Green Spotted Puffers

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  Benjamin said,

  Hi there! My daughter and I rescued an adorable little guy from one of those huge chain MART type stores….you know….lol Anyway, the poor little guy was in a 5 gal. tank with 4 other fish, two of which were dead, and the other two which were larger were tormenting him badly.

  We rescued him before we really knew what we were getting into, but with some ongoing research and quick tank adjustments, our little green spotted is recovering well and seems lively and happy! We have had him about 2 weeks now, his fins have healed and he doesn’t hide all the time. He is about 3 inches long, and eats freeze dried krill and I grow pond snails for him which he gets 3 or 4 three times a week. I put four ghost shrimp in with him 10 days ago, but he seems to have to interest in them. I see him toy with them, but he doesn’t eat them.

  We named him Zoom and he currently he is in a 10 gal. tank with 2 gourami, 2 small goldfish, and a few split tail guppies and they all get along well….so far. I understand puffers get a little nippy, but so far he plays with the others but no one has lost any fins or other body parts. I know the 10 gal. is small, but I have plans to upgrade the tank right after the first of the year.

  Thanks for the website and I will be back with updates soon! We love our puffer and hope to get him a friend soon.

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Benjamin, I’m glad that Zoom is doing well.

  My puffers ignored their ghost shrimp for a few weeks, then all of a sudden they decided to eat them.

  If you do decide to get him a friend you might want to get two, to help spread the aggression out so one doesn’t get picked on all the time.

  You might also want to keep the 10 gallon around in case the puffers do start to get aggressive.

  I’e heard of someone who kept his puffers with mollies for a long time, then woke up to find that his favorite molly had been bitten in half.

  I’m not trying to scare you – but I don’t want you or your daughter to lose a favorite fish.

  Thanks for keeping us updated, that will be exciting.

  I always love hearing about other fish, especially puffers.

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  Fred said,

  :) fish are ugly

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  Sarah said,

  Welcome Fred, do you think all fish are ugly, or just the green spotted puffers?

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  cassie said,

  hi! I have just adopted a figure 8 puffer. and i was wondering, how often do i need to feed him the ghost shrimp?? we bought a few, and put one into the tank with him, it was like watching the movie “Predator” lol. He toyed with him, taunted him, and finally went in for the kill!! lol!! as i do not want to over feed him, i was really hoping for some information! thank you! great site by the way!

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  Sarah said,

  Hi Cassie, Puffers under one inch should be fed every day, and puffers over an inch should be fed every day.

  They should also have variety.

  Congrats on your new puffer!

  I love Figure 8’s.

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  Trevor said,

  I have 2 puffers a gigantic beast of a puffer called shrimp & a small puffer called galioth (LOL). Along with this i had a puffer that was about the size of shrimp yet still along the size line of galioth and he died due to poor water quality :C.The puffers live in a small tank yet they love to swim up and down in the corner.they also swim around the moniter for the tank.i have 3 tanks 2 fresh and 1 salt so i farm pond snales form 1 of the fresh fish tanks.my brother dared me to eat a large one for 20 dollers.i feed them live shimp from petsmart and petco.

  P.S. FRED LIKES MEN!!!!!!!LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Trevor, welcome!

  Did you eat the snail?

  I wouldn’t do that for anything!

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  anonymous said,

  In response to the ghost shrimp, they are a carrier of ick, which can kill puffers and is hard to treat with “over the counter” treatments of ick. These treatments kill the ick, but also kill the puffer as it burns their skin. Just be weary of mixing puffers with ghost shrimp.

• 

  Rachel said,

  Hi, I am new to puffers and just got 3. I saw them at a pet store and they looked terrible. They weren’t in brackish water, there fins were ripped, and there tails were tucked against them and the stomachs were mostly black and they were with a bunch of tetras. I had an extra 15 gallon at home and took some water from another tank so it was all cycled and a filter, heater, and an airator and got some crushed coarl gravel to keep the pH low (is that ok? I heard they need a low pH and that coral will lower it). I have slowly been changing the water to brackish and they seem to be doing much better. I have been feeding them bloodworms and small snails and am hatching some brine shrimp eggs for them. They are about an inch and a half right now and I know they need a much bigger aquarium soon and plan to get atleast a 30 gallon if not bigger and if I am unable to I will bring them to a really good fish store specializing in fish and reptiles that will take care of them. But for now any pointers on how to keep them happy and healthy would be great!
  Thanks!

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Rachel,

  Good luck with your puffers.

  I wouldn’t try to change the ph or the salinity too much nowat once, since the puffers are obviously stressed and unhealthy. It’s recommended to only change the salinity .002 per week, so the puffers have time to get used to the change.

  My puffers really liked krill, and that and the snails will help keep their beaks trimmed.

  Unfortunately, in my experience once the puffers stomachs turn black they don’t make it too much longer.

  Good luck with your puffers – please keep me updated.

  I’m scared to get more because of all the bad experiences I’ve had.

