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Green Spotted Puffer

DiscusnAfricans

Past President
I went to Rick's Fish and Pet supply this weekend because I had some free time and a gift certificate to spend. Rick's has been around forever, I've been there many times, and they generally have a very wide selection of both saltwater and freshwater fish, not to mention birds, reptiles, amphibians, and other small animals.

There were plenty of fish in good condition; rainbows, african cichlids, discus, barbs, tetras and livebearers. I saw a tank with 5 healthy looking puffers, and knowing my wife is very fond of puffers, I was naturally curious.

Its not uncommon to see puffers in LF stores, but they rarely seem to be in good condition. There were 5 puffers in a tank, all with plump white bellies, and all were active. Their fins were a little nipped, but that wasn't surprising considering how aggressive puffers can be. There's also a lot of misinformation when it comes to puffers and their upkeep, so I decided to 'test' the store employee. Conversation as follows:

Me: These puffers look cool, how big do they get?
Employee: Very big, it would need a fairly large tank for itself, though it could take a while to get that big.
Me: What about tankmates?
Employee: Generally they do better by themselves due to their aggression, but sometimes they can be ok with larger fish that aren't pushovers.
Me: Are they freshwater?
Employee: Only when young. As they grow, they'll need more and more salt, and eventually they'll need full saltwater to stay healthy.
Me: What do they eat?
Employee: We feed them blackworms, snails, and tubifex. They enjoy most live foods, and will sometimes take prepared foods, but not always.

I was very pleased that she gave me accurate information, and wasn't trying to sell me on the fish, knowing its not one for most beginners. She was a young (maybe college) girl, not a manager or anything.

I decided to get one, figuring it was worth the challenge, and it was only $12. I picked up some blackworms and brine shrimp, which were in good condition. I put him in a bare-bottom 10 gallon tank with a cycled sponge, all freshwater since the tank he came from was freshwater. I'll start to gradually add salt during the water changes and monitor his behavior. I found the following page which had a good deal of information on the puffers:

http://www.aquariumlife.net/articles/tropical-fish/green-spotted-puffer/64.asp

The puffer readily ate some blackworms, and was excited to eat a snail I dropped in his tank. Anyone have experience with these guys? I'm going to try and follow the recommended salt regimen, and feed him live foods while trying small amounts of prepared foods on occasion. Below is a stock picture, I'll try and get some video of him this week.

green_spotted_puffer-480x318.jpg
 
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londonloco

Members
Back in 2006 I set up a 30g for two figure 8's, for my 12 yo. She really wanted a dogface, I figured if she kept interest in a tank for a year or so, her 13th birthday I'd set up a FOWLER for her. Well, her interest waned after 6 months, I ended up selling the puffers and moving on to other inhabitants (took her 3 weeks to figure out the tank was no longer filled with her figure 8's....:))

I was totally new to puffers, my go to forum was:

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/portal.php

I remember great feedback, always an answer to my questions. There was even a few locals that stopped by to see my tanks and give me first hand advice.

Take a look at the site, hope this helps :)
 

captmicha

Members
I've read that despite feeding mostly hard shelled foods (including defrosted crustaceans), they often still need to have their beaks filed.

Are you going to re-tank him as he grows?
 

Becca

Members
You could set up a small tank with a culture of live cherry or Malawa shrimp for him.

I've had some success trimming puffer beaks with baby nail clippers in the past, that said, it's stressful for them and better to avoid it. I find a steady diet of Trumpet Snails works well, largely because they have super hard shells, but I have the Amazon Friendlies, not these guys.
 
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