Animal Stories - People Talking About Puffer Fish



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Latest Animal Stories on Puffer Fish (264)

Alex - 2010-05-31
I just bought two Black moor 3 inches each and put them with one spotted green puffer (bitc)h fish it eats their eyes and tails and ai had to took them out cuz they died. So I had to get rid of it by giving the spotted puffer fish to my friend.

Tina - 2010-05-28
So, heres the thing. I dropped two minnows into the bowl. Puffy ate one. Of course, he established and developed a relationship with the other. 1 fish, 2 fish. green fish, 'food' fish. Now, that fish has been alive for a week (give or take) and they're like... best friends. Lucky for "sandra" (the name of the minnow, a name from the previous winner of Survivor the show) I have extra fish flakes. woot.

mimi - 2010-05-18
I have a GSP that I got at Walmart. Her name is Casey and I have had her for 9 months. She is now at 3 inches. Like everyone I did not believe
that they had to be alone in the tank. I had added a catfish at the same time as her. It was ok till 2 months later she took
two big bites out of it. She is now alone and happy. Its like owning a puppy that can fit in your palm. can't wait to see
how big she will get.

Cory (elvis is my fish\'name) - 2010-05-02
Does anyone know if they can literally jump out of the bowl? Because in the middle of the night I could have sworn I heard some splashing. Thanks :)

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Editor's Note - 2010-05-02
It is very possible. Many fish can jump out of the water and end up on the floor. You may want to get a cover to put over the bowl - with air holes in it.
George - 2010-05-07
They can jump out of the water, and will do. Make sure you have a hood with no escape points.

Also, do all the normal checks of your water to make sure they're not jumping out of the water for a reason...

Anonymous - 2010-04-16
I have (3) sets of fry's, all spotted. They get along until feeding time, colored flakes. The last set of baby's I started feeding bloodworms and shrimp with the food & they got a lot bigger than the others & they're younger.

Dale Roller - 2010-03-30
I bought three Green Spotted puffers at Walmart and placed them in my 9 gallon BiUbe reefone aquarium. I have learned this is way too small for them, but they seemed to do fine for a year. I had them at my mom's house for a few months and she kept leaving the lid off the tank. Two GSPs jumped out and died. The last GSP is in my bedroom and has been alive for almost two years now. I need to find tankmates for him. I would like a couple of brightly colored cichlids or 1 more puffer and a bumble bee gobey. The tank is brackish.
I usually just feed him dried Zoomed Red Shrimp. They are big and crunchy. They also enjoy the occassional mealworm or waxworm. I want to try feeding him a cricket next. I can't find any small snails nor is there anywhere around here with ghost shrimp. Salem, Oregon.

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John Green - 2010-04-05
You don't want to put any other fish in with your puffer try to get a bigger tank for it they do just fine by themselves but if you want another then get a bigger tank. Too small of a tank stresses them out and will kill them try for at least a 29gallon it will help then you can get 2. I have had my 2 for 4 years in a 29gal. and they love it as for tank mates every thing else besides puffers will get eaten believe me I've seen it first hand even cichlids and cichlids are fresh water tropical fish.
stacy - 2010-04-07
My husband and I just purchased 2 gsp's 2 weeks ago at wal-mart. Try looking up petco.com or petsmart.com for the the shrimp, you may be able to order it online.
tony - 2010-04-21
You don't want to put cichlids with puffers. Try angelfish or gouramis, that's what I keep my 2 puffers with. Cichlids are too aggressive and should be kept with others of the same size and temperament.
Nick - 2010-05-07
You definitely need a bigger aquarium. You must look at how the big the fish will get when it reaches full maturity, not how big it is now. The green spotted puffers will push 6 inches usually. You puffer will require a much larger tank. It is not best to associate GSPs with other fish. It is not a community fish. If you are adamant about giving it some tank mates, then first off, you have to get a 35+ gallon tank. Gouramis are a terribly idea for a tank mate being that they are strictly freshwater. Angelfish will have the same problem as well. It is not wise to mix freshwater and brackish water, hoping things will work themselves out. Doesn't work that way. Puffers, when little, require the specific gravity around 1.008. As they get older and bigger, you should begin to move that number up. Gouramis, Angelfish, or any freshwater fish for that matter will not be able to tolerate the salt content and will die if not already from the puffer's abuse on them. Try to find brackish water fish that require the same hardness, specific gravity, temperature, ph level, etc... as the GSP. Look up the Archer fish and scats. That will take you in a better direction for possible tank mates. The only other piece of advice I can give is...WATER CHANGES, WATER CHANGES, WATER CHANGES! Puffers produce a ridiculous amount of waste themselves and if you add tank mates, it will get worst. 50% a week. 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon (when they are younger). Also remember that when you move to a brackish water tank the rule of 1inch of fish per gallon changes. It moves to about 3inches of fish per gallon, which means less fish, bigger tank, obviously. Good luck.

