The Puffer Forum

I feel sorry for Mr. Lumps, my GSP. He's in a 50 gallon saltwater tank by himself, with rockwork, but he still paces the glass a lot. And I was thinking, maybe he wants to go explore my room. But even if I could get him a fish tank the size of my room, he'd get bored eventually and want to go somewhere new. I kind of want to free him in the ocean. Aside from it probably being illegal..... any thoughts?

If he's pacing a lot you'll jsut have to up the complexity of his environment. Think 3-dimensional. Lot's of caves, and nooks, and crannies to explore. Tall plants that break the line of sight fromm all depths. More complex currents. Shaded hidden areas, and open swimming spaces.

Releasing him to the ocean isn't really a good idea. For one thing, he's not native to your area, and another, being captive raised, he would be more prone to diseases and predators. He wouldn't last long IMO.

Why not post some pictures of your tank setup, and we can help you add some complexity.

I'll use my own tank as an example of complexity. My GSP has never been happier and more active in his environment like he is now. He routinely searches out his environment for food and only rarely paces the glass.







As you can see, the roots and plants create a lot of height. He loves to swim in and around the roots, zigging and zagging and winding all around up and down. From one side of the tank he can't easily see the other side, so he always feels like there is more to explore just out of reach.

I hope this gives you a few ideas.

Here's my 55g GSP tank:

PP, those are massive GSPs!

Just norrmal adult size, if kept as instructed.

Phaedrus I like your last photo. Too bad your little puff wasn't in focus.

He swam up at the last second. :p Normally he's shy and doesn't get that close when I have the camera out, but he's hungry, so he's constantly trying to get my attention.

I dunno if my guy will ever get that big. I've had him for close to a year and he's grown a bit, but not as much as I had hoped. He's been in a 33g and now a 55g.

I'd wait a little Phaedrus to see if he spurts up in the 55. Wouldn't supprise me to see him grow a few inches more in there.

It doesn't look like it, but those rocks have a lot of space between and under them for him to swim through.

Maybe add some more height. The complexity is high near the bottom, and completely absent at the top.

yeh i know. I ordered the rock from big al's and I got mainly smaller pieces.

Taller peices of rock, or fake rock, or some roots, or fake plants or whatever you can think of might help.

Or you might want to build some sort of a framework to stack the rock you have into different shapes etc. Sort of like shelves that will let you bring the rock up from a pile and into more of a structure.