Puffer

[seffieuk]

i believe you should research first on a few species u can work with.not worth traveling and getting a fish u cant handle or that needs a different form of water.get a few ideas then maybe call and ask if they have them in.will be best for u and fish.

I agree with you totally - however i have been researching for about a month now, think i am researched out need to get a look at some fish now

What would everyone choose for their first puffer - can't be bigger than 6/7 inches and don't really fancy the dwarf species - don't mind going brackish?

Have trawelled through puffer lists - seems to me that what i saw was a batch of very stressed baby puffers, not showing their correct colours - but could only find one puffer that has blue eyes:

Often described as cute, the Spotted Puffer's body conform to the standard puffer shape with a white underbelly and yellow/green top covered in black spots, this top colouring ranging from dark green to fluorescent green to yellow. Their eyes are an almost metallic blue and appear to reflect light

Next question: if puffers get so stressed that it is difficult to tell their colour/patterns is there a good way of being certain of the type? Sorry for all the questions - it's just that I trust you guys

 

[nmonks]

I wonder if these are one of the dwarf puffers, probably Carinotetraodon travancorius. It is sadly very common to see them sold/kept as brackish water fish. While low-end brackish won't do them any harm, they certainly don't need salty water. Anyway, these are small, very active, have variable markings, and often yellow tails.

http/filaman.ifm-geomar.de/summary/Speci...ry.php?id=25293 (Carinotetraodon travancorius)
http/filaman.ifm-geomar.de/summary/Speci...ry.php?id=59837 (Carinotetraodon imitator)

If they actually are brackish water puffers, the only one that is a solid colour at all commonly sold is Xenopterus naritus, an incredibly nasty species that can only be kept alone. It is brackish/marine species (not freshwater as Fishbase reports, likely confusion with very similar species of Auriglobus).

http/www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=25182

Cheers, Neale

My question: my lfs has some tiny, wee puffer fish in a tank. they are bright eyed, moving around a lot and in brakish water. They seem to vary in colour from being very light creamy colour to dark grey, they seem to have a few very faint marks, (but not all of them and it difficult to know if they will be spots or lines) with yellow tails -They have them labeled as opal puffers ? they say that they will grow to about six inches? Have looked up opal puffers but can't find them anywhere, so am assuming it is a made up name? Any ideas on what they might be and how they should be kept?

 

[fishfishfish]

id say either figure 8 puffers(i have 3) or ceylon puffers.i love my figure 8s and i also have kept bumble bee gobys with them.i currntly have a brackish flounder in with them.great little fish

 

[seffieuk]

id say either figure 8 puffers(i have 3) or ceylon puffers.i love my figure 8s and i also have kept bumble bee gobys with them.i currntly have a brackish flounder in with them.great little fish

Decided to steer clear of the little puffers that I couldn't ID. Took a trip to Wildwoods - spoke to a really helpful guy (he looks after the puffers there). They had several different puffers - one being a very cute hairy puffer, think he was about 67 quid but having done my homework before (thanks guys) i knew that this was a lurker puffer and i wouldn't see much of him. They also had very pretty fahakas......don't worry, didn't get one of those either and a potato puffer, cute but again a lurker! Then i saw them a tank of baby figure 8s. Had fishfishfish's words ringing in my ears about what great little fish they are so...........home two came. They are a lovely colour, with full bellys and as soon as they were free they started chomping on the snails, i am in love. Gave them a cockle today - phew, they gobbled that up like it was chocolate

How much should i feed them a day, should I feed them every day?

In a couple of weeks will buy some tank mates (well, not mates, as i have learnt but fish who swim in the same tank ) Don't want too many fish - anyone got any suggestions (my tank is 180ltrs) - Started the conversion to brackish - will take things slowly (spent hours getting them ready to go in the tank, dripping in my tank water, which i had already started to convert to brackish - don't want to kill off the bacteria in the filter do i or my little babies, got to get it right)

 

[DarkEntity]

10-15 Gallons per Puffer is a good guide. Make sure you have really good over filtered tank aswell, as puffers are really messy

 

[Fella]

These fish are grazers in the wild, I'd say feed them little and often.

Their not a puffer that particularly has trouble with overgrown beaks, but a varied diet is good. Snails, Cockles, bloodworm, brineshrimp, and green foods if it will eat it.


Enjoy! It's really good to see you did plenty of research first.

 

[DarkEntity]

Ditto, I think Fig8's will be my next Puffer once i know that the Sals are getting on fine and i have them settled into the new tank layout.