Why do they do this?

melissa3 said:
I found this info about dwarf puffers from "BADMAN'S TROPICAL FISH"-

"Another important purpose for the plants is to give the puffers an interesting habitat. If the puffers are bored, they will do a lot of swimming up and down the glass."

According to the excerpt, my puffer is bored (?) How can that be? I just put him in my tank last night :huh: :confused:
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If you just put him in last night. He's probably trying to find a way out. He'll settle down. Give him some caves, plants, rocks....
 
melissa3 said:
According to the excerpt, my puffer is bored (?) How can that be? I just put him in my tank last night :huh: :confused:
Click to expand...

Maybe it's ADHD. Heh. Anyhow, I'm curious about aeration. How many fish in the tank and what type of filters are you using? I read a while back that fish may observe this type of behavior to "get a gulp of air". This is common in Cory Catfish behavior, but like you said, not all fish do this.
 
The smalles Whisper powered filter is probably the 10. I would recommend always getting more filtering power than you normally need. I have a Whisper 40 for a 20 Gallon tank. I don't know if it's oxygen levels or not, but I can at least say that you should buy a more powerful filter. Usually 1.5-2 times the size of your tank (for smaller tanks).
 
Ive seen some of my saltwater fish do this in the past. I guess it's not that uncommon of a "problem." I always attributed it to boredom or hunger.

:huh:
 
Pallen81 said:
If you just put him in last night. He's probably trying to find a way out. He'll settle down. Give him some caves, plants, rocks....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the idea - I added a rock cave last night for my dwarf puffer. When I checked this morning, he was sleeping in it. He's more content now =)

Also, I added a little bit of aquarium salt and turned the temp up about 2 degrees and he doesn't do that "up and down" thing anymore.

My swordtail, on the other hand, is a different story. Now she's taken to hanging at the surface, drinking the air. She's the only one. I turned the bubbles on and I'll see if that makes a difference....
 
ahhhh, glad to hear the he's getting more at ease. And you are most welcome.

have you tested your tank recently for ammonia/nitrite?

when you add new fish it can screw up the "balance" in your system. Fish generally don't breath at the surface unless there is an ammonia spike... and that's bad.
 
My swordtail does the up and down thing shortly before she has her fry. Our platies do the up and down thing every time they get fresh water. Our moons do the up and down thing whenever we enter the room. Three different tanks. I am thinking it is bordom, happiness, exitement, seeing their own reflection, nothing serious.

L.
 
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