The Puffer Forum

So I rescued a new spotted puffer from walmart... they were mislabeled as tetras (that shows how much they care for their fish), so i only payed like 3.65 for him. He's quarantined right now because he has Ich.
I also bought a new 30 gallon tank and need to find brackish plants to put in it.
the puffer is pretty big so I'm guessing he's a least 2 yrs old, which is really sad because he was taken from his home in the wild. I think he's homesick or something, he's scared too, so I was hoping to find out what kind of plants grow in Borneo (thats were I've read the puffers are found). So if anyone knows of any plants that do well in brackish water and are native to Borneo that would be great!

Treat for ISPs he will cheer up. Java Fern is a brackish plant. Also Java Moss.

Unfortunately, no FW plant will survive the levels of brackish water needed for GSPs. Also unforthunately, there are no mid-level BW plants available in the trade.

Your best bet is to use artificial plants and decorations.

If in desperate need, you can always do fake plants for now as well; and invest in real later. You can also give him some hidey room with a coffee mug or bowl propped up on something to provide room to get in and out, as well as the extra dark hidey hole! Having a definite retreat will help him be more comfortable and secure.

I agree with Ohyouknow, your puffer won't begrudge you if you get plastic plants, he won't even know the difference. But puffers do love having places to hide, so the ideas that Ohyouknow gave were very good. Also you can try terracotta pots, they work well for puffers to hide in. Coconut shells cut in half are another good hidey place. Even PVC tubes work well. Any place where the puffer can retreat and feel secure is good.
Your puff will cheer up, he's probably just getting used to being moved yet again and surely he will be happier with you than at Wal-Death.

Thanks guys! He's in a 10 gal. right now and I have added lots of little places for him to hide. So far he's gotten a little braver and has decided to explore his tank! His teeth are a little long though I've offered him snails but he isn't able to fit the whole shell in his mouth! So I'll just give him baby snails for now. Also, I want to treat him for IPs before moving him to the big tank and was wondering what the safest medication is for puffers?

Thanks again!

I think the medication most used for puffers is probably the Jungle Parasite Clear fizz tabs. They have 4 different medications in one tab so you're hitting the parasites from all sides, so to speak, which I think is better than just using one medication which may or may not do the trick.

Alright thanks! I have one more question; Do puffers prefer gravel or sand?
Since they don't have scales it seems like they would like sand better.. but I'm afraid they might accidentally eat some when picking up a snail?

Most people soak their puffers food in the medication. I used 1/4 tablet to approximately 1/4c of water and let soak for several hours or overnight. My puffers always ate the food well. This method is believed to be better for internal parasites as not all medications are easily absorbed through the gills.

Since GSPs need brackish water you should be looking at a substrate like argonite sand or crushed coral.

Thanks Flutter! That's very helpful!

Yep, don't worry about live plants for now. The few that can survive brackish won't live much higher than 1.008 or so, and a GSP needs to go more than that. Good news though is if you take him a lot closer to full marine, you can eventually get yourself some macro algaes.. there's a whole range of saltwater live plants out there too. Just nothing much brackish, other than mangroves, which are a pain in the rear.