The Puffer Forum

ok ive had a gsp for a year now and it hasnt grown i feed him or her every day with a variety of foods including pond snails everyother day. Its not even 2 inches and no its not a figure 8. so whats the deal is he just a teacup or something. any way i was wondering because i dont want to keep hime in a 30 gallon tank all by him self i would rather put him in a 5 gallon is that too small for him with adequate water changes and two 10 gallon filters in the 5 gallon tank?
any one with knowledge please help. and the tank is on its way to full marine deff. brackish on hydrometer. very healthy happy fish.

GSP's are relatively slow growers and it sounds like he is about the proper size for his age. You need to keep him in the 30 gallon if you want him to be happy and healthy. By moving him to a smaller tank you would contribute to stunting him and shortening his life and filtration isn't the cause. Puffers are scaleless and and are easily effected by hormones that they secrete. Please read the stunting article located here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4030

Besides the stunting issue, GSP's are curious by nature and love to hunt. They need the room in a 30 gallon to explore and hunt for food. Eventually he should hit a growth spurt and start to put some size on him. When they do get to full adult size they get around 6 inches long and as big around as a Nerf Football.

I think that, although they are slow growers, some grow faster than others, as I have some that are quite big while a couple of the others are average size.

It would be very unkind to put a GSP in a 5-gallon tank.

As I said in the PM that you sent me, he needs 30g *minimum.* If you don't get him into a bigger tank, he'll die fairly quickly, perhaps within the year, if not less.

But don't panic and make rash decisions. Do the best you can and get him in a bigger tank until you are eventually to the thirty.

What size tank is he in now? Are you soaking his foods in vitamins?

Does his belly stay round even after he has passed his food. If not, and he has a sunken belly this is a sign of internal parasites. When I got my GSP I had to fight off internal parasites by soaking his food in meds. Parasites can prevent your puffer from growing properly.

my milk-spot doesnt seem to be growing either
he did the first few months i had him but then
seemed to just stop

Tank size? Test results? Water change schedule?

My baby GSPs were about 2cm (including tail) when I got them nearly 3 weeks ago. I swear that they are already 3cm now!