Puffer freak out

drakebuffie · May 16, 2022

8 inch stars and stripes puffer in a 75 gal tank. He will eventually outgrow the tank but thats not the point of this thread.

The fish does 2 things. Swims back and forth across the top of the tank or sits on the bottom in one of 2 different places. I have had him for 2 months now.

Last night he was doing his usual thing swimming back and forth when all of the sudden he shoots to the left side of tank. Then almost immediately he shoots to the right side of tank slamming hard into the side of the tank. I was shocked. He then very slowly went to his spot in the back bottom of tank.

I checked on him this morning and thought for sure he was dead but I saw his eyes move. He is curled up in a ball underneath a rock.

My first thought was stray voltage but I have a grounding probe. No other fish exhibit any odd behaviour and I cant feel anything when I put my hand in tank so have to assume its not voltage. I have been trying to give the fish away to someone with a more suitable home but no luck.

My other thought was he got startled. I guess that could have happened but I was the only person in the room and it was late evening. Blue lights were on and everything was calming down for the night.

I feel bad for the fish because he is a very cool fish with alot of personality but seeing that last night just really made me feel bad for him. That had to have hurt.

DaneGer21 · May 16, 2022

I know it’s not the point of this thread, but that’s a big fish in a little tank…

DiloHunter · May 16, 2022

I think your puffer has already outgrown the tank. But I'm not sure what made freak out. Send some photos and then send a list of what is in your tank.

drakebuffie · May 16, 2022

DiloHunter said:
I think your puffer has already outgrown the tank. But I'm not sure what made freak out. Send some photos and then send a list of what is in your tank.

2 small clowns and 1 small cardinal as well as cleanup crew.

He has pretty much the whole tank to himself.

I would love to rehome him but no LFS wants him and no one on any forums or FB has been interested.

Got him originally from a guy who was getting rid of his entire 300 gal setup with the thought he would be ok for a while and I could rehome him so fish really isnt in a different situation than when I got him. No one wanted him then either and his 300 gallon home is gone.

At this point shipping him to anyone who would be willing to take him is probably the puffers only chance long term.

Hypan · May 16, 2022

Years ago I fostered a big stellatus puffer for a while that was in a 125 and she would behave the same if startled, splashing water everywhere. Ended up just getting a 300g Rubbermaid tub, put a milk crate full of live rock in the center and a skimmer on top of it and she did much better. Eventually found her a new home but it took a while.

SlugSnorter · May 16, 2022

my $0.02 tank too small, puffer got stressed/freaked out and crashed. Puffer recovering, if still eating will prop be fine. consider a bigger tank

drakebuffie said:
8 inch stars and stripes puffer in a 75 gal tank. He will eventually outgrow the tank but thats not the point of this thread.

The fish does 2 things. Swims back and forth across the top of the tank or sits on the bottom in one of 2 different places. I have had him for 2 months now.

Last night he was doing his usual thing swimming back and forth when all of the sudden he shoots to the left side of tank. Then almost immediately he shoots to the right side of tank slamming hard into the side of the tank. I was shocked. He then very slowly went to his spot in the back bottom of tank.

I checked on him this morning and thought for sure he was dead but I saw his eyes move. He is curled up in a ball underneath a rock.

My first thought was stray voltage but I have a grounding probe. No other fish exhibit any odd behaviour and I cant feel anything when I put my hand in tank so have to assume its not voltage. I have been trying to give the fish away to someone with a more suitable home but no luck.

My other thought was he got startled. I guess that could have happened but I was the only person in the room and it was late evening. Blue lights were on and everything was calming down for the night.

I feel bad for the fish because he is a very cool fish with alot of personality but seeing that last night just really made me feel bad for him. That had to have hurt.

drakebuffie · May 16, 2022

SlugSnorter said:
my $0.02 tank too small, puffer got stressed/freaked out and crashed. Puffer recovering, if still eating will prop be fine. consider a bigger tank

Yeah. Trying to give him away. I saw a 125 gal tank for 400 bucks I was thinking about but I can't sink in all the money in LR and equipment to get it up and running.

DiloHunter · May 16, 2022

Well keep trying, the best thing you can do is try to find a sufficient home for him. Try to found out the day that your LFS gets their shipments and bring it in on the day before. They'll be most likely to take the puffer because that is usually when they are lowest on stock. Keep putting threads on the R2R marketplace. Eventually you should find someone who wants it. If/When you do sell it, your tank will be fairly empty. If you want I can compile a list of possible replacement fish.

drakebuffie · May 17, 2022

DiloHunter said:
Well keep trying, the best thing you can do is try to find a sufficient home for him. Try to found out the day that your LFS gets their shipments and bring it in on the day before. They'll be most likely to take the puffer because that is usually when they are lowest on stock. Keep putting threads on the R2R marketplace. Eventually you should find someone who wants it. If/When you do sell it, your tank will be fairly empty. If you want I can compile a list of possible replacement fish.

I see your from Cincinnati. Ever been to StreetSide? My cousins own the brewery. I love that town.