Randy - 2010-03-21
Its long message but a good note for any FISH LOVER. So for 1 1/2 yrs I have had a 55 gal. tank with a green spotted puffer that lives with mostly chiclids 9. Which are not real agressive ,but can be when food is fed. Also a red scat, a heavy armored yellow striped catfish & I am not sure how its still alive or why they dont kill it off ,but a black fin tetra. All in which are fine well fed, plenty of hiding spaces and different lighting which actually helps in thier behavior ive noticed calming them down. Its like a black light really. My lights are on timers 3 setting Natural florecent then my black light comes then blue LEDs for moon lighting at night which will go off at 3 for complete darkness. I have lots of rock and plant which i change ,move & stack differently 3 to 4 times a year so it doesnt get old for them they start over in finding and moving gravel to make for new homes.I started my tank off with 6 cichilds and slowly added in 2s or 3s to prevent any one fish from trying to claim the whole tank as his and to keep a new comer from not being alone when being introduced into the tank, which I think helps reduce from being picked on. Also I would try and add new homes for any new fish to reduce fighting for a home or teroritory. Also high temps for cichilds can cause them to bring out their natural behavior to be agressive in mainly for more control of sections if not the whole tank. My tank is at 77 degrees. And my fish are very active so i pick out very active and agressive fish cause that suits my tanks community. So know your fish.
I have had many types of fresh & salt water fish for years since i was 12 & 24 now. I can truly say that fish have personalities & that some like others and some dont.Might be when it comes to space, fish size or sinroity. Thing is you will never know how they will react to one another. I had 2 oscars living with a 15 inch freshwater eel which ate fish like the ocars. people at the store said it wont work out but i had them for yrs. I had peiranahs living with cichlids fine but note that provide housing for the fish, like rocks,plants ...ect. You never know but your fish just might work out. Think of the fish of the same speicies that kill one another. Whats up with that its just some fish of the same color, size dont like the other still because its just that fishes way of things and never know but might change. Hope this comes to show that you and some one else might have the same size tank and fish but one is having problems with fish killin fish. Might be because of how he sat the tank up with only one fish maybe two or how he picked out the most aggressive one in the tank at the store cause of its activity.Those might of been the down fall of having a peacful tank so dont turn down the little guy in the corner of the tank if the tank at home has that peaceful enviornment cause he would probly fit right in cause he might carry the same personalty of the fish in which you already own. Same goes for saltwater but risking more money for maybe at a shot for a non reef safe fish like a coral beauty to actural not eat the reef ive taken the chance and was completely fine because you never know. Not saying tho that some fish have bad habits tho but some dont of the same species. HOPED this helped some people out! Fish help me cope and feel less stressful at times so I am a big fan of the little guys and hope others enjoy thier pets as much as i have enjoyed mine.

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Logan - 2010-04-29
Did you introduce all of the fish, including the puffer, at once or could you add some with the puffer later on?

CJ - 2010-03-20
I have a spotted green puffer fish, bought him from a wal-mart in Texas. I've had him for already 8-9months, very lite maintance being that I have a bottom feeder.They both eat bloodworms (freeze dried),other than that, I enjoy the way it looks and its funny round shape

Matthew - 2010-03-18
Man this fish is a sleeper. When the light is on he's real chill an minds his own buis. However when the lights go out he's on killing spree for anything that moves. be careful!

