The Puffer Forum

hey guys new to the forum. thanks for havin me. lol.

Ammonia : 0
Nitrites : 0
Nitrates : 10
pH : 7.8
SG : 0.010
Temp: 78F
Gallon: 10
Inhabitants: 2 GSP's
Feeding: 1 time 6 times a week fasting on wed.
Water change: every 3 weeks
No changes lately just water change 4 days ago
Aquarium setup for 8 months fish in it for 6

One puffer is perfect.
The other over last week his belly has gotten black, and hes a dark brownish color where he should be green. He has been eating a little but stoped eating today and wont eat.
Help whats wrong.
Thanks

Welcome. One major problem is that the tank is waaay too small. GSPs need a minimum of 30 gallons each. Having both of them in a 10g tank for six months is very likely causing stunting issues, which cause health issues and premature death.

What are you feeding them?

Can you get a better picture? Doesn't look like a GSP to me.

that is a GSP. sorry pic is poor but i took like 50 and still cant get one to come out. both fish are small. I feed them frozen blood worms sometimes, and i feed them frozen krill. Everyone else i have talked too sayed the tank is fine for size cause they are small. And theres no chance of gettin a bigger tank cause i dont have money or space for it.

The body shape just doesn't seem right for a GSP.

ok well if all we are gona talk about is the shape and all doesnt seem like a GSP. well sorry. his color is wrong cause hes sick. I got him from a nice honest fish store. i have had him for sometime now. he looks exactly like the GSP pics on here when hes healthy. if this is all yall are going to say then thanks for not helping and sorry i wasted everyones time.

There are many honest shops that know little to nothing about puffers. I wrote the article on GSPs & the 1st thing I thought was also, that it didn't look like one. Do you have a pic of your other puffer for comparison?

Although they may not need a 60g tank as small as they are right now, they should be in at least a 20g. Puffers are extremly territorial & in a tank that size, 1 of the puffers may be pushing around the other one when you're not watching (like at night).

Is frozen krill their main food? Because if it is, then they may have nutrition deficiencies. This could also lead to constipation issues, and cause the lack of appetite and illness.

It is also possible that the sick one is being bullied by the healthy one because of such a small tank size.

the sick one is usually the bully. he is twice the size of the healthy one. I have done my research and comparisons. He is most definetly a GSP. They eat krill and shrimp and frozen blood worms but thats about it. i cant get them to eat anything else. THey are picky eaters. IF he is constipated how do i fix that??

HEre is a pic of him i found that i was able to get a couple of weeks ago. this is the same puffer.

You can get them to eat other foods, you just have to train them. It takes patience and perseverance on your part but is best for their health. A diet consisting mainly of krill can cause constipation and malnutrition issues, which can kill them.

1tbsp Epsom salt/5g should help with constipation.

Its definately a GSP, the first photo makes him look like a Figure 8 because of the two visible spots, they are right in the place the F8's eyespots are located.

Your best bet would be a much larger tank.. there's just no way two GSP's can survive and be healthy in a 10 gallon tank. You might get them to live 6 months to a year, but they won't last much longer than that. When talking about a fish that should live over 10 years if kept properly, that's pretty cruel.

If a larger tank is not an option, I would really consider trying to find a home for them where they can be provided with enough room. In the mean time, you'll need to do lots of water changes, I'm talking 50% twice a week, to try to keep their water clean and healthy.

Actually, the 1st pic of it looked like a turgidus or similar puff. Definately a GSP from it's 2nd pic.

I agree that if you have no plans to upgrade (& soon!), then their best chance of survival would be to find someone that can give them the proper housing. You will continue to have problems with them, unil their early demise.

well fisrt thanks for finaly giveing me some input on what could be wrong with him and how to possible treat it. I think it was pretty sorry for yall to dwell over the fact that the pic didnt look like a GSP. i now what kinda fish i have and sorry hes that sick and pic wasnt the greatest to tell but yall really went on too long with that. Second, to the guy with tthe constipation rememdy im going to try it. thanks. and about the tank size those puffers are smaller than fifity cent pieces. if they need more than a 10 gallon thats yalls opion. everything elsse i have read and people i have talked to say 10 is fine unless they start gettin bigg. but GSP in captivity and in the wild dont get that big so they really arent gonna need it. I put them in a 30 and id never see them. I Keep there water quality perfect all the time and check constantly. they have it made. sorry yall think it is so cruel for them to be pampered in a sutible tank but of well,. thats yalls opion. tellin me once was enough. going on and on about it was just stupid. sorry for troubling yall with any thing cause apparently yall are just so better than the rest of use doing our thing.

I'm sorry to disappoint you but GSPs in captivity and in the wild, when properly cared for and housed, get to be 6 inches long not including tail fin. And its not merely a matter of opinion, its fact. There are people here with decades of experience keeping GSPs who have learned all of the good, and bad, things to do for puffers. A 10g tank is not a suitable home for a GSP long-term and if you keep it there, it will be stunted and will die a premature death rather than living the many years it should live.

The reason why people kept going on and on about the first photo is because the kind of puffer it looks like in the first photo is a purely freshwater puffer and if that's what it was, it clearly could have been ill from being in brackish water.

I'm sorry that you choose not to learn how to properly care for them but even more, I'm sorry for your fish who are the ones that are truly going to suffer for it.

well not every newbie to the website is so dumb they dont konw what kinda fish they have. and for size. 6 inches is it. well when they get past the 2 inch mark they will get something until then 10 is it. my gsps are very well cared for and houseing is perfect for time beein.