Animal Stories - People Talking About Puffer Fish



Select Pet Atlas	Select A Family	Species / Breed

Aquarium Tropical Fish Articles

Latest Animal Stories on Puffer Fish (264)

Racheal - 2009-03-08
I saw Green Spotted Puffers at a store a few weeks ago and I thought they were adorable! I finally bought two last night. I put them in my 55 gal. aquarium with a 14" Pleco, 2 large fantail goldfish, 2 large moors, 2 1" fantails, 2 Cory catfish, and 4 Gold Claw crabs. The (not-so) informative tag on the Puffers at the store said 'may nip fins.' I thought they would be fine, as they are only about 1" big themselves, and the goldfish are quite lively. Our tank is well planted, with several decorations that provide hiding. I woke up this morning and the 2 small fantails have hardly any fins at all! All 4 of the larger goldfish have been significantly chewed on, 2 of them have very little tail left. I netted the Puffers and they are sitting in a bucket. A local pet store said that they would take them off my hands, but without reimbursement. I really like the fish, but I did not realize that 'may nip fins' meant that they would viciously devour the other non-aggressive fish. Would they do okay in a bowl with an aerator?

Click For Replies (1)

Laura - 2010-03-10
Racheal,

Puffers need at least a 20 gal tank. Here's some very important info for you. First they are brackish fish, meaning they need to have sea salt in the tank. You cannot mix them with all your other fish. You have goldfish mixed in with tropical fish and brackish fish. ok, what you need to do is seperate them. Water temp. for your tropical and brackish fish should be at 78 degrees. So make sure there is a heater in the different tanks (goldfish don't require a heater). All fish tanks need to have a water conditioner added to remove the chlorine from the water. And they need a filter to keep the tank clean. Puffers are brackish fish and require sea salt be added to a tank no less than 20 gal. You need to add one quarter cup of sea salt (not table salt) to the tank and test the water to make sure the salinity is at a level of 1.009. You can buy a cheap kit to test the water salinity at the fish store. Next, puffers need a diet of frozen blood worms,krill, brine shrimp and frozen half-shelled clams. They need the clams to nibble on to keep their beak-shaped teeth trimmed short. If the teeth get over-grown, they will not be able to eat. I suggest keeping puffers with their own kind of the same size, as they are a very aggresive fish and will most likely kill others. Forget the bowl, they'll end up dying. Hope this helps you.

Kaylee - 2009-04-22
I have a 55 gallon tank and a 10 gallon tank. In my 55 gallon I have a baby green spotted puffer, fresh water eel, rainbow shark, algea eater and a blue cray fish. Everyone hides except my baby puffer! I recently purchased a full grown gsp for the 10 gallon and I am not exactly sure if I should put him in the 55 with the others because he is sooo big but he needs to be in a bigger enviroment. He also does not even attack the feeders that are in the 10 gallon with him. Will he kill the baby puffer and my other fish? Any suggestions will help!

Click For Replies (1)

Laura - 2010-03-10
Kaylee,

I have a large green spot puffer and just got 2 tiny babies. I had to seperate them cuz they almost got eatten. Also, you have freshwater fish mixed in with brackish/puffers. Puffers need to live in brackish water: part fresh mixed with salt water. The puffer will eventually die in fresh water. ok, so if you don't already know, here's how you mix brackish water: mix one quarter cup of sea salt, NOT table salt, per one gal of water. the water salinity should be at 1.009. You can buy something from the fish store to measure the salt content in the water. Also, get some water conditioner to remove the chlorine. The heater in your tank should keep the water temperature set at about 78 degrees. Feed your puffer frozen blood worms, krill, brine shrimp and very important frozen half-shelled clams. Puffers have beak-shaped teeth that need to stay trimmed. They nibble on the clam shell to keep their teeth trimmed. If the teeth get overgrown, they will not be able to eat. Also, puffers are very aggresive and usually eventually will kill other fish, crabs etc. They are able to actually crack open shellfish/crabs with their teeth. I suggest keeping them only with other puffers of approximately the same size. My suggestion is to follow advice on tank conditions, seperate your freshwater fish from the brackish fish/puffers. Once your puffers grow a little larger, you can introduce them to the larger one. Good luck.