• 

  teagal said,

  I have 1 green spotted puffer who my boyfriend named SPOT and then I have a circle 8 puffer I call Runt.
  He is the runt of the litter.
  I love my little puffer friends and hope to keep them many years.
  They like bloodworms and shrimp best (so far).
  Spot is the pig of the 2. He gets the shrimp before it hits the water . . ha ha ha

• 

  Sarah said,

  Teagal,

  They sound so cute!

  Jeff makes 8-ball, our Figure 8 puffer chase the shrimp around when he puts it in. He’s so funny looking swimming after it as fast as he can.

• 

  Jennifer said,

  I just bought a 10 gal tank & 4 green spotted puffers about 3 weeks ago. (I started out with 1 puffer and 2 mollies…but the mollies were the ones tormenting the poor puffer….so we took them back and got 3 more puffers.) I feed them freeze dried krill and they just go nuts for them. Mine are only about an inch long each…so still young. I am curious as to why my tank gets cloudy so fast (within 3 days of cleaning), and why they hover the bottom back corners of the tank…They were pretty lively for the first 2 weeks, but the past few days since I cleaned the tank, they hide and for the most part only come out to eat or when they are hungry. They don’t have any physical signs of ick…but I noticed 2 of them rubbing on the plants and rocks…I’m worried. My daughter and I love these fish, and she would be devistated if they died. I have a heater that is set at 78*F, so I don’t think they are cold, but that is one area they hover a lot, next to the heater. I have the aquasafe, stresszyme, and easybalcance for their tank, and follow the directions very carefully (I remember all the work my father put into his tanks when I was growing up). We welcomed these little guys into our family like one of us, just like our cat, so if we were to loose them would be hard, especially for my 3yr-old daughter. Please help!!!

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Jennifer.

  If you have green spotted puffers then the tank is very overcrowded (they can get up to 6 inches), and that’s probably why the tank gets so cloudy so fast.

  You probably haven’t undergone a full Nitrogen cycle if you recently started the tank, and since puffers are so sensitive it’s recommended that they only go into a fully cycled tank.

  How are you cleaning the tank?

  Are you just changing a percentage of the water once a week, and treating the new water with Prime or another dechlorinator?

  If the puffers aren’t eating all of their food and the food is decaying that could be contributing to cloudy water as well.

  78-82F is a good temperature range for green spotted puffers, so the temp should be good.

  They may just hover by the heater because it provides more cover – it might not have anything to do with them being cold.

  I’m not familiar with aquasafe, stresszyme,or easybalance, but it looks like stresszyme and easybalance both help the bacteria and biological filters.

  If I were you, I would stop using them and use Prime to decholorinate the fish tank.

  I’d also change 25% of the water each week or whenever the tank started looking cloudy until it got back on track, then I’d start doing the changes every 2-4 weeks.

  If the fish were stressed by that large of a water change I’d do smaller more frequent changes until the fish started acting healther and the tank stopped getting cloudy.

  Of course if the problem doesn’t clear up in a couple of weeks, and you’re sure the cloudiness isn’t caused by the water you’re using to change the tank I’m not sure what I’d do.

  Anyone else have any suggestion?

• 

  Amanda said,

  I have saved 4 spotted puffers from a local “mart” and did much research regarding their care. They are doing well and have lost the black around their bellies and sides. I will need to get a bigger tank soon, but am having a wonderful time learning and caring for them

  Amanda

• 

  Sarah said,

  That’s great Amanda, how long have you had them?

  It’s always good to hear stories about puffers that are doing well.

• 

  Denise said,

  My daughhter and I were brolwsing thne MART stgore as well and came across a tank of about 20 puffers. Very sad sight to see as they were all struggling to get around each other. My daughters first reaction was to take them all home. WE, of course couldn’t do that, so I told her to pick out the two she was really interested in. She found tweo thatg were alone in the back. I think she made the best choice. We named the Harold and Kumar. They are doing great, and they love to eat the snails and frozen bloodworms( I buy the gum drop bloodworms)and they also like chewing on clam shells, so I keep some in the tank so they have something to keep the teeth from growing. They are the best little fish we have ever had. They have never been aggressive with each other, and they are just so fun to watch swim around.

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Denise, I’m glad to hear that Harold and Kumar are getting along well. I bet they are a ton of fun to watch!

• 

  donald said,

  jennifer i have the same problem as you when i brought my puffers home they were very happy and playful then i noticed one of them started having problems. first his belly got black then he started staying by the heater and eventually stopped eating. i changed the water and put him in the water i took out to feed him by himself and he still wouldnt eat and shortly after he died. now my other puffers belly is black half the time and is staying near the heater.hes still eating he is my favorite fish if someone can please help me. my friend gave me the tank and said he would help take care of it and i havent been able to get in touch with him since my first fish got sick. if anyone could give me any advice i would greatly appreciate it. i dont know much when i changed the water i changed about 25% and put 3 caps of water conditioner and i feed them a fresh water multi-pack from the freezer that the guy at the fish store told me to… i also have two black fin sharks and a african cichlid and a couple gold fish they been nippin at and they all seem like there doin fine.

• 

  Courtni said,

  Hi, I got two spotted puffers today, I put them in the tank with the rest of my fish which are a couple of mollies and quite a few fancy tailed guppies.. my guppies have been reproducing quickly. And now that I see that the Puffers can get aggressive i’m thinking of what to do. My guppies are very dear to me, and ive had them for a couple of years. Thoughts?

