The Puffer Forum

Hi everyone.

So the first 6 months have been great for my GSP, Bruce, and I. However we have already been through a lot of rough times together, although definitely more so for him. So I thought Id let you all know about the challenges we've faced.

When I first bought him I was stupid and knew nothing about puffers, but I fell in love, so i had him in a 10 gallon tank. When we made the move to a 30 gallon tank, I purchased crushed coral as a substrate. I liked the look of it, it seemed easier to clean than sand, and its a buffer. Bad idea. Bruce, being a puffer, both curious and a hunter, nipped and nipped at the new (very sharp) substrate, until his lips were basically hanging off of his face. Maybe its just him, i dont know, but i dont recommend it for puffers. Its gorgeous, but dangerous.

Another thing (totally my fault, but a lesson nonetheless) is that I have had the very unfortunate opportunity to see my puffer puffed up. When I first got him, naturally i looked up if and when he may puff up, only to find that a large percent of the time the stress of puffing kills the poor fish. What happened in my case is when I set up the new 30 gallon tank, my larger hang on the back filter was missing the little end bit with the slots in it that prevent the fish from getting sucked in. I used the filter anyway, figuring the tube was too small anyway, and that Bruce was fast and big enough to avoid getting sucked in. Wrong. I left my room after hanging out with him for a bit (ya I hang out with my fish) and when I came back a few minutes later the first thing I saw when I walked in was a big white ball attached to the filter intake. I only saw for a split second before lunging to the power bar to unplug the filter. He was about the size of a plum (hes about 1 1/2 inches unpuffed), and as round as this dude -->

As soon as I unplugged the filter, he deflated and swam away. I screamed, and then sat crying and in shock, sure that with his cuts and what had just happened he didnt have long, for about 5 minutes. Its was horrifying to think that the worst natural thing that could happen to your puffer fish had just happened. But there is hope, apparently.

After it happened his skin was all stretched out and wrinkly, that lasted about a week or so. And when he ate his stomach got considerably bigger and it was different shaped. More defined, like P compared to D. Because the tube was sucking him in, he had a bruise on the part of his body that got sucked in, it was C shaped and was just the outline of the tube. The bruising was made up of the black coloring that the GSPs turn when theyre stressed out. The bruise lasted about a month. The cuts on his lips didnt last long, maybe a week. Fish heal pretty fast, also it didnt affect his appetite at all. None of it did.

All of this happened almost 4 months ago, and today he is as happy and healthy as can be. So even though puffers puffing is not at all good for them, and can be fatal, it doesnt always mean death. Never give up hope, theyre tough little guys. And avoid crushed coral.

Thanks for reading! I hope you learned something from my mistakes!

P.S. If youve got an iPhone, and have the iRateFish app (you should get it if you dont), Bruce (Hulk) is #2 highest rated of all time!!! how exciting. thought id throw that in there

You were given incorrect information on puffing. Puffers puff. It is what they were designed to do, and in water should not damage them but may save their life. BUT, puffing is a life-saving response to another fish appearing to be about to eat/swallow the puffer, so high, life-threatening stress is involved. That stress is from the threat and situation, not from puffing. What is extremely dangerous is for a puffer to puff up with air rather than water. Too many idiots catch their puffers in a net and pull it out of the water, where it is likely to puff up with air, not water. Puffers can have great difficulty expelling all the air and be unable to fully deflate - they may be unable to swim properly or eat or even turn themselves upright. They may die from that, but it a keeper-inflicted death. Young puffers do practice puffing, but it is seldom seen by their keepers.

Crushed coral may be better than silica sand at buffering, but not a lot better. It should not be so sharp that it cuts the fish. It will abrade your skin if you stir it a lot while rinsing before use, but stirring the coral actually generates more fine silty particles than the rinsing removes. It should be rinsed in a net or fine stainless steel strainer without much if any stirring and placed into the tank. For buffering purposes, aragonite sand is far superior, as it is more soluble at marine pH.

Puffers properly cared for are in fact quite hardy and long-lived fish, comparable to well kept Cichlids if not as long lived as some loaches.HTH