The Puffer Forum

Hi all
I'm worried about my 5 inch gsp
He use to be non stop swimming around the tank and eating everything he can
But in the last few days he has just been sat at the bottom of tank
Just swimming every now and then
He is eating but not much
His belly is still white and no dark patching anywhere
Done all the water checks and all fine
All the others gsp are as normal
Have checked them over for any sign of nipping and all are good
Help any ideas

This needs to be moved to the hospital section and all q's in red answered.

Hello, sorry your gsp isn't feeling great. Hopefully we can help you solve the problem in pretty short amount of time. I noticed that you said that your parameters were fine and didn't give any numbers, Its not that I don't believe you and its not that I'm calling you a novice but exact numbers or even a picture would be very helpful towards helping your puffer. For posting a picture host it on imageshack.com or a similar site and then post the direct link in this topic. Idea tank parameters would be Ammonia - 0 Nitrite - 0 Nitrates - under 20

What is your water change schedule like? I notice that you said that the tank is still brackish, this means that you need a minimum of a 50% wc weekly, especially since you have multiple puffers inside 1 tank. Puffers put out a much higher bioload then comparable sized fish, this is partially their eating habits and also they just make a lot of waste. The way you described your gsp makes it sound like your nitrates may be high. As high nitrates often cause puffers to sit on the substrate and not be as hungry as normal.

Please answer ALL the Qs above in RED.