The Puffer Forum

Hey I just bought a porcupine puffer for my 90 gallon saltwater tank. Its been running for nearly a month and all the water conditions are fine but it keeps running into walls and sliding up and down where its reflection is(it did this at the store) . Because of it its lip is stuck up and his teeth are always shown. does it mean that hes sick? what can I do to stop it?

The infamous puffer pacing can be caused by a few things:
-stress in the tank
-poor water quality
-boredom

Is your tank well decorated?

No its pretty boring

flamesofifreet wrote:No its pretty boring

Theres why he is pacing. Puffers are active preditors, they scavenge for invertibrates. They need alot of stuff to explore or they will get bored and pace. My gsps did this till I added a nice piece of grape vine to the tank. They happily swim around and under it.

Whats recomended? Should I do something similar to a dp or gsp setup?

Plenty of rock and crevices for them to hide/hunt in. Have u seen PP's GSP tank setup? Thats about as good as it gets.'

If I were you i would start will some dead rock and build a base make crevices for them to get into. Perhaps add some fake coral or other strucktures

check the tank competition for ideas
http://www.thepufferforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=618

Alright thanks

I added rock formations like stonhenge for uit to swim through and plants but it keeps playing with the wall

flamesofifreet wrote:I added rock formations like stonhenge for uit to swim through and plants but it keeps playing with the wall

You could try to hide food in the structures. I hit snails all around the log in my tank, now they constantly hunt all around the log. Puffers are a pain in the a$$ to please sometimes. Also, if he is really new to the tank it might take him a while to get used the the tank and settle down and get used to their new environment.

My F8s do this occasionally, and so every week or two I do a major change around of the decor...you can really see them having a good look at the new layout.
The stones are a good start, but I'd get some more plants and maybe some big rodent tubes as well.
Can you post us the parameters, just to be on the safe side.
Also, how much attention do you give him everyday? They're very interactive, and "playing" with him - dangling food, finger chasing (not IN the tank!) etc will help stimulate him.
Most of all, though, he needs a complex environment that changes frequently.
How big is the puffer?
Pami.

Do consider adding (cured) live rock... much easier on the fish, and you, in the long run. The puff will also have plenty to search for and eat in/on the rock.

Jhong wrote:Do consider adding (cured) live rock... much easier on the fish, and you, in the long run. The puff will also have plenty to search for and eat in/on the rock.

I totally agree on the LR... It will help you water quality and it looks so much better than "dead" rock once it matures. The downside is that LR is expensive and curing takes some work and a lot of time.

I've a "cave" made of LR that my silly lined puffer loves to hide in. He wedges himself between to big pieces of LR while sleeping... it is so cute.

Well he stopped pacing but I think im getting some other stuff for it instead thanks

He wouldnt stop pacing and he wouldnt eat. I bought him and knew there was something wrong and tried to save it but i ended up bringing him back to the petstore.