info please!

[wolfbane]

Tonight I came into possession of a green spotted puffer, about an inch long. He was given to me cuz the owner didn't want him. Sooooooo....... I am reading conflicting info on keeping this guy, anyone have personal experience with this fish? I have plenty of ramshorn snails, but I'm concerned about the issue of fresh versus brackish water, I want to do what is best for him. for now, he is in a fresh tank.

[FrontosaurusRex]

in my VERY short experience with this puffer, brackish water is the way to go. i thought i was gonna save a puffer from walmart one night and i dumped him in my freshwater tank and in two days he was dead. The guys from Fish Ranch swear you can keep em in freshwater until they are almost adults, but at some point they are gonna need brackish water.

[fishlady]

i would suggest you go over to the Puffer Forum, those individuals on there are very smart and have alot of experience with all kinds of puffers. but i will agree with FrontosaurusRex on the brackish tank. they need that to thrive for you.

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/?sid=8be58806c1339bcffb55bfa4c8c54771

[edmlfc]

If you have the gsp in a fully cycled freshwater tank you can raise the sg by .002 per week and not kill your bacteria. He needs at least 30 gallons for himself. You will need marine salt not aquarium salt and you will need a hydrometer that starts at 1.000 or a refractometer. You can get a refractometer off ebay for cheap and they work great. You will need to feed him things like mussel, clam, crab and snails to keep his teeth worn down. Do not feed him mts (cone shaped snails) they will break his teeth and cause problems like infection of the gums. At the size he's at now you can keep him at 1.004-1.006 sg. This will keep him healthy. If you cannot get snails don't worry, mussel's, clams and crabs will keep his teeth worn down. You can also feed him earthworms, bloodworms, krill (not often but as a treat) & freeze-dried foods (soak in tank water first). You don't want to take him out of the water, if he puffs air it can kill him. You must keep your nitrates below 20, high nitrates will also kill him.

Where to find food: Mussel's, clams, crab, shrimp you can find at HEB in the fresh seafood department. Freeze-dried foods, bloodworms, small clams on half shell, krill & plankton etc. you can find at the lfs either on the shelf or in the freezer. Earthworms you can find at any fishing store like Academy in the fishing department.

How to feed:
Crab: You could buy 1 crab at a time. Take it home pull the legs and pinchers off and cut the bodies into pieces, then freeze in a ziploc bag for future feeding.

Clams and Mussel: before freezing pull most of the meat off the shell, leaving just a small bit that the puffer will have to scrape his teeth to get it. You can cut the meat into chunks for feeding later. Some lfs sell clams on the half shell and they are much smaller than the kind you will find in the grocery store, you can find these in their freezer.

Shrimp: Buy just a few shrimp cut it up in pieces and feed your pufer a small piece at a time.

Earthworms: Rinse well then feed.


Puffers with IP's:
Most puffers are wild caught and have IP's. It's best to always treat a puffer for IP's rather you think they have them or not. It won't hurt him to treat him. Geltek ultra cure px is good for treating IP's. The puffer will not mind the taste. You can soak there food in it and feed it to your puffer. It's best to do this at least 3 days in a row. Watch for white stringy pooh. If you see white stringy pooh he's got IP's. If you see black pooh he dosen't. Sometimes you will have to treat more than once.

If you have any questions you can send me a pm or post it here and I'll do my best to answer them for you. Good luck with your new puffer.

[wolfbane]

He's gone already

HR (as in HR Puff 'n' Stuff) died sometime last night. I guess his former life took its toll on him. I really was all psyched up to take care of him. Now I think I will read more and see if setting up a puffer enviroment is something I want to do. Can't believe I'm sad over a fish I only had a few short hours! Sheesh, they do get under your skin, don't they?

[imagirlgeek]

Yes. They. Do. :( Sorry for your loss.

[fishboyt]

Sorry to hear that. I lost one of my puffers about 2 months ago and I was very sad. I think you should read more about puffers and find one that suites you and then get one.

[fishlady]

sorry about your loss.....they do indeed steal your heart quickly.....

[edmlfc]

If you don't want to get into high brackish or marine there are freswater puffers with just as much personality. You get attached quickly. Sorry that your little guy didn't make it.

[rrocket2002]

Sorry to hear the little guy didn't make it.

[wolfbane]

You people are the best! Thanks for the thoughts.