Please Help!

[herguitarist94]

so you know, ive done no testing of water, i have a 100 watt heater, ive checked the temp. and everything seems fine (also a 20 gallon. filter). okay, i have a 20 gallon tank with 3 green spotted puffers. all bought at the same time. same place. and introduced to there new home at the same time. these 3 fish are the only inhabitants of the tank. but im a bit worried and dont know what to do because i have a little log shaped thing for them to hide in, witch was fine at first. but here is what happened. i put the fish in the tank, all three where going up and down the glass (i dont know why) then fish 1 started to calm down after a couple of hours, finding the log a nice place to hide, then fish 2 did the same, all was fine until fish 1 became very territorial, any time fish 2 can near the log he/she would chase fish 2 away. fish 2 getting tiered of being pushed around decided to ignore the log and find a new place to hide. although the only other things in the tank are plants, so it just roams around near the gravel, im worried that if i get another rock/log for fish 2, fish 1 will take that one over too and fish 2 will be afraid of going into both. what should i do? get another rock/log or get rid of fish 1? also im worried there is something wrong with fish 3 because it is still going up and down all over the glass very fast, what does this mean?? is it sick? or stressed??? please help!!!

 

[jennybugs]

This pacing of the glass is perfectly normal when puffers are moved to a new tank. It is their way of showing stress at their new environment and as they settle it should stop. All my puffers have done that to start with and stopped within a week or so tops. However, I would test your water to make sure the tank is not reading any unsuitable parameters in the water (ie ammonia and nitrite, nitrates). If this has been mentioned before I am sorry but I don't know your tank history etc.

Puffer 1 obviously likes the log home which is why it is chasing the others away. What size are your puffers? I understand as they gain maturity they can be rather feisty to their own kind. I think a 20gal tank isn't going to hold all three for too long so limited space may heighten the aggression/territory issues a bit more.

If it were my tank, I'd only have one gsp really and allow it to grow into it's surroundings unchallenged by others, but that's just how I'd do it

 

[herguitarist94]

This pacing of the glass is perfectly normal when puffers are moved to a new tank. It is their way of showing stress at their new environment and as they settle it should stop. All my puffers have done that to start with and stopped within a week or so tops. However, I would test your water to make sure the tank is not reading any unsuitable parameters in the water (ie ammonia and nitrite, nitrates). If this has been mentioned before I am sorry but I don't know your tank history etc.

Puffer 1 obviously likes the log home which is why it is chasing the others away. What size are your puffers? I understand as they gain maturity they can be rather feisty to their own kind. I think a 20gal tank isn't going to hold all three for too long so limited space may heighten the aggression/territory issues a bit more.

If it were my tank, I'd only have one gsp really and allow it to grow into it's surroundings unchallenged by others, but that's just how I'd do it

but wont it get lonely or something??? and actually i was gonna go get some testing done but didn't know what levels of what are good? hi ammonia? low ph? or vise versa? also if i where to get a hydrometer what levels would be good for brackish water??? please help

 

[nmonks]

ive done no testing of water,

Bad start... virtually all fish problems come down to water chemistry or water quality problems. So without some data on water quality -- at minimum, pH and nitrite -- you're operating in the dark. As are we.

i have a 20 gallon tank with 3 green spotted puffers.

Long term, too small for these fish. Up to, say, 4 or 5 cm long you might be fine, but they are territorial and intolerant of one another. On top of this, they're messy fish while also being sensitive to water quality problems, so a big tank is preferred. For three adults, that's likely something upwards of 55 gallons, probably 75 gallons.

all three where going up and down the glass (i dont know why)

Stress behaviour... essentially, "how the heck do I get out of here".

then fish 1 started to calm down after a couple of hours, finding the log a nice place to hide, then fish 2 did the same, all was fine until fish 1 became very territorial, any time fish 2 can near the log he/she would chase fish 2 away.

As stated, these fish are intolerant of one another. Males guard the spawn, so males in particular probably have acute territorial behaviour.

what should i do?

See above.

get another rock/log or get rid of fish 1?

