Green spotted puffer fish

[POLARBEAR0871]

So I just got a green spotted puffer fish as you can tell. Bu my problem with it is that it turned black once I put it in my aquarium any reason for this.

 

[Ladybug5399]

Is this the fish fe fe? Looks like a figure 8 puffer. Im not an expert on puffers, but I know a little. What part turned dark?

 

[POLARBEAR0871]

No I just recently bought a green spotted puffer I named it big G it's belly is black and along with a little bit of it top

 

[Ladybug5399]

Is the tank he's in cycled and established? Any tank mates? Usually black happens when they are really stressed or water quality issues. I've heard some go back to normal coloring with lights out for a bit to help settle in.

 

[POLARBEAR0871]

Yes tank is cycled it's been running for almost a year now and it only has fefe as a tank mate and they seem to be fine together

 

[Ladybug5399]

I've seen f8 and gsp together in pet stores but not long term. Any territory issues? How big is the tank? It could just be from stress. I know they are very sensitive to ammonia but shouldn't be an issue in established tank. Definitely keep lights out, but monitor him.

 

[POLARBEAR0871]

It's a 40 gallon tank with about 7-8 plants in it and sand instead of rocks I do know they're somewhat brackish right

 

[Ladybug5399]

Is the tank fresh or brackish?

 

[POLARBEAR0871]

It's fresh I ran outta salt a lil while back

 

[Ladybug5399]

Most puffers are kept/sold in fresh water and need to be slowly brought up to brackish. If he was in fresh and you put him in brackish immediately that will cause problems.

 

[Ladybug5399]

Eventually both puffers will need to be in brackish but I'm really not sure you want to keep them together. The 40 gallon is minimal tank size for both these fish at the moment. They may look small but they are messy. I really think the black could be from stress. Just keep a close eye on them.

 

[POLARBEAR0871]

I will thnx for the info ill take a picture of it tomorrow and post it

 

[Brandon K.A]

Yea, puffers can be aggressive as they get older. gsp's do need brackish as they get older, and even possibly full marine later in life. I think figure 8's only require brackish.

 

[Brandon K.A]

It's fresh I ran outta salt a lil while back

just wondering. you moved a brackish tank back to freshwater? thats not good if you had fish in there. fluctuating SG levels may not be good.. if ita brackish, you ahould keep ot brackish. eapecially for fish that need brackish.

 

[POLARBEAR0871]

Theres only two in the tank ima get more salt today

 

[Kimlafeiet]

GSP's will show black on thier bellies when they are stressed or water quality is poor. If you just got him, most likely the black is from the stress of the move if your tank is well cycled.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Is your GSP a baby still, or is he bigger? Juvenile GSP's are typically housed in fresh water and slowly introduced to brackish water when they get a little bigger. I started mine in brackish water when he was about 1.5 inches body length. I slowly increased the salinity by .002 every 3 weeks, and he is now at a moderatly high salinity of 1.009.
GSP's need much higher salinity than Figure 8's. The two of them will probably be ok together in your 40g for a while, but eventually you will need to get your GSP his own tank of at least 35 gallons (I keep Pickle in a 36g bowfront tank by himself) due to the salinity differences they need as well as agression. GSP's are said to be much more agressive than Figure 8's, and from my experience with them, I believe that to be true. As he gets older, he will probably show much more agression than he does now. Pickle is an only fish in his tank, and he is incredibly agressive. He takes out crabs and crayfish quite a bit bigger than him. His belly does turn dark when he is mad (like after I re-arrange his tank or do a big water change), but he quickly whitens back up.
best of luck with your little guy.....keeping a brackish tank is more work, but they are such cool little fish!

 

[POLARBEAR0871]

It's quit big and I just had to clean out my whole tank my filter stopped working for a while and then the algae got really bad in it so I had to put new water in so that might be way I need more salt though

 

[Scottyhorse]

FYI, GSP need to be in a HUGE full marine tank when adults.

 

[Brandon K.A]

GSP's require minimum 30 gals.