**Beth**new puffer,..normal?...please help

[jer4916]

Hello,
I purchased a new porc. puffer today...very very cute..anyways i drip'd him over a period of 4 hours...(extremely slow) ..anyways ..my water is 79degrees and for some odd reason my little guy will swim up and lodge himself next to the heater...almost as though hes cold...he'll stay there for a minute...swim around a bit....and go back...
is this normal?
should i be watchful?
~chris

 

[beth]

chris, you should always be watchful of a new specimen. New fish will do anything but act as we expect. The heater may be some sort of security for the puffer. Keep a close eye, and try to get him acclimated to feeding.
By chance, was he ever removed from water during the transfers from LFS to your aquarium?
If you don't mind, I'll move your thread over to the Disease Forum so that we can talk about it if anything further develops [ I may not catch it here].

 

[jer4916]

more then fine,
my local pet store actully qt's there fish for a month before the put them on display ( i know the owner, and i trust him, i've never gotten a parasite from his fish) so i always drip them ..and put them in my tank (just my 55...they'll all be going into my 125 in about 5 days) ...anyways ...i turned the heater up just a little bit...and he is swiming in the area abit more ( the area where my rocks are) ...he doesn't seem to venture out in the open part of my tank.....think its because hes new?..i know his fins arn't clamping or anything...
let me know what you think
thank you
~chris

 

[beth]

What about the transfer of the fish? Was he ever removed from the water during the transfers from LFS to your aquaria?
Never heard of a LFS QTing. How expensive are the fish? CUDOS to the owner!

 

[jer4916]

the fish was $34, it was spendy...but...what can ya do....he was SOOO cute ..plus my girl friend wanted him....we named him puffy.

 

[jer4916]

and yes...they netted him, but the lady made sure he was fully puffed..and he went right in the bag...and i looked at him in the back for a few minutes to make sure he was ok...(i.e. no air stuck in him...etc)

 

[tthemadd1]

Just to put a little imput. Puffers are very timid at first. I put mine in and he lodged himself between two rocks for a few days. He would come out and then go back. After he has had time to adjust he is out and about. Did you get a porcupine? I did and he is quite odd. Cool though. He has more personality than any of the other fish in my tank. I wouldnt worry too much. He will make his way out feed him some mysid shrimp and watch him come out....
One last thing I dont believe he is cold. So dont turn up the heater. He might get stressed around that heater. Just a thought.....

 

[tthemadd1]

input not imput///

 

[jer4916]

i've been feeding my fish brine shrimp (frozen) and salad shrimp...my lion LOVES it..and so does my trigger and angel....my tank is a big seaweed eater.
he is pretty open to swimming...just he stays by the rocks...
what do these little guys do..that give them so much personality?
~chris

 

[tthemadd1]

Once mine got adjusted. He knew when I was going to feed. I usually move the glass around in front of the tank. Trained them to go nuts when they knew I was going to feed them. Its really funny. He will follow my hand around the front of the tank for a while. He just moves so slow around the tank its great. Compared to my other fish who just zip around. He just seems weightless, and very akward. I really dig puffers. I use a frozen food called Emerald Green. I thaw it and dump it into a coffee filter to get rid of the package water. It is mostly mysid shrimp. It s a little expensive but they get it as a treat. Just remember that he will eat until he pops. (not literally). So feed him enough but dont overfeed him. Good luck and
Good Fishing
Themaddhatter

 

[jer4916]

the puffer seems to be doing better today, still swimming in the same area,...but he ventures across the tank how...runs into the current from my maxi 1200...and glides alll the way back to the other side and turns his breaks on riight before he its the glass..so funny ...other then that hes a pretty happy guy it seems...up and down up and down with those sweet and precious eyes
i love this little guy.

 

[beth]

What size is your aquarium? Also, I don't agree that puffing your puffer is a good idea.

 

[jer4916]

i didn't say puffing him was a good idea...im confused... anyways right now all of my fish are in a 55 gallon. BUT DONT WORRY ... on wed (i.e 2 days) they are all going in my 125 gallon acrylic tank ..it has a 35 gallon refugium ...so my babies will have more then enough room.
fish are as follows
V-lion
Niger Trigger
Yellow Tang
Koran Angel
Porc Puffer
Flame Hawkfish
beth how many more fish do you think i can have in my 125? ...does the extra 35 gallons in the refugim help? mind you my tank is more tall and long then short and fat.
thanks
~chris
I'm also thinking im going to turn my 55 into a reef tank...
any idea's?

 

[beth]

jer, please don't puff the fish when you get him out. Don't remove him from water. Submerge a large ziplock in the tank and get the fish into the ziplock, then transfer him to the new tank.
Puffers are one of those fish that should never be removed from water.
In terms of "how many more". Least is best. You have to gauge the size that your current fish will be at maturity as well as their compatibilitiy with each other. You will regret overstocking. You should not be making any new additions for a few months anyway, until the new tank has time to settle in and age.

 

[jer4916]

I've been planning for the 125 for about 3 months. My 55 only had about an inch of sand, so what i did was i bought bag sand...and put it in my 55 with my live sand so it would seed over, so when i bring it over to the 55 it would all be alive, im also bringing all my live rock over. Also i will be running an ecosystem filter. IE miracle mud,calerpa ...etc its 35 gallons. Then the tank will have around 2000gph going through it. Also my pet store has pre cycled water from there reef tanks there going to sell me...plus im going to use 55 gallons of water from my tank now...over all the tank should be aged well within the first day. You would think the tank would support those fish pretty easy wouldn't you?
~chris

 

[beth]

You can setup with your existing fish, but the tank will take several months to AGE. Believe me it will. Don't skimp, patience pays.

 

[jer4916]

what does a tank do when it ages besides cycle?...

 

[beth]

It really cycles. Basically you can seed your tank very well with 100% seeded water, LR, LS, Live Filters, but the tank itself must be settled in for populations of bacteria to grow. And, aside from that, the chemistry of the aquaria takes time and TLC to stabilize and get to that "just right point". It is not just cycle, but a lot of extradinary biological and chemical things going on before a tank is considered stable and aged. And this take several months at the very least. God did not make the world in a day, and the hobbyist is not going to setup a stable tank in a day either....only with time, can you succeed.

 

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by Jer4916
Hello,
I purchased a new porc. puffer today...very very cute..anyways i drip'd him over a period of 4 hours...(extremely slow) ..anyways ..my water is 79degrees and for some odd reason my little guy will swim up and lodge himself next to the heater...almost as though hes cold...he'll stay there for a minute...swim around a bit....and go back...
is this normal?
should i be watchful?
~chris
The teeth on a puffer will continually grow due to their natural hard shell diet in the wild. Most will accept various foods, but know you must include some hard shelled food/ or hard food in his diet. If you do not his teeth will grow and he will be unable to eat. You will then need to trim his teeth.
I find purchasing some small cheap snails and tossing them in the system a couple times a week will keep the teeth trimmed down...and keep your puffer from a visit to the dentist. Feeding some prepared food frozen will also help the teeth.
Make sure he does not keep his tail constantly clamped behind him and tucked in...this is a sign he is not feeling well.

 

[inxsu2]

As a new PP owner, I have gained much knowledge from this thread, albiet maybe late. Mostly I am sad and dismayed that Gandolf's tail is officially curled around his little bod, he goes in and out of color, and the eyes ... those gorgeous eyes went from extreme brilliance to a hazy fog.
Puffer watch continues, and I live on the edge as a result.