The Puffer Forum

Hi all,

Wonder if you could help me.

I've been keeping fish now for several years and have a few tanks with things like angles, dwarf ciclids, rams, panda corrys, gouramis, loaches etc and have been quite successful in keeping them.

I purchased a figure green spotted puffer a couple of weeks ago, check with the store what water he was in (completely fresh) and put him in a tank that's been established for over 3 years (well planted, > 50% water cycle every week) and is home to some chain loaches and a couple of honey gouramis. I was going to keep the figure of 8 in here for a little while and then slowly move him into another tank i have to turn into a brackish tank. He was really healthy looking and swimming around. I fed him on the frozen blood worm or brine shrimp blocks you get and he was eating happily (had a fat belly a couple of days). by the 5th day he was very lethargic and hiding under a rock and by day 7 i found the little guy dead in the bottom of the tank.

tank temperature is around 78f with minimal nitrate, nitrite and ammonia readings.

would love to hear your feedback as i'd be interested in keeping a puffer of some kind.

thanks

50% water cycle every week

What does this mean?

minimal nitrate, nitrite and ammonia readings

Please post EXACT readings.

sorry about your loss
there are no acceptable amounts of nitrite or ammonia in a healthy tank
their readings MUST be zero
that's why we need specific readings
what kind of test kit are you using?
what size tank was the puffer in?
by "water cycle", I figure you mean water changes
is that right?

Tank is 125l, has been running for over 3 years so fully cycled. It has 2 honey gourami a in it and 6 chain loaches and 2 ottos. 50% of the water is changed as a minimum every week using seachem prime as the conditioner. The tank is planted and I have 0 nitrate and nitght with minamal increase in ammonia from start of change to the point it's cycled. I have no fish losses in this tank for over 2 years since the original zebra danios that were in the tank passed away.

Tank is fully dirted with john innes compost on bottom with play sand on to if that with various plants in there. There are mts in the tank to keep the soil from compacting and to stop gas buildup in the substrate (which is the same in all my tanks). The tank is a jewel with built in filtration and the only other item in the tank is some slate slabs to create a rock feature.

Seems odd to lose a fish in the space of a week going from really healthy and eating to being dead.

How large are the gouramis? A fully cycled tank should never show any ammonia. It is very possible the GSP's immune system was finally compromised from not being in BW & stressed from ammonia. Even the smallest amount is toxic.