New Green Spotted Puffer Owner - Seeking advice/help

E

esbe02

AC Members
Mar 17, 2009
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Hello,

I wanted a new hobby and I decided to pick up 2 GSP from my local pet store. New to the scene, I decided to start off small with a marineland 5 gallon tank.

After some research on the net, I realize that these GSP need 30 gallons each for a healthy life. After learning this, I feel a little bad for the GSP's and wonder if keeping them in a 5 gallon tank is really that harmful to them. I might upgrade to a larger tank depending on my growing interest for the hobby.

Also, any tips to keep these guys healthy would be helpful as well.

Thanks!
 
Yes, they really should be in larger tanks, and possibly might need to be kept in separate tanks depending on individual personalities, so they don't kill each other. Are you also keeping them in brackish water?
 
sploke said:
Yes, they really should be in larger tanks, and possibly might need to be kept in separate tanks depending on individual personalities, so they don't kill each other. Are you also keeping them in brackish water?
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Yeah, I'm not in the position to spend anymore money, so I'm looking on craigslist daily to see if I can find a good deal on a larger tank. If I keep the puffers in the 5 gallon, how long do you think they will last before they start getting sick and eventually die due to the limited living space?

Yes, I got some general info from my local pet store and they advise me to add 1 cup of marine salt to my 5 gallon tank to achieve 1.005-1.010 SG. I picked up a hydrometer to confirm the SG as well, as of right it, its sitting at 1.008 SG.

I've only had the puffers for 4 days now and I noticed that one of the puffers camps out at the bottom of the tank and doesn't move much. I also notice that his spots and color are not as vibrant as before (goes to a dullish brown color). However, over a period of time, his colors are back and he doesnt' look dull anymore - is that normal? Another discover, the same puffer has some dark coloring around the side of his mouth. I don't recall the puffer like this before, is that a sign of stress/sickness/etc.?

thanks!
 
The problem isn't as much that one day they will get sick and die (at least not for quite a while). The issue is that the fish, being kept in a tank like that, will slowly start to have stunted growth. This probably won't be evident until you look at your seemingly healthy fish a year down the road and think, wow why haven't my fish grown at all?

Puffers can change color quite a bit depending on mood. When mine is resting it will get darker and rest against a powerhead or in a corner of the tank until something happens worthy of its attention.
 
robott said:
also, due to their need for meaty foods, you will have to do very frequent water changes. and heavy filtration.
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Yes, I'm prepared to do frequent water changes as necessary.

I have a few questions,

on diet, how much do I need the puffers? I've read on the net that you feed them whatever they can eat within 10-15 minutes, does anyone use any other measurements, I get a little worried when I see their bellies bulge down and wonder if I'm ever overfeeding them.

on lighting, I really don't like the stock light that my tank came with, its a traditional soft yellow light and the reason why I don't really like it is because it makes the water look dirty and cloudy. I've seen some aquariums at pet stores where a "whiter" light is used which looks better. Also, some use the "purpleish" light which I kind of like as well. Are puffers sensitive to certain lights, or am I safe to change the bulb to any color I like.

Thanks.
 
White lights are the Full spectrums, and the blueish ones are actinic, this should help in choosing a new bulb. as far as I know changing the light shouldn't hurt the fish at all,only consideration would be if you had plants or anything of that sort.
 
Upgraded to 30 gallon!

I couldn't help it and I upgraded to a 30 gallon tank. I found a pretty good deal on craigslist and I'm ready to put my 2 puffers into a 30 gallon opposed to the current 5 gallon.

About the tank, its an eclipse 30 gallon tank with a built-in filteration system. The tank came with a bunch of extra goodies and I plan to run them all through some water before adding it to the tank.

Again, I'm pretty new to the fish scene but I remember reading some stuff about making sure to "cycle" the aquarium before adding fish to the tank - something about creating bacteria overtime to prevent the fish from getting sick/dying. Someone clarify/confirm?

Also, how should I safely transfer the fish from the 5 gallon to 30 gallon...

Any other tips are welcomed as well..
 
Here's a good article on cycling the tank:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81388

Also read the stickies at the top of the brackish forum if you haven't already. Good on you for upgrading to a more appropriate home for them. I would use as much of the tank water from the 5gal in the 30 as possible. Mix up some more salt water in a separate container the day before, and make sure its the same salinity as what they are in now, then just net them and transfer them to the new tank.
 
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