Way too many Green Spotted Puffers in a tank at Walmart

[peplo6]

Do u really have to add salt

[jsuoha90210]

Please watch my fish video!!

I thinks my green puffer fish is endanger of dying!!'

Im really scared an dont know what to do.

[revolutionday1]

I made the mistake of putting 3 in a 5 gal. hex tank, not knowing that (especially with the diet of frozen beef hearts etc. I was feeding them) they would get huge and destroy each other... :-/ OooooOoOooops.

[whataboutbob999]

you know when you buy them because you feel sorry for them it just makes walmart realize they can sell more, since they don't give a crap about tank size, you are actually making walmart put more in that tank because YOU keep buying them. you the consumer drive the demand and you are actually making the problem worse.

[bipolarketchup]

i got one from there too turned out it was a terriost the FBI broke in my house last nite to get him but he fought them off...his name is gary

[revolutionday1]

@bipolarketchup AwesomePossum

[ToadsMGodes]

I bought mine at walmart cuz I felt sorry for it, and it was only 5 bucks.. hes doing great now

[harobmxisbeast]

@ToadsMGodes haha i did the same . that was my good deed of the day buying a fish from wallmart!

[chasnbad]

I have on in a 60 gal tropical (little salt). Does well with 20 other fish, and has been there for 6 months. No Fish Murders" by the puffer so far. The key has been 6 snails and 7 shrimp per week. It keeps him too busy herding the shrimp to even consider bothering the other tank mates. Even when he eates them all by day 5-6, he is still searching for shrimp and snails. Everyone is happy.

[TheMysteryman334]

its walmart people not welovefish -_-

[birdman2ns]

and this is why walmart should not be allowed to sell anyhting that lives, plants inculded

[fish4ever24]

i rescued a injured pictus catfish from walmart and hes in my 5 galon with 3 guppies hes doing better than before i added some aquarium ...

[gryfonclaw]

Yeah no doubt there are too many for that tank, but they're not supposed to be in there permanently. Learn some perspective.

[Lyco499499]

@gryfonclaw Do you see them being bought fast enough not to suffer? Are they really that popular with every day people?

[Nathan1097]

Two Green-spotted puffers will be much happier in a 55 gallon tank with some salt. I first kept one in a 5-gallon and it soon died because it was too much fish for the bacteria to handle its waste.

I'm out of the puffer business, so to speak, but if you'd like lots of friendly talk about all things puffer, try thepufferforum

Good luck. Puffers are so great!

[mikec205]

i have 2 in a 1 gallon tank :) they look pretty happy to me:)

[CoastieWife01]

@mikec205 You're an idiot

[MissButterycup97]

walmart is HORRIBLE at taking care of fish. Every fish i've ever bought from there ends up dead from disease within a day. It's not my tank because i've had the water tested many times.

[jessthepumpkinqueen7]

I have 10 green spotted puffers and i love them all and i hate to say it but 9 out of the ten came from wal mart because i felt sorry for them wal mart needs to learn about there fish and the fish need!! everyone i have seen is starving because they feed them flake food which is not what hey eat!!!

[ToadsMGodes]

@jessthepumpkinqueen7 I also bought one from wal mart just to save it lol... it was going to die for sure in that hell hole

[xXhatenoobtubersXx]

thats probably walmart

[kmolczyk1]

ok srry but not true they should be kept in tropical water until 1.5'' long, then put into brackish water until 2-2.5'' long then once over 2.5'' long put into full marine or just bump up the brackish water by about 15 precent. I have had mine in brackish water,not sure what gravity right now for about 4 and a half years and he is about 4.2'' long now some puffers do need full marine conditions but when put in brackish water from when lil then gravity raised they do fine, this is what i have don

[swygert321]

their so pretty

[sammyisaweiner]

@swygert321 They're*

[Rocketman1670]

Walmart sold me a GSP and told us to put it in with a dragon goby and Blue Gourami, needless to say the employee wasn't aware how aggressive these little fellows get. A day later out goby was fins up and struggling to breathe and had tears around it's eyes and gills. The gourami (smarter?) was hiding and wouldn't come out and our trusty Pleco was playing it cool under the filter. We suggested they post the correct signage but were told that "Temperaments differ fish to fish." Derp

[StarsHorn]

@Rocketman1670 Got mine there too, unfortunately didn't know much about them and put them in with Mollies, Bala Sharks, Tetras, etc. and in less than a minute the thing was wreaking havoc ripping a fin and taking three bites out of a Bala, and attacking an albino frog. Good thing I was watching..Got it out quick and have to keep them away from any other fish.

