The Puffer Forum

I was just wondering if anyone can help me out with my stars and stripes puffer. I got him a little over a week ago and he seems to be adapting very well to his new environment and tank mates (1 Humu Humu Trigger, 1 Maroon Clownfish, 1 Snowflake Eel). My question has to do with the fact that he changes colors often and seems very lazy (laying on rocks/fake corals but never on the bottom of the tank) when he is not being fed. I have always heard that these guys have great personality, but this is my first puffer and I don't have much experience with them. I also noticed that he very rarely has his tail fanned out the whole way. He basically only opens his tail when he gets caught in the current or is chasing a piece of food.

The water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10 nitrate (or less depending on water change date). The water is kept very clean with a wet/dry sump, a coralife super skimmer, and a fluval 405 canister filter. The substrate is 2" of aragonite sand and there are petrified coral base rock and synthetic corals in the tank for decoration/hiding spots. There is a Koralia Evolution 1400 for current across the tank.

Here are some pictures of the puffer so you can see what I am talking about with the color change. He can go from basically all black, or gray with spots and stripes, to olive green with spots and stripes, to almost camo colored with spots and stripes! Sorry the photos arent so good. Blackberry Bold isn't the best for this!

Yesterday (10-12-10)








Today (10-13-10)

Welcome to the Puffer Forum. Fat little guy you got there, did you just feed him/her? Looks pretty good to me might just be settling in, they tend to change colors when stressed, sleeping, eating ect. What size tank do you have?

In the pictures from today he was just fed a mix of PE Mysis and Bay Scallops. Unfortunately they are all stuck in a 55 gallon for the next 4 months but I have a 210g in storage for when my lease ends here (condo board has a 50 gallon max) in 4 months and I can move into my new place (owned, no tank max!). It should be ok though with all the filtration, the weekly water changes, and the fact that all the fish are under 3" other then the eel.

Let him get adjusted...Remember that he can see outside of his tank so action on the other side of the tank could stress him out.

He may also just be sleeping

Puffs like to have a place to chill..usually a cave or something...he probably is just looking for that place..

You puff is known for having a good personality, put he is also "sometimes" known for being laid back (which is a good thing for his tank mates)

purplecandle wrote:Let him get adjusted...Remember that he can see outside of his tank so action on the other side of the tank could stress him out.

He may also just be sleeping

Puffs like to have a place to chill..usually a cave or something...he probably is just looking for that place..

You puff is known for having a good personality, put he is also "sometimes" known for being laid back (which is a good thing for his tank mates)

Yeah it seems like he found a couple spots he likes. He also likes to lay on the Koralia where it sucks water in (is this normal?) I am sure I am just worrying too much since it is my first puffer but I want to make sure the little guy is good to go!

haha my GSP sits on my koralia sometimes. im guessing its normal cause he swims off when he wants and goes about his business as usual. its only been a week since you got him and he has eaten so i would say hes doing well. just might be a little stressed from being taken from the wild, to the distributor or to the pet store and now to your house. so once hes used to everything and has gotten used to his tankmates and all he should be a character. have you seen him poop yet? puffs are known for internal parasites so just keep an eye out for white stringy poop. my GSP has guinea pig type poop lol just to give you an idea what it should look like

I have a 210g in storage

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That will do for the puffer but not any other fish, unless you plan on upgrading again. IMO, you shouldn't have bought this fish, until you were somewhere you could upgrade. Things happen--sometimes we can't plan for expensive moves/upgrades, etc, especially in this economy. I also suggest dumping the cannister filter, they are considered nitrate factories. I suggest getting some healthy, established live rock (1.5-2lbs/gal) & a much more efficient skimmer. That puffer will be putting out a TON of bioload.

Oh & BTW,

jus85411 wrote:haha my GSP sits on my koralia sometimes. im guessing its normal cause he swims off when he wants and goes about his business as usual. its only been a week since you got him and he has eaten so i would say hes doing well. just might be a little stressed from being taken from the wild, to the distributor or to the pet store and now to your house. so once hes used to everything and has gotten used to his tankmates and all he should be a character. have you seen him poop yet? puffs are known for internal parasites so just keep an eye out for white stringy poop. my GSP has guinea pig type poop lol just to give you an idea what it should look like

I have seen him poop, it looked like little green/red pellets. I also purchased the fish from Old Town Aquarium in Chicago who are very well known for selling healthy fish. I guess I am just concerned because I have never kept puffers before!

I was posting (look above), at the same time you were. Did you tell OTA what size tank he was going into?

Pufferpunk wrote:I was posting (look above), at the same time you were. Did you tell OTA what size tank he was going into?

Yes, they know me and my tank but like I said the size is very temporary.

Thanks for the helpful info. They will all be in a 300+ gallon within a year. I just don't want to purchase anything new until I am moved in so I can get something custom built by Old Town Aquarium and the fish will be fine in the 210 for at least that time (with 55 gallon sump and 15 gallon refugium = 280g system). The canister filter is just there to supplement the existing fully cycled wet/dry filter sump with bio balls and the filter sponges get cleaned (in water change tank water) once a week along with weekly water changes until they can get into the 210. The skimmer I have also is rated for a 250 gallon tank and is on a 55 gallon tank with a 20g sump and I over skim the crap out of it.

I cant wait to get all this finally set up right so my fish can continue to be happy and I have something better to look at!

That's crazy having OTA custom-build a tank for you! They're the most expensive LFS in Chgo.

Pufferpunk wrote:That's crazy having OTA custom-build a tank for you! They're the most expensive LFS in Chgo.

True but they are also the best (as far as I know) and I have been going there since I was a kid. I am not dead set on having them do the build though and may end up doing it myself. I just want something very custom that looks like it belongs as part of the structure of the home and not as a freestanding unit.

Until then I look forward to learning from all of you puffer gurus. Especially the ones who are local!

PP - what is the best footprint for a tank to house a S&S?

Hes a very nice looking S&S, i havent seen any dark ones with light spots like that before. im jealous!

The longer, the better.

So I actually just saw him poop and it looks like a TON of tiny little reddish pink pellets with a few little green chunks and a VERY little bit of what almost looked like undigested brine shrimp. Is this normal?

Since I have had him his diet has consisted of mainly PE mysis enriched with garlic, Brine enriched with garlic, Bay Scallops enriched with garlic, and a small amount of krill that he steals when i feed my finicky snowflake eel who is finally accepting scallops and squid.

I am also happy to say that he is seeming MUCH more active tonight and looks like hes actually warming up to me!