NMS - 2009-08-24
My son brought home one not long ago. It was given to him from someone that had him in a clear canister tank. I did some research and bought it flake food. We want to switch him into a larger tank but have been afraid to do the whole water switch thing. I live in Japan and the supplies on the military base I live on are scarce therefore I have to buy out in the local economy. We ended up buying natural salt with no iodine. I have no clue how much to use for the ratio or water. We set some water out in the sun (as we were told to do by a local pet store). I just went to feed it and it's color has changed from light cream/green to almost completely black. It's tail has also began to curve to one side and he is barely swimming and his head is pointing down towards the bottom of the tank. Normally when I go near the tank it bolts around and swims everywhere, but now he is barely moving. I'm worried that it is too late for him now. Any ideas on how I might be able to save him if there is infact something wrong with him? Thank you!

Click For Replies (1)

Laura - 2010-03-10
Hi, when the puffers belly turns black and stays black, it means he's sick. If his belly turns black and then goes back to cream he's ok. The sea salt portion is one quarter salt per one gal of water. the salinity level should be at approximately 1.009. you need to get something from the fish store to measure the salt level in your tank, it's super easy. Don't know why you would need to keep water out in the sun. You do however, need to get a water conditioner to add a few drops to your tank to remove any chlorine from the water. You also need a filter to keep tank clean, and a heater to keep tank temperature at around 78 degrees. For feeding, flake food is not enough. you need to feed frozen blood worms (they love) or frozen krill, brine shrimp along with frozen half-shelled clams. They need the clams to chew on in order to keep their teeth from overgrowing. If the teeth get overgrown, they won't be able to eat. I hope this info will help you and your puffer. I just love the little guys. Also, suggest puffers be kept with their own kind as they are very aggresive fish.

Mike - 2009-09-08
I got 2 GSP 6 Guppies 1 spotted catfish 1 shrimp and 2 Clchlid in a 29gal tank 4 days ago I set up 6 days ago. My baby GSP went after the guppies and shrimp the fist day the next day my Clchlid were dead from stress I was told (came in from FL that day). 2 days later I picked up 1 more shrip 2 red tall sharks and 2 red tall silver dolors. My GSP were scared at first but the tank is a family now and they all get along. I did see one of my red tall sharks(looked like it was cleaning my GSP) and my GSP black spot went gray then back again afert he left. The only thing is he still looks a little grey compared to my other GSP. I added more salt in my cup in the water and he went in that and his spots got darker black. They all look happy together and they eat flake food and dried shrimp. Any help and info on what I my be doing wrong or right please email me my 1st tank on my own.

Click For Replies (1)

Laura - 2010-03-10
Dear Mike,

First, you are mixing fresh water fish with brackish fish. Cant do this. All your fish in your tank are freshwater, your puffer is brackish, meaning it needs to be in partly salty water. Here's what you do. seperate your fish. The puffer needs a salinity water of 1.009. You get this by adding sea salt to your tank and measuring the salt content. You can talk to someone at the fish store about what to purchase to test your water for the proper salt level. Puffers eventually kill most other types of fish as they are aggresive and I suggest you only keep puffers with puffers. You need a heater in your tank with a temperature of 78 degrees. you need to add a water conditioner to remove the chlorine from the water (As with almost all fish, you need a water conditioner and heater/filter) Feeding the puffer: feed frozen blood worms, krill, brine shrimp, shrimp and very important - feed frozen half-shelled clams. The puffers have teeth with need to be kept trimmed. They do this by nipping at the clam shells. If their teeth overgrow, they will not be able to eat. Good luck to you.

Julie - 2009-10-16
I just got the spotteed green pufferfish the other day and now he seems to be swimmin horizontally, butt in the air, and face down.. ALL the time now and im starting to worry =[....could you tell me what could be possibly be wrong?he has one other tank mate and i plan to get more.. the other tank mate is a tettra..i had gotten 2 tetra but buy the time i got homw he had killed the other one and eaten him to shreds...hes seems lifeless but he is truly really alive....could the temp of the water be to cold?

Click For Replies (2)

Laura - 2010-03-10
Julie -

Puffers are brackish fish, meaning you need to add sea salt to your tank keeping the salinity at 1.009. Talk to someone at a fish store about whats going on. The temp. should be at 78 degrees approximately. Their food should be mostly frozen flood worms, krill , brine shrimp and especially frozen half-shelled clams, so the puffer can keep his teeth trimmed by chewing on the shell. If their teeth become overgrown, they can't eat and will die. Also, they are very aggresive fish and will most likely kill other types of fish. I suggest you keep only puffers in the tank. Get some good advice from someone from the fish store.
Laura - 2010-03-10
Julie, Your tettras are fresh water, arn't they? your puffer is brackish. The two need different water - one fresh, one salt.

