Puffer ID, Salinity, Tankmates, etc. The store confused me =)

After a nasty Mickey Mouse ate most of my tetras and guppies, I have an almost empty tank. I fell in absolute love with this cute Spotted Puffer at the store but didn't take him home just yet. He was in a brackish tank with Figure 8s. This one had the same colors as the F8 but only had spots, no squiggle lines, and was just labeled as "Spotted Puffer". So far I've only seen things online about GREEN Spotted Puffers. Exactly what do you think that puffer was, then? Was it actually a Green Puffer? The store gal said they didn't have green puffers and don't order them often, but that Green Puffers are fresh water. Do they even know what they're talking about?

On another note, I have 3 Danios left and some guppy babies, do you think this "spotted puffer" (or a Figure 8, they were cute, too!) would be okay with those? And more importantly, could my current fish even survive the salinity? (If not, I have another tank that I can move them to, but of course would like to keep them together if possible.)

Also, I have API aquarium salt. I understand that is different than Marine salt, which both of these puffers need, right?

 

ok, firstly, TMK, Spotted Puffers are just Green Spotted Puffers. They are cute when they're young, but when they grow up, they are HIDEOUS and will destroy pretty much anything you put in the tank. But really, I don't know of a single puffer you could keep with your fish; I'm sorry. They're just super aggressive, nasty fish. Super cool, and lots of personality, but nasty, nasty little buggers when it comes to tank mates.

 

Hmmm, thanks. Hopefully I'll get more feedback on the tank mates. He seems so slow...

 

They don't really seem to move very fast, it's just more of an "eventually" thing.

 

F8 puffers are named that because of their eyes spots located on each side of the tail and the eye spots located just below the dorsal fin. The squggle lines can vary depending on the region the fish was caught.

Which of these fish most resemble the ones at the pet store?


Notice the eye spots in this pic?














The ones at the lfs may be young so their bodies my be more rounded than they are long.

 

Oh boy, now I'm having trouble remembering him. I think the second one is closest in color and the third is closest in markings. He wasn't very green-looking, more orange and didn't have very busy markings, if I remember correctly.

 

The color may vary from their natural color because the fish may be stressed...F8s and GSPs (green spotted puffer) are wild caught and shipped to us so they have been through a lot to get to the lfs. When you say "orange" could it be more of a yellow? The GSPs that I see in the lfs are yellowish instead of green. They also turn kinda brownish and their white bellies will also get dark. The brown and green together may appear orangish. A GSP will have a kinda neon green area on top of it's head, between it's eyes. You can kinda see it in the pic below. And I've seen GSP with a lot of small black dots or fewer larger ones, once again it depends on the region they were caught. The green area on the head will be brighter and much prettier when the fish is comfortable, healthy, and less stressed.

See the neon green color on the head? This fish is also stressed and showing the darker color.




Can you get a pic of him? I would bet that it is probably an F8 or a green spotted puffer. These are the most common with a south american puffer(the pic below) coming in 3rd. The F8 and GSP are very different and it would be best to know what you're in for before you buy it. An F8 need low end brackish (1.003-1.008 salinity), grows to 3-4 inches, and needs a minimum 15g tank. A GSP needs high end to full marine salinity, grows to 6 inches, and needs a minimum 30g tank. Puffers also need to be fed crustaceans to keep their teeth from overgrowing. Most keepers use fresh seafood from the market or start a snail growing tank.


Also b4 talking about tank mates you'll need to identify the puffer.




SAPs are full fresh water and very active. They also need a very crunchy diet as they are extremely prone to beak overgrowth. I've never kept them but I think they are awesome.