The Puffer Forum

I have a young, young mbu puffer that is breathing ~ 120-140 times per minute (I am counting outward movement of the gills).
Have not seen him breathe this fast before.
Current water specs:
Temp ~77-78F
pH ~7.6
Nitrate ~20
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Lots of air bubbles created from heavy duty pump.


Tank has been setup for 6 weeks now. Has had 50% water change 2 weeks ago.
I have a scheduled professional tank cleaning for this upcoming Thursday, but am wondering if I need to be concerned about my puffer's activity.

What's a professional tank cleaning ? I'd do a WC right now. What size tank is he in & how big is he? When were those tests taken?

A professional tank cleaning is when you pay a company to come out and completely take care of the aquariam. I am not a marine biologist
or an aquatic whatever.. I pay for people that specialize in that to take care of it for me. The MBU is very small, only about 3.5 inches long and 2 inches at his widest point.

LOL, I don't think we have any marine biologists here! It's not hard to take care of a tank. Pretty much just feed the fish & do weekly water changes. How big is his tank? When were those tests taken?

Well this morning he was breathing really really fast and heavy and was staying hidden.
I don't know if I am just over-thinking the matter or what; however I put him in an isolated tank
"emergency tank" with some food in there so I can monitor him better. I have not really seen him eat
in several days. I usually feed him either chunks of raw shrimp, aquatic snails, or freeze-dried Krill.
He seems to like the snails the best, however I haven't seen him attack or eat them for several days.

Here is a picture of him:

Here is a picture of him in the emergency tank inside the 72-gallon aquariam. I am doing this temporarily to monitor his feeding.
The other fish cannot get to him or his food with this temporary arrangement.

Are you aware that Mbus get to three feet and require 1,000 (that's one thousand) gallons, as an absolute minimum?

I can't believe you'd let a fish grow to two feet in a 72g. It wouldn't happen. It would become stunted before it could even get that big.

And have these biologists and store owners (surely you know how unreliable your average pet store is?) kept Mbus? Have they ever personally dealt with them. Have they ever had this fish and seen it grow to its full size? The people on this forum know from experience what an Mbu needs to live a long and healthy life.

OF COURSE it's hard to convince someone to make such a purchase. That doesn't mean that the purchase shouldn't be made. If you're not willing or able to spend that kind of money, then you shouldn't keep fish that grow to three feet!

The reason we kept asking about the tank size is that an inappropriate tank size is one reason your fish could be breathing rapidly - it can be a symptom of further problems caused by the tank.

The store I purchased this Mbu from has a puffer that is 12 years old that they had since a baby and it is at least 24" and its in a 150 gallon tank.
Fish is very responsive and looks very healthy. I would take its sign of activity as a sign of happiness.

So, obviously you haven't had experience with Mbu's yourself. Cause what you say can't happen can and has. You're obviously
very opinionated... 3000+ posts in under a years time. I'm just trying to give this puffer a good life, better chance with me
then somebody who would buy it and stuff it in a 20 gallon tank. Maybe you should focus your energies on making these fish
endangered species if you are so passionate about 1,000 gallons.

I'm sorry you are unhappy with our responses here. You haven't even bothered to answer the few simple questions I have asked you to try to help remedy the situation. I really don't see how we can help at this point. You don't even think it's worth learning how to take care of your own pet.

gi1911 wrote:I am done with this forum. This is my second post of concern about by puffer since I've had him and both times all I hear about is that this little
3 inch fish needs a $20,000-$30,000 - 1,000 Gallon tank. I understand it can give massive. When and if we get to that bridge of it getting 2 feet or greater in size, then we will
cross it with care and concern with the fish's best interest as the first priority. This fish's health is important to me and I never can get a relevant answer to a current concern. All I wanted to know
is what are reasons why the fish is breathing rapidly. If anyone has experienced it before and is there a way I can calm it down.


I have discussed this 1,000 gallon tank issue with everyone in real life, including marine biologists, Houston Downtown Aquariam employees I've ran into,
as well as multiple fish service/store owners. They all disagree with the 1,000 gallon concept unless its a commercial attraction. I can't get in contact with
any of these people on a Sunday morning, thus why I haven't asked them my dilemma. It would be hard to convince anyone to make such a purchase and that would
take up an entire room in their residence.

