The Puffer Forum

My 2.5" GSP has been pacing up and down the back left corner of the tank for a few days. We moved him from a 10 gallon temp. tank to a 35 gallon well decorated tank, plenty of rock, wood, and plastic plants and he still does the same thing, same back left corner.'
Water:
amm and trites 0
trates 10-20
pH 7.5
1.012

He's still eating well but when he's done he goes back to his little game of pacing. Will this stop?
Or does he have to see a shrink?
There is a pic of him in my gallery, that's when he actually stops for food...

Try rearranging his decorations, maybe you will find a setup he will like better. I have two GSP's, and one loves to swim around all the decor and plants and examine everything and rest in hiding places, and the other just cruises his tank back and forth 9/10 of the time, usually even after lights out, when the other puffer goes right to sleep on the ground.

Good idea,
I'll try adding a few more plants and rocks where he paces...
Thanks!

IMO I wouldn't place stuff where he paces. That might be where he feels safe.

I just had a F8 that needed a major tank redecoration. I had to remove my driftwood & a red plant. The corner he used to pace, he doesn't pace anymore now.

Could be the stress of the move...or if the tank lights are brighter (or room lights dimmer) he could be reacting to his reflection.

Give him a few days to adjust...turn off the tank lights and see if that makes a difference...and redecorating is always a good idea...whether it matters if you place decorations where he is pacing...I have no idea..

he sound board to me. if you change his decor maybe he will pay more attention to u.

Does the tank have a background? Sometimes that helps.

Yup, I tried 2 different backgrounds and no background, doesn't change anything, I think he has a one track mind and the plan is to leave out the back of the tank
I'm going to get him more tank toys/plants/rocks tonight and hopefully that will help...

Buy a few ghost/glass shrimp and add them to the tank. He'll give up on pacing and be hunting for days.

One of my F8's paced constantly when I first had him but it stopped after a while. I put a pile of stones where he could totaly get out of my sight and that helped other than that it just took a bit of time. I think it is cos they are often wild caught and don't understand the sides of a tank. Another thing I do with mine is put in a few snails at night when they are sleeping and in the morning when they wake up they have to hunt all over the tank for them.

my fig 8 paces more when i have the lights on for more than 12 hours --

also, one of my mollies also passed away recently and he's been happier since (im guessing he had something to do with it) -

but all-in-all, i havent found the magic bullet for puffer OCD yet ---