The Puffer Forum

Trying to figure out cause of death, need your help as I just started with puffers.
The tank is a 30 gallon (was told at the shop this would be okay, read otherwise on here afterward) freshwater tank (yes, I know I need to go brackish, picking up aquarium salt today). I'll post all of the chem levels later as I need to go pick up new testing materials, as for now all I have are fish and fish behaviors.
The other fish seem to be breathing more quickly than usual, and my pleco (about 8 or 9 inches) keeps going to the surface like he's going up for air. Everyone is swimming in their normal areas and levels, but just breathing a little faster and my two remaining puffers (GSP, about 1.5-2 inches) won't stop swimming at the surface with their mouths at the surface, bodies angled down like they're following something above the surface. My figure eight (same size, came from the same tank) died this morning, when I found him he was bloated, upside down, and his pattern had completely diminished. There were no more lines, his back was just all a very dark green/black color. When I pulled him out, though, it looked as if his gills were still moving, so I put him in a small hospital tank by himself until he was surely completely dead (didn't want to throw him out live even if he was almost dead). This behavior with my fish has been going on since about 4 hours after I acclimated and released my puffers into the tank last night. After I introduced the fish, I fed them ghost shrimp (live) as the Figure 8 had been attacking the two GSP's while in the bag. Prior to my puffers being there I had a much higher amount of fish (community fish I donated to a local aquarium), so I don't know why oxygen levels could be an issue since I've lowered my fish volume and changed nothing else but the puffers. Also, I have kept my tank well under the inch-per-gallon rule, and all other fish in the tank with the puffers have been getting along with them just fine.

If anybody out there can help, it would be much appreciated. Just trying to figure out a way to keep these little guys alive.

Glad to see you got over here. First, change half of the water immediately. Puffers produce a ton more waste than you can imagine.

Also, skip the aquarium salt. You want marine mix, like instant ocean, for salt water tanks Aquarium salt is just for treating ich.

The tank is probably way beyond the bioload it can handle. Just the pleco with no other fish is too big for the tank. It probably managed to hang in there supersaturated with fish because they were bought small then grew, but now that hold is gone and you have to cut way down on stocking. The pleco needs a new home for sure.

be sure to pick up marine salt not aquarium salt,
what type of filtration do you use?. when you added the new fish did you add the water that came with them?,
what is your temperature.(warmer water will require higher lvls of oxygen)
most times when fish at surface "gasping" it could be related to ammonia poisoning .
im sorry for your loss i hope your test results will help to isolate the problem.

also, I'm not running a salt water tank, I'm running freshwater but I want to go brackish. as soon as my girlfriend wakes up I'm taking the rest of the fish in to donate at a shop to decrease the bioload, and I'm replacing half of the water right now. I'll post levels when I get back from the shop. anything else I can do to help them?

With the fish that remain i wouldnt even worry about the salt right now... 2 gsp's at that size would be temporarily ok in that tank as long as its cycled(but not for long.) The pleco has well out gown that tank. If you cant get another tank is there anyway you can donate your pleco and one of the gsp's to the same place? They will need to be rehomed.

Donating the pleco and other fish today, if the two GSP's are the only two fish in the tank and they get along can I keep them together still?

What fish are you keeping that tank is only big enough for 1 gsp.. longterm. And thats the minimum tank size for them.

just replaced about half of the water and already all of my fish are breathing less frantically and one of the two GSP's has moved back down away from gasping at the surface. the other one isn't gasping at the surface anymore, just staying within the top three inches of the tank.

Bcummings8521 wrote:What fish are you keeping that tank is only big enough for 1 gsp.. longterm. And thats the minimum tank size for them.

I plan on only keeping the 2 GSP's, in the next 6 months (as long as my new apartment allows) I plan on setting up a 125 gallon. will the two GSP's be okay until then?

Thats a long time in a small tank. Bye then they could be around 3 inches or more if they are not stunted from being a small tank. I will leave that advise for the experts, but imo i would only keep 1 and try to get another one when you get the 120 gallon. You run the risk of doing some damage to the puffers if you keep them both.

Sorry for your loss,

If you go to the hospital forum there is a list of queries in red that you should answer so that the cause can be more clearly identified. My current assumption is water quality so I'd suggest that you do a massive water change - 80-90% and carry them out daily until the problem is sorted.

It would be handy to know your complete stocking list as the fish you have listed so far are incompatible:
Pleco = Freshwater.
Figure 8 = Low Brackish.
GSP = High Brackish with many members keeping them in marine conditions.

Once you have figured out all of your fishes water and tank size requirements then you can make a decision on what type of tank that you want to run and which ones to take back.

Sorry for the loss of the F8. Keep doing 50% WC every 12 hours, until you can get a test kit & then we can take you from there. Glad you're re-homing toe other fish. The GSPs will be fine in that tank for 6 months, as long as you are absolutely positive you'll be upgrading then.

Sorry I haven't updated yet, I've been extremely busy. All of my time spent off of guard duty (national guard) has been spent working on the tank recently. After several tank changes, several fish finding new homes, and another GSP dying, I've finally got my water to okay conditions. Now the last GSP (named Biggie) is all that remains, and he is back being healthy and adorable/vicious again after almost dying (woke up one morning to him floating upside down with his patterning on his back completely gone not moving until I put him in the net as to say "not the toilet, I'm still alright").
Thank you so much to everybody who helped out, wouldn't have been able to keep this little guy alive if it weren't for you guys!

Seems to be common here--buy 3, the strongest 1 survives. By the time the other 2 have died, the owner has learned enough here to keep the 3rd one alive for a long time! Sorry it has to be that way for the other 2 though.