Puffer identification

F

Flusher

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Apr 4, 2005
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There is a puffer I found locally that I can't identify. The problem is that it is being sold as a "Neon Green" puffer. (I've also come across one or two LFS' selling "Green" puffers, but they were sold out before I could actually see them first-hand.)

The "Neon Green" I saw looks like these, but you'll notice that the information provided varies quite a bit (namely, size and water salinity):

http://www.pufferfish.co.uk/aquaria/species/pufferfish/types/xenonari.htm
http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/modestus.htm

On a side note, is this an actual Avocado puffer?:

http://puffernet.tripod.com/cutcutia.html

The Avocados I've seen locally look more like the puffers pictured above (and like the "Neon Green" I saw - especially considering their slimmer body shape), and are kept in brack water.

Any help sorting out this mess would be great, as I'm hoping to get one more small, freshwater puffer for my collection.
 
The three puffers cited above are three entirely different fish. Only the A. modestus should be called "avacado" as that is the is fish most commonly referred to by that name. The pufferlist is a reliable site for puffer IDs, but is not yet complete by any means. The last site mentioned is one of the poorest on the web for ID. No puffer-keeper that I know follows or suggests that site.
 
So, if the fish I saw looks like the puffers pictured on the first two links, would it most likely be A. modestus?

Does X. naritus even look like A. modestus? I can't see a difference between the two puffers pictured on the first two links (from my first post), so I'm guessing one of them is wrong. If not, can someone point me towards some distinctive traits to help me identify the puffers?

Does the pufferlist give accurate information about the particular puffer pictured (assuming it is the right picture)?

The third link was added just to cross-reference with some "Avocado" puffers I found locally, which I am quite sure are the same fish as the "Neon Green" puffers I found elsewhere. Oh, I found a link to puffernet.tripod.com on the petfish.net forum. FYI... ;)

I would absolutely love to strangle any idiot that came up with the common names for puffers which use the following words:

1. "Common"
2. "Spot" or "Spotted" (or Leopard)
3. "Green"
4. "Congo" (simply because there are two extremely different puffers with this common name)
 
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The "Common" puffer, Tetraodon cutcutia, was for years just that, the most common in the trade. It is much less so now (the GSP, Green Spotted Puffer,Tetraodon nigroviridis, is likely the commonest now). T. cutcutia is not uniform colored at all. Nor is it active or suitable for tankmates, it is reclusive and aggressive. It can be tank bred, not as easily as the Dwarf Puffers, but it can be done.

The Auriglobus species (there are several) are frequently listed as Avacado, or Green. They are very active swimmers when young, much less so when mature. They are a bit laterally compressed, more than many/most puffers - so bit more conventionally fish shaped in cross-section. Other than the back and side color versus the white belly, the do not show marks, spots, or streaks/bars.

The info given on pufferlist was agreed to by multiple experienced puffer keepers from the Puffer Forum. All puffer nomenclature is uncertain, but tank care and feeding is most reliable from the pufferlist.
 
It sounds like the puffers in town have quite often been the Auriglobus species, then. I've seen two different LFS' carrying such plain green and laterally compressed puffs. I'm going to hold out for a more interesting puffer.

I think that settles it. Thanks, RTR.

Any idea if the pufferlist is still a work in progress? There really is a limited number of puffs on it, but it's good to know that the info is reliable.
 
The rest will develop more slowly. Being done by concensus from the puffer forum means not fast at all, and puffer_archer is carrying most of the load. Since the crash and burn of the forum site, things are definitely on the back burner until we have something more than a temporary forum set up.
 
Oh good; it isn't an abandoned project. That's excellent news.

Despite my impatience, I would say that building the list slowly and accurately is the best way to do it. The puffer forum crash has really been a problem. Oh well, at least it will be less likely to happen again, assuming that the administrators will put some safeguards into place once the forum is resurrected.
 
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