The Puffer Forum

hi there, i am new to this site and was wondering whether i could find some correct answers as my searches give so many different reasons.

I have had my green spotted puffer (simon) for approx 2 weeks now, he is in a cycled tank which i cycled for 2 month before getting him.
I cycled the tank with old filter media from my old fish tank and also added 4 albino cories and a golden ram and a cobra tetra.

He seemed very cheerful when i added him and he seemed to think it was ok to kill my cobra tetra, but i think this was my fault
I had read up alot ont hem before i purchased him and i had read to feed them until his belly was round, i thought i was feeding him enough until i woke up one morning and he had killed and eaten some of the tetra, then i realised i mustnt have been feeding him enough. Anyway i have since been feeding him on frozen bloodworm, frozen krill and raw prawns, all of which he seemed to enjoy and his belly became nice and round.

However today he doesnt seem himself. I have noticed my ram (rambo) doesnt seem to want to let him have the run of the tank and seems to pester him alot, but he just seemed to swim away and then swim up and down the glass. He never really ventured out into the tank as Rambo would have a go.
Today he hasnt eaten much at all, we have tried him with everything and he has just had a little nibble of the raw prawn and didnt seem interested and swam off.

We have an algae magnet which is at the top back of the tank and he has seemed to find a nice spot on top of that but has rarely moved. His belly seemed to start going a grey colour then all became grey/black. We decided to try and move th emagnet and encourage him to swim around, he is currently staying near to the top and has a little swim up the glass now and again but he really is not himself. I really dont understand what we have done wrong and i just love him and dont want to lose him.

I have done water tests, everything is fine, the N03 was 25mg earlier today so i did a 25% water change and put the dechlorinator in. The temperature is 25-26 degrees and PH is 7.2.

I heard that GSP are supposed to end up brackish but i was told he would survive in freshwater, plus he is a baby so there is no need to add salt to the tank just yet if i were going to in the first place. PLEASE HELP ME!!!! i am so upset that i may have hurt him and he is in pain or stressed

Sadly what is so common is the fact that GSP owners are given so much misinformation. There is a difference between surviving and thriving. Do you want your puffer to live a happy, long, and healthy life or a short miserable one? I believe the answer to that is obvious to any of our beloved pets. They are indeed healthier in a 30+ gallon tank that is brackish or full marine. Tankmates in most cases are a no go as the puffer will be tormented or the puffer will kill/eat the other fish. (as what has happened so far in your case) If you can rehome the other fish and start raising the salinity or set up and cycle a brackish tank those will be the best options. It is possible to keep him with other GSP's if you can get a 55 gallon or larger.

The fish stores only care about making the sale so please check out these links and articles for more useful information:
library/category/puffers-in-focus/
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19348

Hope things get worked out and you do not have to lose your puffer.

Adding a fish to a tank cycled with fish is like adding a fish to an uncycled tank. You must remove the fish you cycled with, to leave behind the bacteria to support the new fish.

Welcome to the forum! Sad your little guy isn't doing well. There are many problems here.
First off, a GSP will do better in a higher end ph tank (8.0-8.3) and your poor Ram will want soft-acidic water like where you have it now, even you could go a lower for a Golden Ram if you were able to.

GSP's are better kept alone or sometimes people have luck with just one other GSP in the tank. You will want to at least go brackish, around 1.015-18. But this will require time, or else you will crash your tank. The tetras he ate could have had some illness. Most discourage feeding puffers live fish for food. They do need snails (the size of the puffers eye) and other food you can get at a grocery store like raw shrimp, mussels (raw), squid (raw), cockles, etc.

Keep doing research, and good luck. A black belly and glass surfing means stress. Sometimes not, as you can see them with a blackish belly when they are sleeping, but generally this is not a good sign. Get him in a tank by himself. If you really like a puffer, I'd place the other fish, or get another tank for them. It's not fair to any of the fish. Stress is a big killer of all fish.

kirstykoo wrote:i was told he would survive in freshwater

I was in our local Maidenhead Aquatics earlier today looking at the GSP's. Cute little 1" size. The guy comes over and asks if I want one, to which I replied 'I'd love one, but I don't have the cash to spend converting to Marine over time'. He said they'll be fine in Freshwater. I lost the plot and and rather loudly told him how f***ing retarded he was and shouldn't be giving people wrong advice.

I've also sent an email to Maidenhead Aquatics asking them to educate their staff on GSP's, or stop selling them

Sorry my first post is a bit ranty, but someone has to educate these LFS's