New Blue Spotted Puffer Added Today - Color Change - Help Needed

[mrmatzah]

Hello everyone,

Today I purchased a blue spotted puffer and added him to my tank. He ate very well at the pet store, and ate very well after we got him home - both flake and frozen herbivore blend. This evening I noticed him getting 'spooked' and zooming around the tank, and now he's settled under a rock in the sand and has started changing colors. I'm worried about him and want to make sure he's OK. Here are a few pictures of what he looked like this afternoon and what he looks like now:

When we got him into the tank:


Just a few moments ago:


The only other change I made today was to add an Aquatop plastic plant at the back of the aquarium:


It was rinsed in hot water before placing it in there.

The tank parameters and livestock are as follows:

40g Cube
40lbs Arag-Alive sand
50lbs Base rock
10lbs Live Rock

0ppm Ammonia
0ppm Nitrite
10ppm Nitrate
1.024 SG
78 degrees

1 Pink Fairy Wrasse
1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Lawnmower Blenny
Three large turbo snails
Several astrea snails and hermits

All other tankmates are doing fine and eating well.

Any ideas on what may be going on? Thanks in advance for your help. I really want to make sure that he's acclimating well and see if there is anything I can do to reduce stress.

 

[peteyspizza]

How old is the tank?

 

[mrmatzah]

Hello @peteyspizza - tank is 1 month old.

 

[Chewbacca]

Some Puffers like Blenies will change color to surrounding area colors like camouflaging. In your photo it sure looks that way matching the rock color. But again fast cycling tanks are not my cup of tea. Good luck

 

[Zionas]

Don’t mean to hijack OP’s thread but do you not consider a tank cycled until the live rock has abundant purple coralline algae?

 

[mrmatzah]

Thanks @Chewbacca. I checked on him a moment ago and he’s swimming around just fine. Must have been a false alarm.
Thanks for everyone’s help and quick response. I really appreciate it!

@Zionas No problem at all. I welcome the opportunity to learn more. I have always gone by ammonia and nitrite being zero while nitrate is steadily rising to be an indicator of a cycle tank.
Have a great day everyone!

 

[mrmatzah]

Following up in case anyone was following or interested. The blue spotted puffer is doing perfectly fine. He's changed his colors a few times against the rock as one of the previous posters mentioned. A bit of panic over nothing it seems.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[sfin52]

They can change colors when stressed. Most likely from being in a new tank.

 

[mrmatzah]

Thanks for the reply. I’ve heard that as well - particularly a phase they go through when moved to a new tank. He’s eating well though on frozen and flake. I’m hopeful whatever stress he was experiencing has passed.