[silentcircuit]

@Rocketman1670 GSPs are pretty much universally evil. I love mine, but you need to know that going in. The local fish store where I got mine (and I'd done a ton of reading before purchase, so I was ready anyway) had "Puffers may look like cute wind-up toys but they are VERY aggressive!" written on their tank. Not enough space per fish (but this is never the case at the store like another said) but at least they warn! Also, brackish fish. Won't work in 99% of community tanks regardless.

[Rocketman1670]

Walmart sold me a GSP and told us to put it in with a dragon goby and Blue Gourami, needless to say the employee wasn't aware how agressive these little fellows get. A day later out goby was fins up and struggling to breathe and had tears around it's eyes and gills. The gourami (smarter?) was hiding and wouldn't come out and our trusty Pleco was playing it cool under the filter. We suggested they post the correct signage but were told that "Temperaments differ fish to fish." Derp

[LegoCVT]

thats actually not that much compare to other pet stores

[WMackbd]

Since they sell the fish for 200% profit they do not care about the loss of fish. Management do not listen to the employees that know how bad things are for the fish. The bottom line for huge stores like walmart is profit.

[WMackbd]

Our Walmart orders 500 thirty-eight cent goldfish per week just for one tank, even with constant attempts at medication and tank cleaning, close to 200 die per week....that is just one type of fish too...

[Azicpok1]

Pufferfish in walmart??? damn

[Invalidusername49]

i should work at walmart and make things right!

[ShinyDazzlight]

Aw, poor little Puffer..

I have two GSPs now -one I've had for about a year and a half who lives in high brackish waters, and one that I just bought today that I have in a smaller tank that has lower brackish waters. Just out of curiosity, do you think that the older one will attack the younger one if I put her in with him? He's very gentle for a green spotted puffer, but I worry, as he's so spoiled and used to being the only one who gets attention. He's in a 30 gallon tank by himself right now.

[silentcircuit]

@ShinyDazzlight I wouldn't attempt it. In a 30G a single GSP will have declared him / herself sovereign. Anything you put in there is likely to be eaten, or at least beaten up badly. 30G is the recommended size for one adult GSP. If you got a 55 it's possible they could coexist. Anything smaller, wouldn't try it.

[ShinyDazzlight]

@silentcircuit They're actually in the same tank now, and doing fine together owo; I plan on getting a bigger tank soon, though, because I need the 30 gallon for a breeding project and I think my puffers would be happier in something bigger.

[pictureperfectbratty]

I live in the state of Maine. I bought my GSP from a walmart here in MAINE! and when I went to local pets stores to buy baby snails for him because his beak was starting to grow I was informed that having snails in Maine is illegal and also having the Puffer was illegal and that wal-mart disregarded state laws. Here is a letter people write to walmarts concerned for GSP's wwwdotgreenspottedpufferdotnet­/walmart.htm A great website if you just purchased your GSP & need CORRECT info.

[pictureperfectbratty]

Wow this walmart actually has a nice tank for them...the wal-mart I purchased my GSP from had nothing in the tank not even rocks floating debris everywhere and it was quite sad. I felt I had to rescue the little guy in it & I did. The lady told me that he was a freshwater puffer and just to feed him tropical fish flakes. As a first time fish owner...wow was I in for a rude awakening! this guy needed crustaceans & brackish water (using marine salt) to thrive and at least a 30 gallon tank.

[xquailx801]

I take perfect care of my fish at walmart. Who cares if there is too many in one tank. They get sold anyway. And besides even pictus catfish are in a tank with only ONE of them, it doesn't matter, they need at least 55 gallons to swim around in. Petco and pet stores are no better. They are all over stocked and have little tanks.

