Weird puffer behaviour

[SarahBravo]

I bought a severely stressed GSP on Sunday - completely black all over. Put him in his own 10G tank, left the lights off, left him to it. He hid in the corner all day sunday but swam around a little yesterday. I've just come home and he's nose down on the gravel, tail in the air, balanced under a plant completely vertical. I don't want to poke him to see if he's still alive just in case he is and i give him a shock..... is this 'normal' stressed out puffer behaviour?

Sarah

 

[SarahBravo]

couldn't take it any longer....poked him. He dead

 

[SirMinion]

Aww. Poor little fella.

Are you going to try and get him replaced?

 

[SarahBravo]

Don't know at the moment. Would hate to get another and have it die too. I know it was probably already too far gone when i brought it home from the shop, but i feel really guilty in case there was something I could have done. And they are such cuties, I love their little puffy faces. Maybe I can just buy any that look distressed and send them to you for expert care and tlc?

depressed

 

[jsescher25]

I'm sure it wasnt your fault. next time you buy a puffer look for one that looks like he or she is the domante fish in the tank. also look for the most healthy and has all of his/her fins and you should be all good as long as your water prameters are all good. also the tank you put him in was brackish right? if not GSP's need to be in a brackish tank when they are young and then full marine when they are full grown.

P.S. if you didnt have the puffer to long after he died the LFS you got it from should replace it for you. atleast the LFS i goto gives you a 2 week window on there fish.

 

[Chasing Puck]

While I can sympathize with the 'saving the fish' mentality, please understand that you are not helping yourself, the hobby in general, and seldom the specific fish by practicing this.

If the LFS is bringing in sickly fish, they shouldn't reap the economic benefit of your money. Ditto that if they are bringing in fish and keeping them improperly., or bringing in fish that are not appropriate for the home aquarium. You shouldn't buy sick fish! It doesn't help you--most are so far gone that no treatment will save them and you risk exposing your other fish (even with quarantine--what if you forget to sanitize the net?).

 

[SarahBravo]

Yeah, i will go back to the shop and see what they say about a refund/replacement. I wouldn't buy a fish that had any symptoms of disease - however, many look stressed from the bare tanks, constant inspections and noise. If i hadn't bought the puffer they would have just waited till it had croaked, or flushed it overnight - £4 isn't worth their while either to try to save or to do a hard sell on. I was just soft and thought some peace and quiet might help a stressed fish. And what can you do? My nearest lfs where I get most of my fish has small, bare, overcrowded tanks (although no dead fish in tanks) and apart from this puffer, all the fish have survived and are doing well. The lfs an hour away from me where I bought some others, which had planted tanks and exceptionally happy and well adjusted looking fish ended up giving me a deformed fish which i had to euthanise and apparently has a reputation for diseased fish which kark it soon after purchase! If anyone can recommend a lfs within an hour of me that is responsible and sells happy, healthy fish I will happily exercise my economic veto and shop there, and let the other shops lose my business.

And yes, I have gone into a pet shop for a scratching post and come out with a kitten. Twice.

And yes, my mother did go to a jumble sale at the local animal shelter and come back with 2 dogs and a rabbit.

I think buying 31 healthy fish and only being a sucker once isn't that bad of an average.... actually thinking of some of the betta rescuers in this forum it's pretty damn hard-hearted!

Anyhow, i might leave puffers a while, or at least until i can find a couple of really healthy looking DPs which don't need brackish water etc.

Sarah