The Puffer Forum

After a never-ending string of bad luck trying to keep Figure-Eight Puffers (3 out of 4 dying of parasites within a week of purchase), I scrapped my 20 gallon brackish tank and decided to focus on my remaining ones.

However, the puffer addiction stayed strong. I had wanted to keep a Congo Puffer for a while but both had never seen them available and didn't have a tank for it. Nonetheless, I called up a LFS nearby that specializes in obtaining uncommon/rare fish and, low and behold, they actually were able to bring in a T. miurus. I was ecstatic. I consolidated my 29G community into my 60G community the following days and replaced the gravel with sand (part Tahitian Moon sand, part play sand from Home Depot).

Parameters looked great and I brought the Congo puffer home, acclimated him and released him into his new home. Immediately he buried himself in the substrate. That was on Friday.

Through the night he had buried and reburied himself in other spots. Yesterday evening, though, he unburied himself and started spazzing out, very quickly moving up and down against the glass in the back-left corner of the tank. He would do this for a couple minutes then, basically, fall onto the fake plant in that corner, usually at a funny angle (upside-down or on his side). He becomes rather listless after this - very slow breathing, doesn't even move. After about every half-hour of resting at a funny angle he'd repeat this. He's still doing it this morning. Parameters are 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 5 Nitrate.

So my question for you Congo owners is - does this sound like typical stressed behavior or does my internal puffer pessimism sound correct in thinking something much worse is at play? Thanks for your responses.

My Congo stays burried all the time unless she's hungry. Then she does as you describe as above, swimming back & forth near the surface, her head almost out of the water. She never lands like yours though. That's a bit worrysome. Maybe he's tired from all that swimming?

How was the tank cycled?

The tank was cycled about 2.5 years ago with fish. It was a community tank up until the night before I got the Congo Puffer, when I put all the fish from it (7 fish, each 3-5") into my larger, 60G community.

Also, he is tank mates with 3 Ghost Shrimp (feeder shrimp until I get him trusting me enough to try dead foods). Last night when he first started doing the tank wall-shimmy, all three were still alive and strolling around as if they owned the tank. I didn't see them this morning however and am currently at work for another hour, so I'll check if they're around when I get home.

There is good news though - he re-buried himself right before I left for work. While I've been away, he unburied himself, did the same thing as last night for an hour, then re-buried himself again, which I assume is a good sign.

Thanks for the response!