The Puffer Forum

I'm a new member of the Puffer Forum.

I've been thorough in reading your library's articles, as well as following several of the forum threads regarding the care of GSPs. In particular, I've found the information shared by PufferPunk to be most valuable, and I'm grateful more than I can say for this extraordinary resource. As I'm sure you are all aware, the amount of misinformation (and just plain WRONG information) about Puffers in books and on the internet is astounding, and actually very sad when you think how many of these extaordinary creatures no doubt suffer and eventually perish due to people's ignorance.

My immediate problem is of great concern to me: I have a new GPS, about two inches long, and he's obviously in trouble.

For the first week or so, he seemed to respond well to my bringing him home from a very small, very crowed freshwater tank in my LFS. It was remarkable how he perked up when introduced to a (gradual) shift to brackish water and live and frozen brine shrimp and worms. But he doesn't evince any of the sort of "social" behavior that many of you describe here as being charateristic of the species. Rather, be paces maniacally and bumps against the back of the tank. (And by the way, I have in his very own 40-gallon home, with a wide footprint and all sorts of 'challenging' natural decor pieces that breaks the sight-lines, etc.).

Now, he's not eaten for three days: no brine shrimp or worms. I acquired a couple of live bamboo shrimp, which can dart right under his nose without notice. And rather than maniacally banging against the back glass, he seems listless, with his tail curled to one side or the other.

My LFS's staff is clueless, and this forum seems my only hope. I will be checking back for any advice you may have.

Yours Gratefully,

Peter

Hi Peter,

Do you happen to know the water parameters of your tank? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Specific Gravity, Temperature? How did you cycle the tank and how long has it been running?

Bred:

Thank you very much for your reply.

Regarding the water parameters, here are the current numbers:

Nitrate: 10ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Hardness: 300
Total Alkalinity: 200 ppm
PH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0
Specific Gravity: 1.012
Temperature: 82 degrees F.

One correction from last time: my GPS is closer to 3" long than 2".

Regarding the cycling, I know I rushed things -- but I did so because every day more of the puffers were dying at my LFS, and the ones that survived (including the one I obtained) had milky-white blotches and shredded fins. The other Puffers in the LFS tank were Figure-8's, and they were being bullied by the fellow I have now. Anyway, I set-up the tank with the best filters, and started it off with a couple of large crayfish. Four days later I added the GPS. The next day -- despite his being smaller than the crayfish -- there were merely pieces of crayfish shell left!

I've ordered feeder-snails and snail-breeding colony, but they won't get here till after the holiday weekend.

- Peter

Peter, it does sound like you rushed things a bit but your readings seem fine now. But how long has this tank been running? A transition from SG 1.000 to 1.012 in under 4 weeks may be putting your beneficial bacteria at risk, so keep a close eye on those parameters and be ready to do water changes if there is any detectable ammonia or nitrite.

Re: social behaviour -- this will take a few weeks to be established, as the fish becomes more accostomed to its surroundings and your care.

Re: feeding -- you might try some grocery store variety frozen/uncooked shrimp. Freeze for 24 hours, then thaw before feeding. Soaking in garlic juice extract might help stimulate appetite. If your fish appears to have a concave belly, you may be up against a case of internal parasites.

That's all I have for the moment....

Thank you again, Bred.

The tank has only been up and running for about a week (!), so I'll definitely keep an eye on the chemistry and change the water.

The GSP has a rounded belly, so I hope this is a sign he doesn't have parasites.

I shall go out tonight and find some shrimp! I had no idea that Puffers were fond of garlic, but I shall try it.

I'll continue to check back here for any and all advice.

- Peter

Okay, well in that case I would say maintaining immaculate water quality is your first priority, and feeding falls to your second priority. If it's only been a week then I suspect that your tank hasn't finished its cycle, and that your water contains nitrates out of the tap. You can almost certainly expect ammonia and nitrite spikes in the next 2-3 weeks.

