The Puffer Forum

I have a regular green spotted puffer in a brackish water tank. He is almost a year old. He has been living with a algae sucker fish for a couple of months. Normally, his poop is brownish. He usually eats only bloodworms and occasionally (although not recently) I feed him shrimp. His poop today came out all white. Does that mean he has a parasite or another problem? He really isn't acting that strange. Please advise![/b]

It's a pretty strong sign of IP's, if it's more than a one time thing, I"d assume he has worms and get him some Flubenol-15, heck, I'd probably do it precautionarily even if I saw it once. What size tank is it, and what kind of algae eater? I ask about the algae eater because I know of none that can survive with the necissary level of brackish water for a one year old GSP; at a year old, he's mostly grown, is your SG below 1.010? The algae eater could have brought the internal parasites into the tank.

When did you add the tank mate?

I think he said a couple months ago... enough gestation time I think?

I added the tankmate about three months ago (a common plec) . I have a 5 gallon tank. I checked the levels using one of those kits that come with many different strips and everything seemed okay...That's what I've been using for a quite a while. The pH level was a little high and that was about it. I change the water every two weeks. What is SG? I'm going to treat him today and do a water change, but should I get rid of the algae eater? The only problems I've encountered with the puffer is ich, but that was before the algae eater.

Thanks for the response! I can't seem to find many people in the stores to help me out.

ACK!

5 gallons is way too small for a GSP! and they are supposed to be brackish moving to Marine when they get bigger.

The test strips are not accurate, get a liquid test kit with the reagents and whatnot.

And please do move your puff to a bigger tank..at least 30gal...

Check out pufferpunks GSP article in the library.
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/lib ... d-puffers/

Test strips are less than inaccurate. A guy on a Norwegian forum performed a test on them, and the result was nothing less than shocking. You can't trust them at all. They were wrong on everything they measured!
PH: among some of the results they gave, was more than PH 7 in a solution that was about 1! They gave both answers too low and answers too high.
KH (is that CH in English?): Well, they were at least not absolutely wrong, but still not accurate.
GH (TH): Whatever he did, they came out lower than the real result. Some times they didn't even work.
NO2: He never managed to get any reaction on this, not even in a bucket of water with 10 mg/l!
NO3: again the test was absolutely wrong, showing way too high most of the time.
We know for sure that this was a new packet of strips, which was opened for the first time very recently. And I also know that this guy really knows what he is doing, and that we can trust his results!

I had never, ever imagined them to be so absolutely wrong! At least I had thought that they would do some things right some time. I am very happy none of those ever has been inside this house!

Hmmm...I will go get those other test kits. Why does the puffer need so much room if he's so small (he's about an inch long, maybe)? If the algae eater can live there, does that mean that I don't have enough salt in my tank?

Again, thank you for your response! I like my puffer very much and don't want him to die!

Because the Green spotted puffer grows to about 6" long, Plus he makes one heck of a mess when he eats. Very heavy bioload, so basicly, you want to dilute the pollution as much as possible.

The SG that baby Green spotted puffers should be kept at is 1.005-1.008 going towards full marine as they get older.

You should read the article in the library about the green spotted puffer, and check his page out in the pufferpedia.

If you have had this puffer for 1 year and it is only 1" long I question whether or not it is a Green spotted puffer, it could be a dwarf puffer. If so your tank is fine and it requires no salt, just get rid of the algae eater and do a 50% WC once a week. Medicate as you plan.

I suggest that you go through the pufferpedia or post pics. An accurate species identity is key at this point.

I really think you should get rid of the common pleco just for the pleco's good, no matter what other tank you buy. It's really sad they are thrown around as the universal algae eater for all tanks, when they should never been in less than a 55 gallon tank, and that is pushing it. They can get well over a foot long.
A GSP thats stayed alive in 5 gallons for one year might have been sold to you wrong, and is actually a dwarf puffer, as said above, or it might be terribly stunted from the tiny tank, about equally likely. On the positive side, you have probably been an attentive puffer parent to keep one alive while it was stunting so badly, if it is a GSP, and now that you know what needs to be done you can take steps to make things right for all your fish.

Thanks! I am medicating it, I gave away the pleco to a good home, and I'm on my way to buying a new tank (and trying to get my friend to give me his 40 gallon). I have wondered why he never seems to grow...but hopefully the new tank will change that. Since puffers are so sensitive to medication, are there more natural ways to cure him of IP?

Medicating their food is the only way to kill parasites inside their body.

I have heard pumpkin seeds contain wormers that will work, but you would have to get the puffer to eat them. The parasite medication I most recently used is Flubenol-15.