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Courtni, if your guppies mean a lot to you, you should probably move them or the puffers to another tank.

  I’ve heard of people keeping puffers and other fish together, thinking that everything was fine, until they woke up to find that the puffer had eaten or killed another fish.

  I wouldn’t risk it with a fish that meant a lot to me.

• 

  Sarah said,

  Donald, I’m sorry to hear about your puffers.

  It’s so disappointing when they don’t make it.

  How big is your tank?

  Are you using the amount of water conditioinier that you are supposed to according to the directions – three capfuls sounds like a lot unless you have a very big tank.

  Are you also feeding your puffers krill, or shrimp, or some other food to help keep their teeth trimmed?

  I have heard of a green puffer disease that causes the green spotted puffers to turn black, and die, and no one really knows what causes it, or how to treat it.

  I hope this isn’t the case with your puffer, please keep me updated on how he is doing.

• 

  kane said,

  i just purchased a green puffer fish he looks yello to me and hes great. its the first day having him i also bought him from a mart store wally world as i like to say.lol umm ive never owned fish b4 and neither has my friends. i have a 10 gal tank and also have 3 tiger barbs and a lace catfish along with him. im guessing i will have to eventually get a bigger tank, how long do u think i have b4 i have to do this? i think the puffer is the star of the bunch def. and the tigers are really neat as they swimm together but the lace is kinda cool but swims bottom mostly. any ways if any1 has any advice i would appreciate it. thanks

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Kane, you should probably move the green spotted puffer as soon as you can, to make sure he has enough room, and to make sure that he doesn’t eat any of your other fish.

  Just make sure that the tank is cycled, or that you add some gravel from the tank he’s in now, or another established tank immediately before or after you add the puffer. Puffers should always be added to a cycled tank because they are sensitive to the changes that go on while they are cycling..

• 

  Ashley said,

  So as werid as this is going to sound I just recently bought a green spotted puffer fish, his name is squishy, but I’m afraid I may have underestimated the care for this little guy. I’m currently living in a dorm room so I couldn’t get him a huge fish tank. I’m afraid that the one gallon tank that I have him in will eventually kill him, and he seems to be hungry all the time. I also read that if these fish swim up and down the glass of the fish tank that they’re bored and need more stuff in there tank is that true? Can you guys help me?

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Ashley, unfortunately, most of what you heard is true. A 1 gallon tank is way to small for a green spotted puffer. They also need heated tanks, unless you can keep the temperature from 73-80F. Most puffers will beg for more food than they need, so he might just be looking for attention. And they do need more stuff in the tank to keep them occupied so they don’t get bored. The minimum recommended tank size is also 30 gallons. Is there any way you’ll be able to get a larger tank for him?

• 

  Joey said,

  How many shrimp do I feed per day

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  sam said,

  i have 3 green spotted puffer fish in a 10gl tank and they are only like 1in each. they are really happy in there tank i gave them 4 big rocks so they can go in and out of them and gave them plants any every thing else they needed. also there tanks is always clear.so do you think it will be ok to keep them in the tank in till they get 2-3 ins.also why does my green spotted puffer change its color when he gose to the bottom of the tank.

• 

  Sarah said,

  Hi Sam, I’m not sure why your puffer changes when he goes to the bottom of the tank, mine never did that. I would move the puffers as soon as possible, that way you don’t have to worry about them fighting over new territory when they’re older. If you can’t change them definitely make sure you keep up with the water changes since puffers need clean water, and produce a lot of waste.

• 

  Sarah said,

  Joey, you want their bellies to bulge a little, but not remain too big, or get to small after they are done eating. Most people recommend that puffers under 1 inch eat every day, and puffers over 1 inch eat every other day. The amount of shrimp you feed per day depends on the size of your puffers, and the size of the shrimp. Puffers should also have a varied diet.

• 

  Tanya said,

  I just got two spotted puffers from Wal Mart yesterday, from the same old conditions everyone’s heard about, and have a lot of variety of food for them-freeze dried krill, blood worms, flakes, frozen raw human shrimp, algae wafers,shrimp pellet, ghost shrimp,and a live fiddler crab(because at Wal Mart, they are forced to survive on flake food, and are housed right next to the fiddler crabs,(talk about torture!) you should have seen the starving puffers swimming up and down the glass, salivating at the fiddler crabs!I bought them their own fiddler crab, as a bustin’ out meal, which they haven’t touched yet, six mystery snails for my freshwater 20 gal (as that was all that was available) in hope that maybe they’ll breed, cause they’re too big to fit in the puffer’s mouth, but pond snails and real marine salt, and a hydrometer aren’t accessible where i live, as the closest thing to a pet store we have is good old Wal Mart , my question is If I buy pond snails or ramshorn snails from ebay, How many should I buy in order to establish a colony, and still have some to feed the puffer in the meanwhile? I need to work fast as I have nothing to feed them to file their teeth, and I don’t think they are very interested in empty shells without the slimy filling,lol, P.S puffers, and crab are in a 29 gal tall tank

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