[Rocketman1670]

@xquailx801 Agreed, no store is going to give each fish all the space it needs, there wouldn't be enough room for all the fish they need to sell to make a profit.

[sailorminimoon1000]

that's sad : ( 

[kbee951]

@emosparky yes they do a poor job taking care of there fish need help contact me

[kbee951]

Lol hes at walmart smarty

[loopiewho]

will you get them a bigger tank soon as they grow

they a beautiful fish

are you sure thay are not over crowded tho

i must say they look well looked after tho

but please get some advice

to be sure there gonna stay happy

[emosparky]

I'm working on a documentary on how terrible walmart treats there poor fish

[bloonblast]

Lol, I was there today to get two plecos

[juanxzombie]

oh wow look at their tails though......

[christiangurl199117]

Ok, if any or all of you want to keep these fish from being sold, you need to start at the supplier. These puffers are most likely wild caught and thrown from naturally brackish or saltwater straight into fresh. The ones that don't die are then shipped off, where the water cools down and more die. The ones that survive this are then thrown into the fish tank. No wonder why they end up catching ick. But we need to educate the supplier on the inhumanity of this all to stop this from happening.

[christiangurl199117]

@christiangurl199117 And there needs to be a concerted effort by many people to see this happen. If there aren't a lot of people that agree that this is inhumane, corporate America wins and these puffers will continually suffer. At the very least, there should be a law in place saying that these puffers, if they are going to be sold, should be kept in a large enough tank with marine salt, not aquarium salt, and that they educate people on how to properly take care of them.

[christiangurl199117]

The Walmart close to where I live no longer carry puffer fish, which is good cuz they were being sold as a freshwater fish, and sentenced to death. However, the Petco near where I live still sells them and it is sad to see them there. I got all my puffers there, including one that refused to eat. Poor things were ridden with internal parasites and I'm glad to say that they are now spoiled puffers. I am getting another one off of CL soon from someone who can't care for it anymore.

[FreddieMcswaggness]

HELLA FIN ROTTT

[MiNdSpiin]

i went once and saw two dead betas in their little lonely bowls, there were no store clerks around but i wrote a nasty note and left it there for them to find :D

[thumbdownu]

take a video of the goldfish section, i counted atleast 100 before my eyes rolled back into my head.

[nextstep333]

@thumbdownu Yes I see tank filled with dead or dying fish, they should have shame, why don't we all call wal-mart and complain?

This is why I don't shop at Wal-Mart, crappy service and immoral corporates!

[1999spyro]

I want a puffer fish! :(

[deeisneat]

sad to say i've actually seen twice as many pufferfish in a walmart tank. they almost never know what they're doing.

[koonfreeze43]

is this a walmart in tennesee?

[0ryan00]

the walmart by me had about 40 in a tank only a little bigger then that one. i got one to save its life and he is now a very healthy little fish

[VinceniaValentine]

They seem to have tail rot.

[RazorWar360]

@VinceniaValentine it's not tail rot, it's because there are too many puffers in one tank, they're fin nipping. But they always seem to have ick and fungus when I see them in pet stores. Generally you only want one puffer in a tank but they seem to do well in groups as long as you keep them with African Cichlids to keep them on their toes and away from eachother. I must say a planted African/Puffer tank is the best tank I've ever made. Quite entertaining.

[CFLKS411]

They are selling them...stores over stock the tanks all the time. My LFS has around 75 dwarf cichlids in a 20g. I asked how many and what size...

[Thomaschgg]

Its as easy as this bitches;

They are born in fresh water, when they get older they move more to the sea, so you CAN keep them in fresh water, but they LIKE salt water BETTER

[ohkaytrishh]

First off, walmart are a bunch of idiots! Adding "salt" to a tank does not count. These cute little babies are Brackish, which is a form of saltwater. I saved over dozen of them from my local fish mark, I even go there, buy them and sell them to fish stores that have brackish tanks. Walmart doesn't need to be selling these.

[classifiedinfo]

I saw a setup similar to this in York County, Maine; the exact same type of tank at a Wal Mart with a bunch of these little guys in it; many dead. It's shame.

