!! Only other chemical you'll need for your tank is Prime to dechlorinate the water. Get a filter that will overfilter the tank, like an Aquaclear 300 (don't know the new #s of those filters).

Well. Before we got the tank, he was in a little bowl. He was in the bowl because I was trying to fill up my glass 10g in my bathtub (dumbest idea ive ever had in my whole life!) and it cracked with the weight against the drain. So he was in the bowl for 2 weeks, with 2x daily water changes before and after school. My mother then got me the tank and accessories for it. Its got a tetra whisper filter meant for a 10gal. on it, and a heater that heats it up to 82, then shuts off and lets it go down to 78 before heating it up to 82 again. I added him to the unfiltered tank only because he would have died with another day in the bowl, as he had gotten very very lethargic. He has now been in the aquarium for 6 weeks. With no problems at all. he eats normal, LOVES the salty water. I do a 1gal. water change once every other day. I do, however, have bubbles all over the top of my aquarium.. Is there such a thing as over airation?

That's no excuse. I believe the lesson learned here is if you weren't so intent on getting the puffer the same day as the tank, the puffer would have never wound up in a bowl in the 1st place. Even if the tank had cracked in the tub, the puffer would have still been in the shop. Now he is living in a tank that is not cycled & is way too small for it. Please follow the advise given above.

buddysrider wrote:Well. Before we got the tank, he was in a little bowl. He was in the bowl because I was trying to fill up my glass 10g in my bathtub (dumbest idea ive ever had in my whole life!) and it cracked with the weight against the drain. So he was in the bowl for 2 weeks, with 2x daily water changes before and after school. My mother then got me the tank and accessories for it. Its got a tetra whisper filter meant for a 10gal. on it, and a heater that heats it up to 82, then shuts off and lets it go down to 78 before heating it up to 82 again. I added him to the unfiltered tank only because he would have died with another day in the bowl, as he had gotten very very lethargic. He has now been in the aquarium for 6 weeks. With no problems at all. he eats normal, LOVES the salty water. I do a 1gal. water change once every other day. I do, however, have bubbles all over the top of my aquarium.. Is there such a thing as over airation?

Why has this fish bin in that small of a tank for 6 weeks? It is not good enough for a GSP you need a 30 gal for this fish.

Pufferpunk wrote:Adding a puffer to an uncycled tank that is to osmall for it is a disaster to the poor puffer. Please do your best to get a larger tank ASAP & Bio-spira (or SafeStart) to instantly cycle it. DO NOT LET THE SHOPS SELL YOU ANY OTHER PRODUCTS!!! Only other chemical you'll need for your tank is Prime to dechlorinate the water. Get a filter that will overfilter the tank, like an Aquaclear 300 (don't know the new #s of those filters).

I have a question myself. I started out with (and still use) Tetra AquaSafe to dechlorinate and API StressZyme for bacteria, should I switch to the products you said? I also use Tetra EasyBalance, do I not need this?

kelsi.nikoel wrote:

buddysrider wrote:Well. Before we got the tank, he was in a little bowl. He was in the bowl because I was trying to fill up my glass 10g in my bathtub (dumbest idea ive ever had in my whole life!) and it cracked with the weight against the drain. So he was in the bowl for 2 weeks, with 2x daily water changes before and after school. My mother then got me the tank and accessories for it. Its got a tetra whisper filter meant for a 10gal. on it, and a heater that heats it up to 82, then shuts off and lets it go down to 78 before heating it up to 82 again. I added him to the unfiltered tank only because he would have died with another day in the bowl, as he had gotten very very lethargic. He has now been in the aquarium for 6 weeks. With no problems at all. he eats normal, LOVES the salty water. I do a 1gal. water change once every other day. I do, however, have bubbles all over the top of my aquarium.. Is there such a thing as over airation?

Why has this fish bin in that small of a tank for 6 weeks? It is not good enough for a GSP you need a 30 gal for this fish.

I agree that he will need to get a 30g tank in the not to distant future but you've got to remember that it's a 1inch GSP not a fully grown 6.5inch adult

buddysrider have you got any friends that have aquariums?

If so you need to ask them if you can have some of their filter media. If you do manage to get some make sure you bring it home in a bag with the water from the aquarium it came from to keep the Bacteria alive for the journey.

If you don't have a friend with filter media find a LFS and ask them for some and if they cannot give you any filter media try and get a small bag of their gravel as this should also have the bactieria in it. Put the gravel in a stocking and place it in your filter

I have a feeling this guy could be the same troll from before.

damn trolls

Christemo wrote:I have a feeling this guy could be the same troll from before.

which guy?

Sponge bob wrote:

Christemo wrote:I have a feeling this guy could be the same troll from before.

which guy?

Post was deleted, but I thought he was "keeping" 2 GSPs in a 10 gallon and he was telling us how they have too much room and how he could put another 6 in easily.