The Puffer Forum

Ok.....so I have 2 puffers...Odo and Cassie. Odo is a green spotted puffer and Cassie is a figure eight. Odo is usually an enthusiastic eater and loves raw (frozen and then thawed in tank water) shrimp cut up into bite size pieces. He will need a bigger tank..I know. But when?? Is he needing one now??? He doesn't even look at his food while Cassie vibrantly eats. He just traces the wall of the tank ALL DAY. Does he need a bigger tank or is something worse wrong with him??? Oh and besides that he shows no signs of sickness. Please Help!!

1. water parameters are unknown at the moment-I haven't had it tested recently..salinity is around 1.012
2. 10 gallon tank...Odo, Cassie
3. Feeding, once every other day, water change, once, quarter-half change every week-2 weeks, have previously added cycle and safe start.
4.No changes
5.Aquarium has been set up since Nov. 2008 had puffers in it since Feb. 2009 cycled with fish (1 Mollie) for awhile fish died, tank water cleared up while cycling had water test once a week until good. Added Cycle and finally Safe Start and then tank was ready for puffers according to LFS. Had it cycled for 3 months until water was ready.

You need to get your own liquid test kit and check parameters. I imagine that it's high time to separate these two into larger tanks. Nitrates are probably getting very high, considering that the tank is probably overstocked (how big are they?) and that you're not doing at least 50%/week water changes. They're probably also quite stunted.

The SG is pretty darned high for a F8...

Are there enough decorations in there?

Go do an 80% water change now and see if anything improves.

everything LGP sounds like awesome advice..... but btw, i heard when puffers (mainly GSPs) trace the tank walls or pick one wall to swim up and down on all day long, it means their really bored, which means their tank is probably too small and they dont have enough decorations to explore..... it sounds like its time for their "big kid tank" consider looking for one soon.... thre are lots of local ebay-type websites out there where you can find dirt cheap tanks locally..... well, good luck! and if you have a LFS that carries garlic gaurd, that stuff is an appetite stimulant, just soak their food in it, and they should gobble it right up.... it also helps boost their immune system because it has vitamin C in it

I would say the tank is definitely too small for both puffers. The F8 could remain in the tank they are in now, but the GSP should have a bigger tank on his own. I also think that what kilofey has said is probably right, the GSP is most likely bored of it's surroundings and things aren't interesting enough for it, hence the pacing. When you do set up another tank for the GSP, make sure you make it interesting, placing rocks and/or ornaments so the puffer has to swim over and under things, places to explore, plants, even if plastic, are a good option too. Keep in mind that the tank you put your GSP in is his home and he can't leave it and go some place else if he's bored. You need to make it interesting enough, afterall, you wouldn't want to live out your life in a 10' x 10' empty cell, and that's a good way of thinking about how your puffer feels.

Added Cycle and finally Safe Start and then tank was ready for puffers according to LFS. Had it cycled for 3 months until water was ready.

I'm a little confused here.

Thank you for all of your advice. We are searching for a bigger tank for Odo. Last I checked, btw, he was about 2-3in and Cassie 1-2in (long) and we do know that the water parameters are a little too high for Cassie, my lfs said it would be ok up until about where I'm at because it's hard to cope with a brackish fish and a soon-to-be saltwater fish (: I guess I should've thought of posting sooner but i'm glad I did now...the store I bought them from sold odo to me as a f8 because he has wide, interlining spots and we just thought he was brightly colored...when I got Cassie we knew it was a different story. Anyways thanks for all of your help, and pufferpunk, I mean those are the products that were put in during cycling.