The Puffer Forum

My week old F8, Sean Combs, frequently swims up and down any side of the tank rapidly.

Is there a reason why he does this? Like for hours at a time, he will go against the side of his tank and just swim up and down. He'll sink down slowly, and then jet up to the top.

Is he bored? Are they sick when they do this? Is this normal?

Usually bored, or trying to get away from something in the tank. How big is the tank, and how is it decorated?

Tank is a small 5 gallon tank (will get a bigger tank next payday).

I would say that once you get the bigger tank he will be much happier. I think he just wants more space so is trying to swim into the room Does the tank in the picture have a filter you can transfer to the new tank? Doing this will allow you to run this alongside the new filter in the bigger tank and therefore help to cycle the tank quicker.

Good Luck

You could try placing the larger plants on the sides of the tank, so they mask quite a lot of the sides, its worked for me in the past. Then once you get the new tank see how it goes.

My little guy does that sometimes, too. At first he did it nonstop for the first day or so I had him, and he still does it if I rearrange the tank some. So some of it is him just settling in and exploring.

About a week later I was worried because he kept pacing, but after reading a few posts from other people, I realized that the little bugger was only pacing at the front of the tank whenever he saw me. So sometimes I can sneak into the room and peek to see him exploring his tank.

(BTW, I have mine in a 5gal too. A 26gal will hopefully be on its way, soon. Of course, if he decides to pace inside that, too... lol)

Anyway, yeah, sometimes its because of water conditions, but (assuming you've taken care of your puffer's water) since your puffer is so new, I wouldn't worry about it. From the picture it looks like your tank has a lot of nooks and crannies to explore, so I wouldn't worry so much about your puffer being bored. He might just be doing it because he sees you and is begging for food. If it continues to bother you, try what Hilly said with the plants on the sides.

Good luck with your puffer!

There's your answer, 5 gallons is like you in a walk in closet - he'll probably be fine once you have that tank for him