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FAQs about Figure Eight Puffers, Identification

Related Articles: Alone But Not Lonely: The Importance of  Keeping Puffers Individually by Damien Wagaman, Figure Eight Puffers, Freshwater/Brackish PuffersGreen Spotted Puffers (GSP's), The Arrowhead Puffer, Tetraodon suvattii, miraculously malicious, True Puffers, Puffers in General, Burrfishes/Porcupinefishes, Tobies/Sharpnose Puffers, Boxfishes, Puffy & Mr. NastyPuffer Care and InformationPufferfish Dentistry By Kelly Jedlicki and Anthony Calfo,

Related FAQs: FAQs, FAQs 2, & FAQs on: Figure-Eight Puffer Behavior, Figure-Eight Puffer Compatibility, Figure-Eight Puffer Selection, Figure-Eight Puffer Systems, Figure-Eight Puffer Feeding, Figure-Eight Puffer Disease, Figure-Eight Puffer Reproduction, & BR Puffers 1, BR Puffers 2, BR Puffers 3, BR Puffer Identification, BR Puffer Compatibility, BR Puffer Selection, BR Puffer Systems, BR Puffer Feeding, BR Puffer Disease, BR Puffer Reproduction,

White "tummies"

Figure eight or green spotted???? 1/27/08 Hi again. Sorry bother you again Bob. <'Tis I, Neale.> This time it will take a little more than a second of your time. I recently bought a puffer from a LFS and it was labeled leopard spotted puffer. <It's Tetraodon biocellatus. The specific epithet, "biocellatus" literally means "two eye-spots", and if you look at the back half of the body, you will indeed see two sets of yellow-ringed eyespots. One pair on the caudal peduncle, and the other pair a little further forward, on either side of the dorsal fin. The common name for this fish in the aquarium hobby is Figure-8 Puffer, though other names get used, as in your case. Needless to say, I prefer Latin names because, frankly, they're easier to use (if not always easier to say!).> And after reading through your website I found out that leopard spotted puffers are green spotted puffers and they need brackish water. <Yours is most certainly not a Green Spotter Puffer, which is either Tetraodon nigroviridis or Tetraodon fluviatilis, depending.> I am such a fool!!! I should have researched before buying it. But I couldn't resist, it was soo cool. However, after looking through pictures of the green spotted puffer, it didn't look like the puffer I had. It looked like a figure eight puffer to me. I wasn't sure however. <It is.> Then I researched you website again and found out that figure eight puffers can live in freshwater. <Not they can't. The maintenance of this species is curious. Wild fish do indeed seem to be reported mostly coming from freshwater habitats, albeit coastal rather than inland ones. However, under aquarium conditions they do not do well in freshwater. They are more prone to disease and do not live as long. Optimal aquarium conditions appear to be low-end brackish water, around SG 1.005, with a decent level of carbonate hardness and a pH around 7.5-8.0. It is difficult to know precisely why their aquarium requirements are so different to their preferences in the wild, but they are, and the aquarist needs to allow for that.> So I was sooo happy to see that I may be able to keep it. <Don't get too happy. It won't live for long in freshwater. Since it is DEFINITELY not a community tank fish, there's no harm done. This species is best kept on its own (either alone or in a group) or, oddly enough, with bumblebee gobies, which seem to do very well with them. Other small gobies should do well, too.> However, I am not 100 percent sure if it a figure eight and not a green spotted. <It is Tetraodon biocellatus.> So I wanted to see if you could tell. I have an attached photo of my puffer. Can you please tell me what type of puffer it is and whether it needs a brackish water or not???? <Yes, needs brackish water.> Thanks again Bob and crew. Mikey ps. I apologize for the blurry image. It is a picture of my puffers top side. His design. I hope you can see it. If you can't email me back and I will try to get a better pic. Thanks again. <Cheers, Neale.>

Palembang puffer <Now synonymized as T. biocellatus> Hi Crew, I've a question.. (but don't we all) I just got a Palembang puffer, and the tank I got him from had probably 2 dozen of them all swimming happily... but I put this little chappy in a tank on his own, and he seems rather distressed, swimming up against the glass, even trying to jump.. and he looks like he's trying to escape.. is this just due to him being in a new environment? or is there something wrong with the water? I checked the ph and it seems ok... the only other fish is a tiny Pleco.  Thanks for your help <Hey Marcus, it is very possible that this is just a reaction from the stress of being moved into a new environment.  I would also test my water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, just to be sure.  Best Regards, Gage.> Marcus Tan

Figure 8 Puffer in SW?  7/25/04 Hello! Thanks for responding yesterday! <Hi, you've got Pufferpunk here today to answer your puffer questions.> Along with the other fish I mentioned earlier, could a clown trigger, Malu anemone, and a crocea clam live together? Also, the puffers I've had my eye on looks like a brackish figure 8 puffer, but with much more white on the belly and live in saltwater. What are they? <I'm not sure which puffer you are describing.  The F8 should have a white tummy.  Some folks have had short-term success with keeping F8 puffers in SW, but we don't know the long-term affects of this yet.  we do know of folks keeping them over 18 years in light BW.  There is a larger puffer that resembles a cross between a F8 (Tetraodon biocellatus) & a green spotted puffer (T nigroviridis).  It is  called a Ceylon puffer (T fluviatilis).  It has a similar pattern on it's back as an F8, with black spots on it's sides & abdomen.  This fish is in BW when young & prefers SW as an adult.  It grows to 7-8".  Also, I don't suggest keeping puffers with clams (puffer food) & anemones.  I recently heard of a puffer biting into an anemone & dying.  ~PP>  



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