The Puffer Forum

Anyone else has a puffer that gets upset after water changes? Ragnhild does NOT like them. It’s not when I do them (then she hides), but for the next day or so. She gets angry and puffs a lot! Yesterday I did another water change, and yesterday evening she puffed several times. This morning she puffed again. I guess it’s because she does not like changes. At all! When I first got her, she puffed every day for a week or two. And when I put two new plants in her tank, she hid for a week afterwards. In all my years with many puffers, I’ve only seen them puff twice. Well, before Ragnhild that is. She puffs easily. I don’t have any problems with Harald (or any of my other fish) when I do water changes. Just Ragnhild. I do water changes the same way I have done all my years as a fish keeper. But there’s nothing wrong with her appetite! She eats very well! And when I think of it, Ragnhild only puffs when the light is off. I have never seen her puff when the light is on. She is a strange one, but such a character. We have become good friends, and she seems to have quite a temperament. I love her very much, and stop and talk to her every time I am by her tank.

What's your usual WC schedule like? Are you using Prime?

Usually my WC schedule is about once a week. This time it took 2-3 weeks between them. I change 50 % each time. I don't add anything to the water. It's not neccessary here. They don't add chlorine to the water here (they rarely do that in Norway now). They filter the water over marble and UV-light instead. And the water comes from an (almost) local lake. Ragnhild has calmed down for this time. She was upset for two days. And I have to correct myself: yesterday she did puff during daytime, which is the first time I've seen. Now she is her normal self. Constantly waiting for food. None of my other fish reacted to the water change. Not even Harald, my baileyi. My corydoras and other catfish acts absolutely normal, except they get tendency to breeding behaviour after WC. But I always give them colder water than my puffers, in hope that it will trigger them to breeding. That's a usual trick when keeping corydoras. My puffers do not get cold water!

Finicky lil gal!