New GSP Puffer Fish - Is this Normal?

[seanus]

Hello friends

I just set up my tank with two 1" Green Spotted Puffers in a brackish environment with lots of rocks and fake plants.

The water levels are good, but I did have to drive with the fish in the bag for 30 minutes & then acclamated them in the new tank water (in the bag) for another 15 minutes.

They both went right to the bottom of the tank and just stayed there.

Now they are swimming around but about half of the time, they will swim to the gravel and just lay on the rocks. After a couple minutes of 'resting' like this, they start swimming again...the amount of 'down time' has me a little concerned.

Is this normal? ...maybe I should wait a while longer since they've only been in the tank for two hours.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[SirMinion]

Completely normal.
Even active species like GSPs still spend a lot of time resting on the bottom and this coupled with the stress they've just been through makes their behaviour totaly expected.

That tank sounds just the thing for them. Well done.

 

[xXMrBonesXx]

i know nothing about puffers but were they in a brackish water tank when you bought them? cause if they weren't that could be the problem

doh! just a tad too late

 

[seanus]

Thanks for the replies. In response to your question, yes the LFS had them in brackish water & mine is as well.

I'm glad to hear the behavior is normal. The only thing now, is that they both have been resting on the gravel for about 20 minutes without swimming. Due to the shock, I would guess this is also okay. One of them has his tail up in the air and is nose into the rocks. He appears to be okay, but I'm not positive about his tail being up...the other one is flat on his belly.

Thanks for any further advice

 

[seanus]

Oh no! The one with his tail up just died.

What went wrong?!?

 

[SirMinion]

Oh no! The one with his tail up just died.

What went wrong?!?

hard to say, but stress would be my guess.
Puffers are quite delicate and easily stressed.
Sorry for your loss.

How's the other one doing?

 

[Pufferpunk]

Were they caught with a net? It is very possible, when exposed to air, it puffed & that killed him. They should be corraled into a container underwater, not picked up out of the water with a net.

 

[Erised]

Didn't you have a 30G tall? ... If so, why did you go ahead and buy 2 anyway when it was pointed out to you that you can only keep 1 in there, and that even for 1 it might be a tight fit.

What's your SG at?

 

[SirMinion]

Were they caught with a net? It is very possible, when exposed to air, it puffed & that killed him. They should be corraled into a container underwater, not picked up out of the water with a net.

That would certainly explain the 'tail up' posture if he had air trapped.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking...

 

[seanus]

Hello again and thank you for the replies.

SirMinion- Thank you for the nice words, and yes, I think stress was responsible...they both died the night I got them.

PufferPunk- You are correct. The guy at the LFS put them in a net, which likely did result in trapped air.

Erised- I know that the 30g tank is not suitable for them once they grow, and I am planning on moving them to a 55g tank once they grow a bit. They are only 1" right now (I will be replacing them...RIP little guys) and 2 inches of fish for thirty gallons is perfectly fine, especially considering I've had up to 15 total inches of fish and they've been fine for a year like that -- I perform regular water changes & keep it clean. My SG is at .008

To all- Thanks for the replies & I will make sure that the store does not use a net in the future!

 

[Erised]

That's fair enough then, sorry for mentioning it, and I hope I didn't offend you
Also, I hope you'll have more luck with your next puffers. Don't forget to 'educate' ( ) the staff!

 

[seanus]

Not a problem & no offense taken

Thanks for the replies everyone & I am going to make certain that the next little friends have a wonderful departure from the store and new home to enjoy

 

[love cichlids]

My new puffer I got almost a week ago was put in a net at the lfs but I had no problem with him, is it just with some puffers they get too stressed. My puffer is now a picky eater and will only eat bloodworms, but is doing great. I hope you can get a few more and have better luck. I am sorry yours did not make it, they are so cute and I would be upset if mine died.