My two figure eight puffers seem unhappy they sit at the bottom of the tank smetimes other times float around?

Question

They seem very sluggish not energetic as usual figure eights, im not sure why, i have two of them and one eats a lot and the other one not so much. Any ideas? unhealthy? bored?

Answer 1

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um. there is a big problem. what size is ur tank. whats ur chemistry like? r u adding salt? wat r u feeding them? puffers need lots of space. say 30g each when they r full grown. ur water parameters need to be perfect. ph being at around 7.0 and their diet includes blood worms, brine shrimp, krill, and other frozen foods. ur puffers sound like they r stressed. and they could be effected by any of the factors stated above. post more details plz.

Source(s):

store manager at local fish shop

Answer 2

first thing i would do is use you testing kit to test everything (if you do not have a test kit pet stores sometimes can test water for you) if everything is normal in your water do a 25-35% water change, fish love fresh water! but if things are not in a healthy range do a 50-75% water change. a filter is more like a celling fan than a water changer. that is my best guess because when fish stay at the bottom of the tank mostly means that the water is unhealthy and sometimes toxic!

Source(s):

the simple guide to freshwater aquariums

Answer 3

Well it could be that there brackish fish and maybe you not giving them brackish water. I have a pet Oscar cichlid that sometimes stuffs his body with all the food he could fit then the next day he'll be all lazy because he' so full that might be the problem. Or they could just be unhealthy. Or even they just might have the wrong set up for there tank.

Answer 4

There can be many reasons...
1 incorrect feeding, they need bloodworms, brine shrimp and live snails. They wont eat commercial food
2 incorrect stock, I hope you tank has only f8 because they're really incompatible with any other fish
3 2 puffers need a minimum of 15g preferably 20+
4 They are brackish water fish and need a salt gravity of 1.005- 1.010

Answer 5

they bore easily

throw some snails in..they are lurker hunters and enjoy the hunt.


for my puffers i change the tank decor around every 2-3 months to keep them on there toes.


start adding marine salt slowly...they may be trying to tell you they want brackish water....

bring the tank up to brackish conditions over a few weeks...they may perk right up..