I need help with ID on this puffer........

[cohazard]

I thought it was a baby figure eight, but the owner of the store said it was a 'green puffer' and that it was freshwater................I doubt it.

From my research, I believe it is Tetradon fluviatilis. Am I right?

He was in freshwater at the LFS, and he looked great (I assume that's because he's still a juvie and can still tolerate FW) but upon solidifying an ID, I'll bump the salinity to brackish.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

[wataugachicken]

Defintely looks like a green spotted puffer. they start in fw, gradually require stronger brackish water, but when mature they need full SW to live in. they'll reach around 6 inches, need a 30-gallon tank, and won't tolerate any fish outside the species. even two in a 30 is a stretch as they are so aggressive.

read: one fish, 30 gallons, eventual commitment to saltwater if you want it to live.

this is why i didn't get one, even though they're so ridiculously cute and cuddly and you just want to hug them.

 

[RTR]

I does not look at all like a GSP to me.

I think that you are correct on the fish being a Ceylon, T. fluviatilis, but a little better side shot would help be certain. Same handling as a GSP, but gets a bit bigger and holds color a bit better. Can be a little gentler than GSPs also. Good fish.

 

[cohazard]

Thanks RTR, my gut tells me I'm right. I'll try to get a closer side shot, but it's still pretty camera shy. I'm going to add a cave in the QT for him (I actually used to have one in there, but I took it out).

So far I haven't been able to find any ramshorns or pond snails in any of the fish stores, so I'm going to buy mussels and clams from the market. Do I just crush them so that he bites the shells while trying to get to the flesh?

Or should I just buy a couple of sea shells/snail shells and put them in his tank for him to bite on? I've read somewhere on the net, accounts of puffers biting shells placed in their tank to wear down their teeth, is that true?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[RTR]

I use pliers to crack the shells and let the puffs work from there. For such a little guy you may need a couple of crunches. They get the incissor wear from the bivalves mostly by scraping the shells, but it does work.

I have seen multiple reports on puffers crunching without food, but I have not ever seen this in my tanks - but I have always suspected (LOL, actually I know) that my fish are spoiled.

Have you read Pufferpunk's artcle on GSPs (originally published in TFH)? Check out the Library at the Puffer Forum ( http://www.thepufferforum.org/ ) - handling Ceylons is essentially the same as GSPs.

 

[wataugachicken]

ahh, okay. when there was that big import of puffers a month or so ago they were labelled as GSP's in every LFS i went to, but i guess they are the Ceylons. and now i know.