Removing one fish may open the other fish up to being bullied. So while this may well be what you end up doing, I'd recommend getting rid of all but one of these fish. Keep the *least* territorial and *least* "forward" one of the three. This is most likely to be a female and long term will be easier to combine with dissimilar fish (not recommended, but possible).

Do read about GSPs; there's quite a bit about them on my brackish FAQ.

Cheers, Neale

 

[herguitarist94]

ive done no testing of water,

Bad start... virtually all fish problems come down to water chemistry or water quality problems. So without some data on water quality -- at minimum, pH and nitrite -- you're operating in the dark. As are we.

i have a 20 gallon tank with 3 green spotted puffers.

Long term, too small for these fish. Up to, say, 4 or 5 cm long you might be fine, but they are territorial and intolerant of one another. On top of this, they're messy fish while also being sensitive to water quality problems, so a big tank is preferred. For three adults, that's likely something upwards of 55 gallons, probably 75 gallons.

all three where going up and down the glass (i dont know why)

Stress behaviour... essentially, "how the heck do I get out of here".

then fish 1 started to calm down after a couple of hours, finding the log a nice place to hide, then fish 2 did the same, all was fine until fish 1 became very territorial, any time fish 2 can near the log he/she would chase fish 2 away.

As stated, these fish are intolerant of one another. Males guard the spawn, so males in particular probably have acute territorial behaviour.

what should i do?

See above.

get another rock/log or get rid of fish 1?

Removing one fish may open the other fish up to being bullied. So while this may well be what you end up doing, I'd recommend getting rid of all but one of these fish. Keep the *least* territorial and *least* "forward" one of the three. This is most likely to be a female and long term will be easier to combine with dissimilar fish (not recommended, but possible).

Do read about GSPs; there's quite a bit about them on my brackish FAQ.

Cheers, Neale

thank you. and sorry for the e-mail. but now one of them has a brown belly and the "least forward" one just sits in the corner breathing heavily and the last one hides in the log so i never see it. witch do you suggest i keep? the brown belly, but my favorite, who is the forward one always at the glass, the one hiding in the corner and breathing heavily? or finally, the one that never leaves the log?

thank you.
and its a privilege to be talking to you, any suggestions are greatly appreciated

Ted Disanto

 

[nmonks]

but now one of them has a brown belly and the "least forward" one just sits in the corner breathing heavily and the last one hides in the log so i never see it. witch do you suggest i keep? the brown belly, but my favorite, who is the forward one always at the glass, the one hiding in the corner and breathing heavily? or finally, the one that never leaves the log?

These fish are astonishingly hardy, and I'd expect all three to do well once transferred to the appropriate aquarium. They are never healthy in freshwater though, so do check you have hard, basic, brackish water. I'd recommend pH 7.5 to 8, hardness 10+ degrees dH, and a specific gravity of at least 1.005 at 25 degrees C (that's about 9 grammes of marine salt mix per litre of water). Good water quality is important, and in small tanks, a little extra aeration wouldn't go amiss either. But assuming all of these things, there's no reason to expect any of these GSPs to die.

So, with that said, I'd choose whichever fish you want. The most active, forward one will probably be a dominant male, in which case this specimen might be the most fun as a pet, but the least reliable kept alongside other fish. The least forward, most shy specimen might be a male or it might be a female, but with luck, it'll be a less aggressive fish in either case, and so a better bet for mixed specimens set-ups.

and its a privilege to be talking to you, any suggestions are greatly appreciated

Let's not overdo it, eh? I'm happy to help.

Cheers, Neale

 

[herguitarist94]

haha thanks. but how would i check for the hardness and salinity? a hydrometer?

 

[nmonks]

A general hardness test kit is what you need for checking hardness.

A hydrometer is necessary for measuring salinity. A basic floating glass one costs only £5.

Cheers, Neale

haha thanks. but how would i check for the hardness and salinity? a hydrometer?

 

[herguitarist94]

A general hardness test kit is what you need for checking hardness.

A hydrometer is necessary for measuring salinity. A basic floating glass one costs only £5.

Cheers, Neale

haha thanks. but how would i check for the hardness and salinity? a hydrometer?

thank you for your help. alltho i have no idea what to do with the other 2 fish ,considering i cant take them back, but thanks anyway. I will be sure to check out your book