Jumping puffer?

[Brandon K.A]

Long story short I have these two new pea puffers or dwarf puffers today, and as I added a fake plant to my tank, one of the puffers near my arm jumped out of the tank!!! So I got paper and swooshed him back in. (I guess I should just pick him up next time huh)? So anyway, I made this cover from Saran wrap, but was wondering, should I just chance it one more time to see if they willingly jump out? They swim up fast and down slow, but I gotta add more decor to my tank soon for them, I am expecting to get a cave or something. And getting java moss thru the mail And red shorn snails as well for them to eat.

I am afraid to scare them when adding decor.

I noticed one of the puffers laying on the rocks, so I thought he was dead, so I took the net and moved it towards him then he swam away, then started to fall, then later (few mins) I tried scooping him up again thinking he was dead, but he swam away and joined the other puffer and now both are swimming fine, so I guess he was resting? It really looked like he was dying. Even putting my hand near the glass wouldn't move him. Not sure if this was the fish that jumped out earlier.

 

[Brandon K.A]

Pictures. I only put Sara wrap on the edges so they can still get air.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Sorry to hear about your dilemma. Is that the fluval chi?

I was looking at it, but didn't like the open top and read a number of reviews about jumpers. I thnk the most common solution was to lower the water level to the minimum the filter could operate at.

I hope you get it figured out beyond the plastic wrap.

I ended up getting fluval's EBI system. I really like the kit and plan to get another.

 

[Brandon K.A]

Yup, that's the chi. At the time I did have the water at max, and so now I lowered it to minimum. Should I take off the plastic wrap? I also have some fingerprints inside the tank, could that be removed with the algae scrubber? I agree, I don't really trust open top tanks, but I like the look of them.

 

[pantherspawn]

I wouldn't keep any puffers in a chi for many reasons.. 1; being its too small even for dwarf puffers.. 2; puffers are notoriously messy and need pristine water conditions.. and the chi filter is horrible. 3; being the obvious, it has no lid. Even dwarf puffers should be kept in a minimum of 20 gallons for one and a 30 for two of them with extra filtration.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Yup, that's the chi. At the time I did have the water at max, and so now I lowered it to minimum. Should I take off the plastic wrap? I also have some fingerprints inside the tank, could that be removed with the algae scrubber? I agree, I don't really trust open top tanks, but I like the look of them.

You could try taking the wrap off when you can be near by for a time, but even with the lowered water level, I'd still be cautious.

Yep, I like the look too but open tops have other issues like faster evaporation and as pantherspawn said, the filtration is questionable. I don't know enough about your puffers to comment, but I'd suggest additional research might be in order.

 

[pantherspawn]

You could try taking the wrap off when you can be near by for a time, but even with the lowered water level, I'd still be cautious.

Yep, I like the look too but open tops have other issues like faster evaporation and as pantherspawn said, the filtration is questionable. I don't know enough about your puffers to comment, but I'd suggest additional research might be in order.

Yeah I've got the chi as well.. was shocked at just how poor the filtration is especially coming from a filter company like fluval.. and like you said evaporation is very quick.. I have to top mine off daily and clean every other day even with only having platy fry in it.

 

[Brandon K.A]

I agree the filter sucks. It barely cleans any left over food, so I have to scoop it out. I read from dwarf puffers.com that there should be one dwarf puffer per 5gallons. I was going to follow this rule until I saw how small they were.. I know its wrong to have two in this small tank, but I couldn't resist... Such a big tank for small fish... I figured my friend who has one koi, one pleco, and two or three guppies in a dirty tank can live, how much could two puffers hurt the tank? Tank seems too big, and a waste of space for one puffer, besides, I eventually (prob tomorrow) put in a lot of decor and will add java moss, and snails for them to eat.

P.s. I know the pleco and koi shouldn't be in a 5gal tank my friend has them in...

Also, I don't really mind the plastic wrap, since it gives me some peace of mind, and you can see thru it..

