green spotted puffer care

Pleco · 01-12-2013, 09:52 AM

Hi guys, I wanted to get a green spotted puffer. I know theyre brackish so does that mean that I have to put salt in it? Or can they survive without it? Also I heard that theyre fin nippers. Is that true, can I put them in my 29 gallon? (check my signature for my fishies)

Also what could I feed them?

Plz reply quick 'cause I am going today around noon.

**graceful.04** · 01-13-2013, 06:59 AM

Yes they do need brackish water to thrive so what you can do is get a hydrometer and some salt. add a little bit each day because the stores you buy them from generally keep puffers in fresh water so they will need to adjust. Definitely don't put him in your 29 gallon. Green spotted puffers look adorable but are pretty nasty to other fish. If you really want on, get a fifteen gallon tank, cycle it, add the puffer, then up the salinity. Honestly though, I think it's worth it. I have a green spotted puffer who I am absolutely in love with.

**graceful.04** · 01-13-2013, 07:01 AM

Oh, and you need to feed them special food to wear down their teeth. Mine loves freeze dried blood worms and mysis shrimp though.

kay-bee · 01-13-2013, 07:37 AM

Or get another 29 gal tank.

In a long term a 15gal would become to small to permanently house a green spotted puffer (GSP). They max out at 5" or 6", have high bioloads and are very active and inquisitive swimmers.

The type of salt you will want to use is synthetic marine salt that saltwater hobbiests use (not the "aquarium salt" that is targeted for freshwater aquariums).

GSP's thrive in brackish and saltwater aquariums and will deteriorate overtime if kept freshwater. The target salinity that you want to strive for is 1.010-1.015 specific gravity (SG); they'll also be fine 1.020-1.025 SG (saltwater).

To give you an idea of how much salt that, it takes roughly a cup of marine salt in a 29gal to attain a salinity of 1.002 SG (give or take depending on variables); the brackish environment these puffers ultimately require is several times this amount (5-8 cups, plus or minus; 1 cup=16 tablespoons).

These fish can be fin nippers or even predatory and due best in solitary set ups or with other fish that are compatible with their nature and the salinity that is required.

As graceful mentioned, they need to be provided foods which wear down their ever-growing fused beaks (tough or shelled mollusks and crustaceans should be their stable). Foods like: ramshorn snails, mussels, clams, shrimp, octopus, squid, krill, prawn, etc. If not provided with these foods their beaks will become overgrown and will interfere with their ability to feed properly. I've seen a 3"-4" GSP dismantle live crayfish in quick order.

Pleco · 01-13-2013, 05:22 PM

Oooohhh...

He already attacked and ate my male guppy. He found a better home now.
What about Indian dwarf puffers? Would they attack my other fish? How long do they live for?

**graceful.04** · 01-13-2013, 06:34 PM

Where is your green spotted puffer now then? And all puffers are nasty. They need to be kept alone.

Vayurules · 01-13-2013, 07:44 PM

Yup. Puffers are odd little fish, and usually recommended for an advanced fish keeper as they tend to be troublesome. Not a good fish to buy on a whim, lol.

Pleco · 01-14-2013, 03:07 PM

He is in a 55 gallon in Kent OH. Not sure if there are other fish there.

**graceful.04** · 01-16-2013, 12:27 PM

Vayu, you're completely right; puffers are not a good fish to buy on a whim. However, I did just that last night when I found out that the cute little Amazon Puffer at my LFS was completely freshwater... Oops... but I have experience with green spotted puffers and although they're different, I think I can manage

polarbear9790 · 02-12-2013, 11:06 PM

I have a Green Spotted Puffer and he is in a 55 Gal with 5 black skirts, 1 dojo loach, 1 Bichir, 4 Cories, 1 angelfish, 1 dwarf gourami,1 Bala shark and a blue ram cichlid. The puffer doesnt bother my other fish at all he just swims around them, he doesnt show any aggression towards them. Which is weird cause all i have heard is how aggressive they are. i have a very well planted tank with caves and tunnels. also its in freshwater and i always thought they were kept in brackish tanks. But the pet store said he should be fine in my freshwater tank. i was just curious why mine is so different. any thoughts?

kay-bee · 02-14-2013, 04:46 PM

How long have you had your GSP and how large is it?

C. King · 02-15-2013, 10:36 AM

Polarbear: if your puffer is a true GSP, he will not live long in fresh water. In the wild, these fish do live in fresh water as juveniles, then they move to brackish or salt water for the rest of their adult lives. At two inches, he needs mildly brackish water. At four inches, he needs very brackish water. If yours is a GSP, and it has not attacked or eaten any of its tankmates, it is either very young (under 2 inches) or very sick (slowly dying from fresh water) But, If your puffer has lived a long time in freah water, has not killed other fish, and is less than 2 inches long, I suspect he is not a GSP, but a dwarf puffer, AKA pea puffer. That is a true freshwater puffer, only grows to 1 inch or so, and has a better disposition than the GSP, although they are notorious fin nippers. (They also have spots.)