[eddieusselman]

ok theese fish seem to be in good health except forr living space.... how about you come to the wallmart in my nieboorhood and tell me how you feel then becasue half of every tank population is dead

[hunterziegelmann]

I was there and i think i saw someone finishing up with recording right befor we got there where was this wal-mart?

[knifecollector93]

i went to walmart and saw a dragon goby 15 inches long:P thats a foot and almost a half

poor thing was so cramped in it:(

[ohkaytrishh]

@knifecollector93

also, just to add to your post, not picking on you or anything. These Goby Dragons, are ALSO, brackish water fish and should NOT be kept in freshwater!

[spinaltap211]

soo... 3-4 puffers in a tall 20 gallon is not a good idea?

[ohkaytrishh]

@spinaltap211; max for that many would about around 75 or 100gals

[menoel21]

there absolutly fine go to an aqarium u see allot worse

[tyzilla1100]

i just got my GSP i want them to get big quick how do i do that

[ohkaytrishh]

@tyzilla1100; you don't but I bet not long after you posted this, they died.

[mctravish107]

as you can see here lady and genlteman is the natural but brutal enviroment of te wal-mart fish section...careful dont make too muh noise becuz they re suffering already enough....thank you....plz visit our gift shop on yur way out. :)

[jlrsmiles]

i just got one today from walmart. Is this the walmart in North Windham? If so, they are taking good care of their fish compared to other walmarts that have fish.

[ekham1]

hey these look way happier and healthier than the ones in my towns walmart, atleast these guys have gravel and stuff, the one where i live doesnt even care about the fish, there just in a blue box with a little cup of becteria, no decor or hiding places at all... and half of them were dead when i last say them

[scaremenga]

Walmart shouldn't stock fish, they don't take care of them. Half the fish at the Walmart near me were dead, they used fake gravel (a paper background under the tank), and were way overstocked.

[angeloftheodd]

Those poor things. They're sooooo skinny. =[ They deserve to be nice and plump and live long lives.

[3adys2]

i saved my gps from walmart before he died he was really skinny but now hes really happy hes back in shape

[iYuki00001]

This is sad,I hate lookig at the GSP at Walmart I just wanna buy them all =[

[ShinyDazzlight]

I rscued my GSP from Walmart. He was the only one who still had fins, and he hadnt causgh Ich yet from the others. I went back in today and went to look at them, and was terrified when I found two alive, covered in Ich, and the rest floating dead at the top. I was so glad I was able to save my little Buttons from that 0.o

[SoCalGriffith686]

I saved my little Sushimo (short for sushi monster lol) from Walmart too. She lives in a 55 gallon full marine setup and couldn't be happier or healthier! Love these little cuties, I've had her for over 3 years now! :D

[Nathan1097]

And call adding a bit of aquarium salt "brackish"

[9i991es]

Yeah they always keep them in fresh water. Unfortunately even Petco and the like keep them in fresh or lightly brackish and tell people they stay in brackish forever. *headdesk*

[PEANUTSRBLUE]

i went to walmart and saw they had spotted puffers so then 3 days later i went bak and half of the tank of puffers were layin on the ground and were in fresh water with those black fish that cleans the tank o.o

[w13rdguy]

Walmart, on the whole, not so bad. Giant sump w UV filtration, not a lot of die off. Oh, yeah, and ALL of their fish have ICH. Take them home to your tank without quarantining and ALL of YOUR fish have it>

[fredlapenn]

if u save them then walmart learns nothing better yet boycott walmart

[OCtrackiepac]

Thats nothing. My wal mart doesn't even have the light on for them and there's algae all over the wall and their all on the floor dying

[LisaLethalLicious]

@OCtrackiepac Yea. That IS nothing. I saw a tank with like 7 or 8 and 4 were dead rotting on the bottom. It was horrible.. in which case, I saved the most lively of the bunch, who came to greet me at the glass. And he is my happy little Bloat(:

[girlmadhatter]

The fins are all mesed up poor guys I saved two from Walmart i had to treat their ick too bad I can't afford to save them all

[rockaboyhalla]

thats not way to many sure you should have less but thats fine walmart sucks tho

[xerxesbreak23]

It's really not fine. GSP's require at least 30 gallon per puffer. That's a 10 gallon stuffed full of them. =|

Anywho. They look sad =( The one in the beginning especially, looked like it could have internal parasites. =(

I would write a letter to that walmart and complain.