Thanks for nothing Pufferforum.com

I feel very sad after reading this post. You wanted to know why your puffer was breathing rapidly - the reply you got was asking all about water condition etc, that is imperative in the well-being of any fish. There is no way your question could have been answered without people from the forum enquiring further about the conditions the mbu is kept in. I am a vet nurse & it would be like someone phoning the surgery & saying "my dog is breathing heavily - why?" There is absolutley no way that could be answered without alot of questioning - & even then, we would probably need to see the animal. No body was having a go at you, just trying to point you in the right direction. Alot of people post on here, who have been given bad advice from shops & have no idea that the cute little puffer that is currently 2" long is going to grow the size of a small family car! Most are shocked & horrified that they have been given the wrong info & most want to do right by the animal. Yes, 1000 gallons is an advisory tank size for a Mbu, there is no law! No doubt yours will do ok in a smaller tank, but he could do much better/grow larger/live longer in the largest possible tank. The people on this forum love Puffers & want to do their best to ensure each one has a long & happy life - especially as alot of them have been plucked from the wild. I hope you will rethink your situation & return to the forum - you will meet some fab people & get some great advice. Just try not to take things personally - remember a forum is for advice & for people to express opinions. Most importantly, I hope your little Mbu is ok?
I'll stop rambling now!!

There is an excellent article stickied in our Giant Puffer forum about keeping a mbu in a 180g tank & the dream of a 1000g system & another one about a similar fate, in our Library.

The article by Stuart Morse in the Library is a brilliant & interesting read.

gi1911 wrote:I am done with this forum. This is my second post of concern about by puffer since I've had him and both times all I hear about is that this little
3 inch fish needs a $20,000-$30,000 - 1,000 Gallon tank. I understand it can give massive. When and if we get to that bridge of it getting 2 feet or greater in size, then we will
cross it with care and concern with the fish's best interest as the first priority. This fish's health is important to me and I never can get a relevant answer to a current concern. All I wanted to know
is what are reasons why the fish is breathing rapidly. If anyone has experienced it before and is there a way I can calm it down.


I have discussed this 1,000 gallon tank issue with everyone in real life, including marine biologists, Houston Downtown Aquariam employees I've ran into,
as well as multiple fish service/store owners. They all disagree with the 1,000 gallon concept unless its a commercial attraction. I can't get in contact with
any of these people on a Sunday morning, thus why I haven't asked them my dilemma. It would be hard to convince anyone to make such a purchase and that would
take up an entire room in their residence.

Thanks for nothing Pufferforum.com

HEY You dont have to go nuts man like some of the ppl on here!!! A 1000 Gallons for one puffer is a waste of money and completely Ridiculous unless you have a WHALE. Smaller Tanks wont Stunt a Puffers Growth (But not tooooo Small), Look at me I have a FAHAKA PUFFER who grew from 2 inches to 5 inches in a 10 Gallon Tank. Then I upgraded him to a 20 Gallon Tank and hes has grown to 8 INCHES LONG in 6 Months and stuffing his face all the time / happy as Hell.
So the fact you have a 4 inch MBU in a 72GALLON tank is Perfect for him!! DO NOT BUY A BIGGER TANK TILL he hits 1 Foot long which will take a year or so depending on how much you feed him.

ILLNESS: Breathing Rapidly, Does he have any other symptoms (Like Spots or Growths / Sores on his Skin or Fins??)
If Not it may be a bacterial infection of the Gills causing him to extract LESS Oxygen from the Water? Or as LilGreenPuffer said it maybe your Water Quality / Oxygen levels in the water! Check your Nitrate Levels again, What are they? if they are really High it means you have too much bacteria in your tank sucking up all the Oxygen hence the MBU Cant Breathe.
Causes of this are over feeding and / or not cleaning up all the food after hes finished eating cause they make a mess!!!!! Excess of waste from uneaten food /**** can cause your Bacteria Populations to spiral out of control in the tank. So Oxygen levels will decrease and Ammonia will get real high. Is your water cloudy ?
My advice to you is check Ammonia levels if high do 50 - 70% water changes daily! Do not Overfeed him, so feed once a day and any food left at the bottom clean up as soon as hes finished eating / Scoop up any **** he produces asap the Longer that stuff lies in the tank the more it will decompose and spike your Nitrate levels.
remember Water Changes add extra oxygen to the water! You can buy from your local LFS a CO2/ O2 tester to determine what the oxygen levels are in your water.

On another note when you do water changes do you condition the Water with a Water Conditioner (Blue Liquid)??? You must always add conditioner to Fresh water added to your tank to Remove all the Chlorine that is found in Tap Water. As Chlorine in Tap Water can burn the Gills of any Fish, and eventually cause the gills to stop working properly hence the fish would be gasping for Air, and Eventually Die!!!
Hope that Helps?

[Curse words edited by PP]

You, sir, are a nincompoop.

We've already asked you not to curse on this forum, as we have very young posters, so please refrain from doing so.