So, I suggest that after feeding, be sure to remove uneaten food, and try to siphon out the puffer's waste. As it appears. This should hopefully reduce the amount of ammonia and nitrites produced, whilst still allowing the tank to cycle.


If you can find it, pick up some Biospira--it's the only "instant-cycle" product currently available that actually does its job. They make two kinds: freshwater and saltwater biospira. In your case, I think SW (marine) biospira is the way to go.

I highly recommend dropping brine shrimp from the diet. They have very little nutritional value and will drift to hidden areas of the tank to decompose. You can add them as a treat once in a while after the tank is fully cycled, but I'd even recommend against that.

Ask your LFS if you can have a few of their nuisance pond and ramshorn snails. All of the LFS' around here are glad to get rid of them and will give me as many as I'm willing to fish out myself.

Bred, others:

3 July -- things remain as before.

I've introduced the store-bought raw shrimp soaked in garlic, and he took one bite -- nothing more. Have tried thawed blood worms again -- completely ignored.

A lot of hovering at the surface of the water, with tail curled and fin clamped. If he merely detects my presence, he freaks out and swims away, bumping against the glass, so I've taken to crawling about on the floor under his line of vision.

I don't mind any extra work if it's going to help him, but I'm beginning to wonder. He seems miserable, with a marginal quality of life at best, and I'm uncertain how long he can survive without food.

I do have another question: How long should I leave the food in his tank
before removing it?

- Peter

Are you sure the ammonia & nitrite readings are at 0? Hovering near the surface sounds like nitrite poisoning. I'd do a 50% water change if I were you and recheck those values.

Remove uneaten food 5-10 minutes after feeding so it doesn't muck up your water any further. You'll know by then whether the fish is interested in it.

Bred:

Thank you, again, for your generous and prompt reply. I'm on it!

- Peter

I've purchased what I hope is a good quality chemistry lab, and re-tested the water I'd had looked at yesterday at my LFS.

According to my readings, the numbers are different from theirs:

Rather than 0 nitrite, I measure 0.2.

Rather than pH of 7.8, I measure 8.6.

Rather than Ammonia of 0, I measure 0.25.

Is this bad?

Did you do a water change already? As long as you have fish in that tank you're going to want to do daily 50% partial changes until nitrite and ammonia are consistently zero. Whatever fish or shrimp you have in that tank are producing waste which contribute to these readings. It will take about 2 weeks for your tank to finish cycling, since the process is already underway. Until the tank is fully cycled, your fish will continue to be stressed.

Your two easiest and best options are (1) return the GSP for two weeks and do a fishless cycle (please read the article in the Library section of this site, it is an excellent all-round reference), or (2) get some Bio-Spira. See my previous comment on which kind of Bio-Spira to get.

When doing your water changes, make sure you match the salinity of the replacement water to the tank water. Abrupt changes in salinity will kill off your friendly bacteria and you'll be starting from scratch.

Don't worry about the pH reading, 8.6 is just fine.

These readings are from the old water.

I've acquired the Biro-Spira and done the change you've suggested. Will continue with the changes on a daily basis.

Regarding returning the GPS: they will put him in fresh water, not brackish, and will feed flakes. Will he be okay with this -- or better off with me, with my changing of the brackish water as you've suggested and at least attempting to feed proper Puffer food?

Well, if you did changes and added Bio Spira, and you know the way the LFS will take care of him, he's probably better off with you. Just keep a close eye on those readings.

How could the LFS have such skewed results?!?

Okay, let me ammend my remarks then. If you've added BioSpira according to the package, do not do water changes for the next 2 days. The bacteria contained in BioSpira feed on ammonia and nitrite, so we don't want to deprive them of their food! Keep an eye on the parameters, and you should see a decrease in ammonia & nitrite, and an increase in nitrate.

What sort of water conditioner are you using, by the way? Avoid using a product such as AmmoLock.

Sounds good! All goes well, your GSP will be much happier in a few short days.