The Puffer Forum

I've had my GSP for 4 months now. He was about 2.5-3 inches when I first got him, and in the past 4 months hasn't really seemed to grow all that much. My girlfriend swears he's bigger, but I kind of doubt it.

He's in a 33 gallon right now, and I have a 55 just waiting to be set up (waiting for a custom stand to be built actually) which will be his final home.

I was wondering that maybe since he was already a large-ish puffer when I got him that he must have been caught in the wild fairly recently at that size, and that maybe being in a comparatively small environment now has perhaps stunted him more so than a smaller puff growing up in such an environment might be. If that makes sense.

Ideally I'd like to get him into the larger tank asap, but that might not happen until after Christmas when my dad gets around to making the tank. In the meantime I am tempted to get a temporary stand, but I don't have much extra cash to burn on it. Plus that would mean a lot of extra setup and moving around a full tank when the custom stand is built. But if he needs to be in a bigger space NOW, I'll bite the bullet and do so.

Please advise.

Obviously, I can't tell if it has grown as I have not seen it but I also don't think that my F8s have grown. Everyone else tells me they have grown, it's probably because we are the ones that see our puffers the most that we don't realise.

If the fish is housed alone in a 33, and you are taking care of the water, it is unlikely to be stunted. That tank, if like my 33s, allows lots of swimming space and sufficient water volume.

It is not easy to "see" growth in creatures you see and tend every day.

Well that's reassuring. If he has grown, it is barely though.

How long does it take for a GSP to reach full maturity? How long would it take to reach 3 inches?

I have a puffer that I'm pretty sure is stunted. She had probably doubled in size in a year, but that only puts her at about 2 inches.

So I feel your pain on that one. And I take excellent care of her water.

By the age of 18 months to 2 years, they should be at least 1/2 -2/3 mature size, oe 3-4". Under good conditions and care they can easily be larger in that time. After sexual maturity, growth slows markedly ( same time frame).

The kicker is that we never know how old they are when we get them.