Puffer lover - 2010-02-22
I have a puffer! His name is Larry and he's a green spot puffer. My mom thought he was a dwarf because we bought him last year and he's barely grown. But I can tell that he's a green spot for he has spots.
Anyways, I am an expert on taking care of green spot puffers, so if you need answered questions, just leave a reply for this and I'll get to you as soon as I can!

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Clara - 2010-02-22
I recently got one for my birthday. My friend had also bought tropical fish food and it didn't seem to eat it. I just bought some live brine fish to feed it. But I don't know how much to feed it and what else specifically I should feed it. If you could help it would be much appreciated!
Deanna - 2010-02-27
Hi! I recently bought an adorable puffer, about 3-4 days ago, and he won't seem to eat. I tried flakes of various sorts and freeze-dried blood worms and such. I bought a few snails today, I'm not sure what kind but they have round shells, and the one that fell right in front of him he ate right away in like one bite. I have a few other snails and a ghost shrimp with him in the tank but he seems to ignore them. Is it healthy for him to only eat one snail? And will he find the other snails because they look like the gravel or ever eat the shrimp? His belly is turning slightly gray too. If you have any ideas, it would be much appreciated as I'm attached to him already and don't want to lose him.
Aarin - 2010-03-03
Just got 3 new puffers. I am totally in love with the little creatures. I have always had fish, and have been known for having a well kept tank. My 5yr old carnival gold fish just died and I decided to finally get those puffers I always wanted. Unfortunatly I didn't read up on them until I bought them..and I have them in a 5gallon tank. They were doing great for the first month, then a week ago I noticed their tail fins were closed all the time except for one of the fish, so I did a 25% water change. They went back to normal. Tonight I came home and turned on the lights and they were sleeping on the bottom of the tank, they seemed to wake up and their tail fins were all closed again. Do you think it is just the water quality? More salt? I just don't know. I plan on getting a larger tank, but it will be 2 months before I can do so...any info?
amber - 2010-03-07
Hey I just bought a green spotted puffer (I think.) I read on here that it is important to know which one you buy but the green spotted/ green/ freshwater all look alike. I do think hes the green spotted though. When I bought him, he was labeled as spotted. When should I acclimate him to salt water? I just bought him today so im not sure how long he should be in fresh. Thanks
Stephen - 2010-03-07
Hi my name is Stephen. Ok you see I have two spotted puffer fish and I was wondering what types of fish that I can mix them with. Oh and I have one more question how do u know if their boy or girl?
jackie - 2010-03-08
I recently bought 2 puffers a month ago and went last week to buy some snails. The workers at Petco had one that they wanted to get rid of because it had a crooked spine, so I took him. Now i have 3. they are doing great and eat from my hand.
Josh - 2010-03-13
what is the best algae eater to put in a 5gallon tank with my green spotted puffer, I had a pleco but zeppelin (my puffer) ate his fins and sadly he passed away. My mother tould me to get another but that is not the wisest thing to do. I would like to know what algae eater I should put in the tank with him.
samuel - 2010-03-19
Hey how's it goen buddy. So what exactly do you feed your puffer and where do you buy its food? thanks for your time
April - 2010-03-28
I am preparing to build a new fish community. Currently, my only experience is w/ cichlids (White & Black Convicts, Jack Dempsey, Blood Red Parrot) so this will be very different. I have a 26 gallon aquarium, which is completely empty right now. I wanted to begin my community with a Spotted Green Puffer. However, a woman @ the pet store told me that they are very aggressive, and it's best not to include the Puffer in a community. Any advice? I really want the Spotted Green Puffer...they're so cute! But I also want a community. I would appreciate any help you can offer.
Marc - 2010-04-04
Question, Can A Geen Spotted Puffer Survive in a freshwater tank without salt? Interested in getting a couple but don't have a brackish tank.
sean davis - 2010-04-05
Hi, my name is sean. I've had my green spotted puffer for about a year now, and haven't seen him inflate once, have you any idea why.
John Green - 2010-04-05
How long is your puffer he might be a pea puffer.
Matt - 2010-04-07
Is it alright for my green spotted puffer to be in freshwater? It is very active and about an inch long. And I was wondering if I should put him in my 55 gallon tank with 4 three inch long cichlids. One of my cichlids ate my smallest cichlid so I am a little worried. Thank You.
PuffyBuddy

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