Porky PUFFED!

[puffygrrl]

I just walked over to my tank and looked in to check on Smiley Jin when I saw him in his cave PUFFED up to the size of a softball! At first I was stoked until I thought "why is he puffed up?!". I went to the glass and touched it with my finger, and he almost immediately deflated and came over as if saying "what's up?". Besides a bit of rapid breathing he looks fine and I even fed him a krill. I tested my levels yesterday and they are ammonia/ nitrite = 0 and nitrate = <5. What could have caused him to puff? He's only in there with crabs and snails. Maybe he's just practicing?

 

[blueberryboomer]

I'm not sure why they do it, I know they will when stressed, mine does it all the time, and I know he's not stressed. I think they do it to strech as they grow....Lisa

 

[puffygrrl]

Thanks BlueberryBoomer! I kinda figured it might be something along those lines because I know he's not stressed and theres nobody in there with him to freak him our or pick on him. He is VERY active today and totally back to normal. I did notice that one of his spikes had the tip broken off, I am thinking he might have caught it on the upper part of his cave and wigged out. He's fina anyhow, thanks for your reply

 

[leopardshark]

puffers always seem to do that when they are the least stressed. now i have seen them do that when stressed but i mean like what your describing. i have seen that with my golden puffer and i know for sure he's not stressed because he's been in captivity for over six yrs. im still stumped on that one and if i get any info about it i will be sure to share it.

 

[blueberryboomer]

Your very welcome! Mine does it at least once a month, and he is fine....Lisa

 

[puffygrrl]

Thanks guys! You really calmed my nerves. I imagine that the "growing and stretching" concept would apply to my little Smiley. I saved him from ***** (did anyone else knew they sold saltwater fish?) where he was for atleast 3 months before I bought him (thay had him in a 1 gallon tank with no substrate or decorations and with a dead fish). He was EXTREMELY emaciated and lacked dark coloring - they had him on flake food Anyhow, 6 - 8 krill a day and lots of love has almost doubled his size in less than a month. He is very active and healthy, enough that he doesn't understand why I have cut his krill down to only 4 a day....little piggy!

 

[wickedwes]

mine seems to puff up at least 2 sometimes 3 times a week in the afternoon when he wakes up. I really think he likes to stretch out.

 

[bacardibombillo]

Hi! They really sound interesting... Can u guys tell me what kind off puffer u guys are talking about? What color they are? Im really thinking of getting one for my aggressive tank with my eels and morray in my 90gl...

 

[puffygrrl]

I personally have a Porcupine Puffer - Diodon hystrix. He is the most awesome fish I have ever had!

 

[darbronnoco]

My puffer puffs up randomly too...it's kinda weird. Puffers are soo much fun to watch. enjoy
Brad

 

[bacardibombillo]

got me a puffer tooo! today he's a porcupine puffer, light brown with darker spots... Hes very cool... I put him in my aggresive tank... he was very welcome by the eels and the deamsels, and the spotted puffer, but the tomato clown picked on his tail a little... I will keep a close watch on this situation

 

[puffygrrl]

Good Luck bacardibombillo! As you can read they are awesomely interesting fish and will never cease to bring a smile to your face (maybe because they always look like they are smiling)

 

[killafins]

Originally posted by PuffyGrrl
I saved him from ***** (did anyone else knew they sold saltwater fish?) where he was for atleast 3 months before I bought him (thay had him in a 1 gallon tank with no substrate or decorations and with a dead fish). He was EXTREMELY emaciated and lacked dark coloring - they had him on flake food
Yes, usually ***** has quite the selection of diseased and dying fish. I take it as a weekly ritual to go there on saturdays and make a scene. Personally, as much as I feel bad for hte fish, buying a fish gets them money so they can torture another. I try to use that as logic as not to bring home the entire store. But then ***** is my aquarium supply store, it has everything I need t good prices, but i do try not to buy fish from there.

 

[killafins]

bacardibombillo, what size is ur damsels and clown? I am curious for two reasons... A) The puffer may enjoy it as a midnight snack...and... B)You say you have eels? I want to get a morray eel and want to know how big urs is. My fish are about an inch to inch and a half. Do your eels leave them alone? What is their size? What do you feed them?

 

[lionstorm]

Puffergirl i bought a porc pufferfish from ***** yesterday and i did it largely thanks to this thread im so happy with him he is eating so well and im so glad i bought him instead of the dog face. Hes small now but I'm sure he'll get bigger as time goes on thanks again!

 

[puffygrrl]

Lionstorm - Although I do agree with what Killafins said with "supporting" *****'s diseased fish when you save them, I did the same thing as you and am so happy for it now. You'll LOVE your guy...named him yet? I imagine he is not in ideal condition, so make sure you don't let anyone else pick on him in the tank and feed him well (my guy will only eat Krill - I started him at 6 a day and now he's on a diet at 2 or 3 a day). He will probably be lethargic the first couple days as he's getting acclimated and eating well, don't be scared if he "sleeps" allot...it terrified me in the begining when I saw him laying on the ground.
Have a blast man! They are such animated and interesting fish! Good luck!

 

[killafins]

yeah, today I just bought a saddle back puffer (i think, it was labeled as being an assorted puffer for 5.49$ so i was like what the heck. He was all alone in there with nothing to hide on. The gravel sucked too, it was disgusting. It hink the only reason they make money is cuz peopel feel bad for the fish. But the funny part is, the manager of the fish department of ***** was the one who told me about this site before starting my sw tank.

 

[balistidae]

you paid 5 beans for a saddleback!!??!! thats a deal and a half..make sure you quarantine him for a while!