mbu puffer fish

Question
i have a 55 gallon tank for my 2 mbu puffer fish  i want to know if this is a good size for them and also there bellys are kinda black and one keeps laying at the bottom of the tank and looks like hes breathing kinda fast more so then the other puffer so what do you think that this means and what should i do ? thanks sincerely Rachel Meredith new Hampshire

Answer
Hi Rachel,

A substantially sized fish when grown (over a foot), these need a much larger tank.  For now, this may suffice, but it's still too small, imo.  As babies, each should have a 50 gallon.

Sometimes they do lay on the bottom.  It's a habit of theirs.  They can frighten owners often by this behavior.

In the future, please consider a larger aquarium for them, as they will outgrow this atmosphere and please be very aware of their Tetratoxin poison.

When puffers puff, they exhude poison which can poison all tank inhabitants as well as themselves.  Please bey very careful never to make them puff.

:)

Good luck and happy fish-keeping.

Renee