The Puffer Forum

Hi

I have a GSP that I purchased last week. He is in a 30 gal brackish tank (salinity o.oo8, nitrate 5ppm, ammonia 0, PH 8, temp 80). No tank mates. He is eating, but not much. Sometimes he will only take a few bites then ignore it. I have been giving him a combination of small snails, frozen bloodworms (thawed with water drained), and occasionally a dried krill or 2. When I got him, I noticed some small white patches, and used a API cure-all parasite treatment. I have followed the instructions to a T, and have noticed the spots going away, but his belly is still dark grey.

What do I do? Help!

How was this tank cycled? What are you using to test the water?
Try live worms.

The tank was home to a cluster of mollies for about 6 months, so while I did clean the gravel before putting Flippy in, I did not change the filter to preserve the bacteria.

I have been using the drop/texture forms of the individual API tests for PH, Ammonia and Nitrate.

Which kind of live worm? I'm also suspicious his teeth are overgrown. I'm terrified of the idea of doing any dentistry as he is already not well...

Try blackworms or earthworms.

What color is the substrate? The dark belly could be a result of dark substrate.

Black bellies are often a stress indicator, it can take a while for them to settle in. Hunger strikes are common in new puffers and can last a couple of weeks. Does he have places to hide in the tank? If not it's worth adding a couple of giddy holes

So it's been awhile, Flippy is eating, water is healthy (ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10-20, PH 8, temp 80, salinity 1.005), but he is still very grey in the belly. He does swim around at times, he loves the bubbler, but is often at the bottom of the tank. The substrate is crushed coral (rinsing that was a huuuuuuge pain), so that doesn't explain his color. There have been no recent changes and we've had him for around 2 weeks now.

Any thoughts?

Oh, and his diet us a mix of snails, thawed bloodworms, and the occasional raw in-shell shrimp.