The Puffer Forum

Hello fellow puffer lovers! I'm new to the forum, and just wanted to see if anyone out there could help me with a concern of mine. I've had a GSP since October. He is now about 3 inches in a 20 long aquarium. About three weeks ago I finally got him into full marine water conditions. It is at about 1.026 right now. I have heard that some people have had luck housing GSP's with clownfish, so I added a pair of them. Everyone got along surprisingly well. Recently, however, my GSP has taken to hiding all day. He turns fairly black and lays between two pieces of live rock, only coming out to eat. His fins are all intact - I see no signs of physical harassment by his new tankmates. Water parameters are fine. Amonia: 0, Nitrates: 5, Nitrites: 0, Temp: 80. Is it possible that he is intimidated by the new fish? If that is the case, how can I encourage him to come out more? I feel bad watching him lay there all day. Has anyone out there ever had a similar issue, and if so, how did it resolve itself? Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hola, welcome to TPF
As I can tell your tank is a tad bit small. Each GSP would need 30 gallons each, they get 6 inches big. Do you know what kind of clowns you have? Maybe try giving him a treat? I think he wants a big tank.lol

Depending on what kind of clownfish it is, it could be bullying your GSP, especially given some cramped conditions. Your GSP requires 30 gallons of space itself, and with a tankmates in there, you might run into territorial arguements,

I myself have a GSP in a 50 gallon tank with a clown, so far the clown has been the one to say "Stay Away!", but otherwise they are doing fine together.

I would say, if you can, get a bigger tank for them, ASAP, and if you can't do that, the clowns should go. And you will want to get a 30 gallon at least for your GSP, or you might end up with stunting issues, which will shorten its life. Being scaleless fish, they are more prone to stunting and water conditions.

Can't stress enough that the tank is too small, which is probably a major contributing factor.

Welcome to TPF, BTW....

Your salt is a little high. I would bring it down to about 1.022. A too high of a density can cause salt to build up on fishes gills. I am moving this topic to the hospital forum.

I agree, long story short, tank is too small for all those fish, and the salinity is a bit too high, I'd bring it down over the next couple of weeks to 1.022 or 1.023.

Clowns can be evil little terrorists, especially when they are a pair, and defending territory. GSP's can be nasty, mainly due to their teeth, but they are fat little fish that can't defend themselves very well against harassment.

I am working on getting my GSP re-situated into a bigger home. But that may tank some time to aqcuire, then cycle and so forth, so I am wondering if there is anything to be done to aid him in the meantime. I hand-fed him to make sure he gets food; I've begun lowering the salinity. Is there anything else I can do? I hate seeing my puffer unhappy.

A divider may help.