 

[pantherspawn]

What people CAN do.. and what's in the best interest of the animals we willingly decide to care for are night and day.. theoretically, you could survive in a closet with food and water.. but would you want to? I agree that they are so small that it seems a waste.. but we should make our choices on what's best.

 

[Brandon K.A]

I see your point. So basically two puffers in a 5gal is overstocked? Dang... It just seems they are so small, and this tank is bigger than some think...to me, this is better than them staying with 20 or more puffers in a somewhat average sized tank at the LFS. I do feel bad that I got these two in here now.... I just thought it was crazy how two thumbnail sized fish could not do well in a tall 5 gallon tank...5 gals are bigger than most people think...

 

[pantherspawn]

I think more than the tank size.. is the filtration.. and the fact there are two and they are semi aggressive. The bigger the tank, the more broken lines of sight to eachother available. In a 5 gal, there's only so much you can do to add plants and things to keep them interested. Puffers also get bored, and to keep them from going after eachother, you need to try to keep them occupied by giving them things to look at in their environment .. and even then, some suggest to change it up every few months.

 

[Brandon K.A]

I see your point. Do you think If I keep up with water changes and add the decor I could keep them in the tank? I don't mind changing decor now And then, I love redecorating.

 

[Brandon K.A]

I just hate for my puffers to suffer.

 

[pantherspawn]

I would suggest something more over a 20 gallon and add another puffer to have 1 male and 2 females if possible... but that's my opinion.. others may have a different approach.

 

[Brandon K.A]

Sorry to say, but all I got are 5gals. I'm just gonna have to keep up maintenance on this tank and see how it goes....

 

[Brandon K.A]

Hey, what if I upgrade the filter system? Like to an HOB aqua clear? Would that be a good replacement?

 

[ejaramillo01]

Hey, what if I upgrade the filter system? Like to an HOB aqua clear? Would that be a good replacement?

Great replacement !!

IMO if you really want to keep the puffers is ok, just plan for the future, in other words, start to save money to get a bigger tank, upgrade the filter thinking already in that bigger tank. Your puffers will grow fast, they can be fine in the chi for a short period of time, specially if they are dwarf puffers.

You are right when you said that your puffers are better in a Chi tank, versus the tank in the lfs, where they keep up to 20 in a small tank. But also remember that the lfs tank is a temporary (short term) house for them. Once you bought them, now you will try to provide them with their house for the rest of their lives, so, provide them with a proper size tank is important.

Some people can argue that there is not such a big enough tank for any fish, if you think that no tank will duplicate the size of a river or the size of a lake. But also most of the fish that we get now days, come from farms or breeders, so they never truly lived in their natural habitat.

Just my two cents

 

[Brandon K.A]

True how you can never really duplicate a river etc. I should start investing in a bigger tank. For now though, should I get the 20gal aqua clear filter?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I'd suggest getting on some of the chi boards and see what others have done to resolve the poor filtration issue that seems to be associated with the unit.

As for tank size, your puffers have the same issue as mine as far as territory and that seems to be the bigger issue (I over filter mine by 3x) that an oversized tank resolves. Hidey-holes are a must for puffers and line of sight breaks too in my research.

I don't agree with over stuffing too much fish (sized wise) into a smaller tank, but there does have to be a reasonable limit to what can be expected. As was pointed out, we can't replicate the water acreage in nature they would normally live in, but we should have a good balance and be able to recognize it when it's reached. If the fish are happy, then you've struck that balance, but in your case jumping fish is a clear sign that there's some imbalance and it should be addressed IMO.

 

[Brandon K.A]

I put in the new aquaclear 20 filter today. Puffers seem ok. They are already eating and everything. I love this new filter, especially since it feels it is actually cleaning. Still have cloudy water and now I need to get a light. Any suggestions for a light for an aquarium that is 10x10?

The puffers don't really pay much attention to the new decor yet....