[LisaLethalLicious]

@xerxesbreak23 No. A puffer requires 1 gallon per inch. So you could get away with a 6 gallon tank its whole life.

[Amemet1]

Wrrrooooong.

They definitely prefer about 30 gallons per specimen. The 1 inch of fish per gallon rule onl applies to fish such as mollies, danios, minnows, and tetras. Your typical community tank.

[snapplechick716]

@Amemet1 doesnt that rule also cover ather more common fresh water fish as well? I always hate seeing the puffers at walmart, there is like 12 in a small tank like that but when i go to this little mom and pop fish shop in town there is one big-ish puffer in his own 30 gallon.

[Amemet1]

@snapplechick716 It applies to most community fish. When you start getting into other fish that might get aggressive there's no real "Rule".

Could be 1in, could be drastically less. All depends on the fish, and the specific temperament. Chichlids are a good example, 1in/gal usually isn't a good idea, as they're territorial fish.

[snapplechick716]

@Amemet1 Thanks!!! That is helpful! all I own right now or bettas but me and my boyfriend would eventually like to get a salt water tank, or at least a fresh water tank with a bunch of fish.

[Amemet1]

@snapplechick716 Keep in mind if you're ever going to go to a marine tank that it's very expensive. You need a large tank to even accommodate smaller fish. I'd say minimum size for a decent tank would be 60 gallons + a 30 gallon sump. With that, you also need roughly 1lbs of Live Rock per gallon of water... Live rock (at least where I live) is approximately $10/lb.

Research is your friend!

Start with a fresh water tank, if you can keep that going for a couple years, then move up to marine.

[shifter510]

walmart dont even feed their fish lol n they got ick on dem

[marcin12566]

very cute puffers

[jlazure1]

actually if u get thm when there young enough thy will adapt to fresh water..

[Nathan1097]

But they won't live very long. They need to eventually be in marine conditions as adults.

[jlazure1]

didnt kno tht tnks for lettin me kno i was gonne get one

[ohkaytrishh]

@Nathan1097 EXACTLY! These fish will adapt to freshwater but they will only survive maybe a week, if you're lucky a month. They need brackish water.

[MeRawrCookies]

@ohkaytrishh My Puffers Survived In Spring Water For Like A Couple Of Months

But I Heard That They Start Out As Freshwater And They Slowly Transition Into Brackish water.

[ohkaytrishh]

@MeRawrCookies; You shouldnt be using be "Spring Water" for fish anyways, they do need the chemicals in the water. Wrong about starting out in freshwater. Rivers, lakes, what have you are not truely freshwater. They have a certain salt level to them. These puffers need lots of salt in their water in order to survive.

[MeRawrCookies]

@ohkaytrishh Okay Thanks!!(:

[MegaBikerT]

@Nathan1097 gtfoh

[silentcircuit]

@Nathan1097 Seconded. These fish live 15+ years in proper conditions -- if you put them in fresh water, they probably won't make it more than a few months to a year.

High brackish is enough for adults, but there is no harm in putting fish as small as 1" in full salt water. They will do much better in higher salinity.

[kingjamescrab]

@Nathan1097 you are wrong, i hade one in fresh water and it survived for 2 years

[vanhalenman60]

@jlazure1 i had one for 1 year then it died in freash water

[pxexaxcxex]

I bought my gsp at Walmart. There were a lot in the aquarium, they did not look happy but I picked a plump one.

[fischersrt]

They probably didn't live too long. I'm surprised that walmart carried these.

These fish are brackish to saltwater fish and you know know that they used plain freshwater in the tank.

I once saw someone from walmart putting the other tropical fish into an oscar tank to feed the oscars and he thought it was funny. He pointed it out to us the customers. The oscars just chomped the fish to death but were too big to be eaten so the tanks were littered with bodies. No one watches these people.

[HorseBunny2606]

look fine to me

[caballolvr]

wow a lot were in pretty bad shape