The Puffer Forum

...oh these puffers, seems to be always something....

Went to check on little Prince this AM before I left...and he was just sitting there, laying on top of the circulation pump...almost like the intake was keeping him on it...I quickly unplugged it...and he swam off. This is a small pump...kinda surprised he had difficulty...if in fact he was and wasn't just sleeping on it. No way to tell...but his stomach was all lumpy when I left...had no prob or lack of interest in downing a blood worm though. I hope he's good when I get home.

Got me to thinking...I have this on all the time, along with power filters. Should I set these on a timer to turn off for 5 minutes every few hours? So that in the case I don't notice, he's got time to get free? I felt bad for him...I have no idea how long he was like that as it was overnight.

These are seriously high maintenance little creatures. He scared the crap out of me yesterday...came home and he was all in a ball, bumped into a few things, etc. So I ran my butt off through the house, thought IMMEDIATE water change needed...got buckets and everything, only to return and he was awake and normal. Think I just caught him sleeping and groggy.

in any tank, filter intakes should ALWAYS be covered with something

Are you sure he was stuck? Mine used to rest on the top of those.

Nope, not sure at all. Just assumed it because when I unplugged it, he swam away. First I'd ever seen that, I imagined it'd be painful for him, but searching the forum seems to turn up comments that owners essentially feel this is cute and probably like a constant belly rub...and feels good. It wasn't stressful for him...but he's usually groggy and behaving oddly after a slumber...bumps into things, etc. Takes him a minute or two.

I dunno....these things are so sensitive and fragile.

As for putting something to cover the filter intake, I haven't seen that advice anywhere, or seen any gadgets/tools/accessories for these either. I have 2 Aqueon 50 power filters running concurrently in my 36 gallon bow-front aquarium, and the circulation pump is an Aqueon Model 500 placed at the bottom. What should be done here? The holes are far too small for him to get stuck in or into (he's @ 2"), just don't want to hurt him.

EDIT: Prince passed away this AM. Still unsure why.