Tammy Burroughs - 2009-12-09
Hi, I have a GSP that is starting to have problems. His tail looks swollen and also looks like its rotting of at the end. Any suggestions will be truely appreciated!
Thanks

Click For Replies (2)

yulian - 2010-02-17
hi there i think i know i think it is tailrot improving water conditions would be great and if you have him in freshwater changing him to brackishwater would be even better i know this by experience with my green spotted puffer.
Laura - 2010-03-10
hi, talk to a fish store and get some meds, be careful not to overdose your tank. Sounds like tailrot. Get some expert advice from a fish store.

Raihannah - 2009-12-03
I just bought two really cute spotted green puffer fish...but they won't eat a thing! I tried feeding them the tropical fish flakes that they came with but they aren't even touching them. I don't know what to do! They haven't eaten in over a week basically. Is there a chance that maybe their teeth were already overgrown when I purchased them (therefore, making it impossible for them to eat)? If so, how do I clip them myself?

Click For Replies (4)

yulian - 2010-02-17
Try feeding him live or frozen shrimp or other sea foods if they don't eat it take them to a vetenarian don't clip their teeth yourself you should have an expert do it with you if their teeth have grown to much i know this beacuse my puffer[pikachu]didn't eat until i gave him frozen shrimp
and please give your puffers snails about the size of their eyes to wear their teeth out.
Andrew - 2010-02-20
Puffers need shrimp, bloodworms, and snails. Snails are most important because they over grow their teeth.
Puffer lover - 2010-02-22
I have a extremly cute green spotted puffer. His name Larry and he loves krill. You must go and buy frozen krill, shrimp or blood worms before your puffers die of hunger! Keep all the food frozen in a freezer. Take a piece out when it's feeding time and plop it in the tank.
Best wishes!
Laura - 2010-03-10
Also, go buy some frozen half-shelled clams and pop one in the tank every few days. puffers chew on the shell and keep their teeth trimmed so they are able to eat.

Elaine - 2010-02-23
I've had a GSP for about a month and really enjoyed him until I noticed he stopped eating the krill (frozen food) and the rest of the group (3 tetras, 1 albino catfish) are eating just fine. Puffer was always waiting for me to feed him and now I see that his mouth looks different, would that be the overgrown teeth?

Click For Replies (1)

Laura - 2010-03-10
Yes, teeth are overgrown. Feed your fish, in addition to the frozen blood worms, etc, some frozen half-shelled clams from the pet store. Puffers will chew on the shells and trim their teeth. If they can't trim their teeth, they will not be able to eat and eventually die. This will take care of the problem.

louise - 2010-02-24
Is there anything you can use besides live snails to help with teeth?

Click For Replies (1)

Laura - 2010-03-10
Yes, absolutely feed him frozen half-shelled clams, from the pet store. This is necessary to keep them alive. They chew on the clam shell, keeping their teeth trimmed

Ashley - 2010-03-08
I was just curious, I have a 55 gallon marine tank with one of these little cuties and have about 100 lbs of live rock in the tank. Every once in a while I'll catch her chewing on little pieces of the live rock and picking at my coraline algae :/ I don't mind too much, but why is the doing this? I feed her well with hikari marine A, shrimp, copepods, marine seaweed, etc. but she does it anyways. Anyone else have this happen?

Click For Replies (1)

laura - 2010-03-10
Ashley,
Not sure why this is happening, but thinking your puffer may be trying to trim its beak/teeth. Add frozen half-shelled clams, from the fish store, to your tank. Puffers like to chew on the shell with will keep its beak/teeth trimmed, thus allowing it to eat. This is a necessary to keep them alive.

About Animal-World

Animal-World offers animal pictures, videos, and animal information on all different types of pets and animals. Included are animals that are commonly kept as pets, exotic pets and wild animals. Check us out for information, education, and fun. We strive to aid in responsible pet ownership and an understanding of the importance of preserving and honoring our world and its inhabitants. Animal-World members and contributors are from all over the world. You too are invited to be an active participant in this community. Post your own personal pet stories, contribute pictures of your pets, and join the forums for pet and animal discussions.

Visit Animal-World

Animal Stories - People Talking About Puffer Fish

About Animal-World