Introduction To Green Spotted Puffers
by Hannah Trunck
Green Spotted Puffers are fascinating, personable, lovely creatures. Owning one is a truly rewarding experience. With the proper care these fish can live 15+ years and grow to 6.5".Unfortunately there is still a lot of misinformation about puffers, and these fish are often wrongly being labeled as a freshwater fish. When very small green spotted puffers can survive in freshwater, but once they grow more than 1.5-2" they need to be acclimated to brackish water (with an s.g. of about 1.008-1.0016), and when they're over 4.5" it's best to keep them at an s.g of 1.016-1.022 (or full marine conditions).Green Spotted Puffers are an extremely dirty fish. They're very messy eaters and leave scraps of food throughout the aquarium. They also produce a large amount of ammonia. Because of this it is best to give 30gallons of space per fish. If you plan on adding more than one green spotted puffer you may want to give 40gallons per fish due to their extremely aggressive behavior (while a 55gallon can potentially house 2 GSPs, a 75-80gallon tank is best).The aggressive behavior of GSPs makes it difficult to keep them with tank mates. Similar sized puffers, certain clownfish, and a few other similar sized semi-aggessive marine fish can be successfully kept with GSPs, as long as there is enough tank space and plenty of hiding spaces.The intelligence of puffers is rivaled by few other fish. They learn very quickly who feeds them and will happily swim to the front of the tank hoping for something to eat. Because of their high intelligence they need to have plenty of decor and broken lines of site to keep them interested. Bored puffers will often pace at the front of the glass.The most expensive part about Green Spotted Puffers (besides the initial set up) is the food. Like rodents, they have large teeth that continue to grow throughout their lives. To wear down their teeth they need a steady diet of hard meaty foods such as: scallops, oysters, clams, crabs, crayfish, and especially snails. Freezedried foods or krill is not a sufficient diet and should only be given occasionally as a treat.