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FAQs about True Puffer Identification

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Takifugu poecilonotus... ID, care... 2/17/12
I had some puffer problems and on the pufferfish.net forums it was suggested to me to see if i could contact Neale Monks or Bob Fenner at WWM for the care facts of the Takifugu Poecilonotus.
<Fire away.>
(The pic attached is one of my puffers around 2.5 inches a week before he died)
<Wow, this species is the spitting image of Chelonodon patoca. Amazing that they should evolve almost identical colouration.>
Long story short, I went to a fish store around 5 months ago to get 3 dwarf puffers, tiny thumbtack size at the time. I had a nice ten galleon tank set up for them with lots of vegetation (real and fake) to hide in. 1 Puffer died within the week, but four months later i had two really active, healthy puffers that were around three inches in length and most definitely NOT dwarf puffers.
<I see.>
I absolutely loved those puffers. I fed them brine shrimp daily, once a week they had snails and every other week, glass shrimp. Towards the end of the fourth month they started to show signs of distress and become agitated. I became worried that they weren't getting everything they needed and started to brows through lists of aquarium puffers to see if i could find the species.
<Ah, now, how sure are you that these are Takifugu poecilonotus? I've never seen that species in the trade, though I admit they both have very similar colours. By contrast, Chelonodon patoca is an occasional import. There aren't any obvious differences, though Chelonodon tends to have a more angular head and boxy body, whereas Takifugu are more streamlined and have a more tapering body. All this said, oddball Takifugu species do turn up very occasionally.>
Last week their energy levels dropped dramatically and they just laid around on the bottom of the tank and hardly even ate. I continued to look for what species they were and even posted my puffer's picture online on a forum and no one knew what species they were.
<I see.>
The 13th of Feb I started just going through the list of puffer species that Wikipedia had and Google searching each name of every individual puffer on that list. Feb 14th, when i woke up and checked on my puffers.. they were dead. Yesterday I finally found what my puffers were, Takifugu poecilonotus, and that they were brackish-marine fish, only freshwater as fry.
<In common with many other Takifugu spp.>
I would love to have a second chance with this species, but i can't seem to find any info on them. Are they freshwater as juveniles then brackish water? High end Brackish or Marine? If anyone on this site has info on this particular puffer it would be much appreciated. I feel horrible about the death of the two I had.
<Hmm… do download, read "Takifugu obscurus is a euryhaline fugu species very close to Takifugu rubripes and suitable for studying osmoregulation", a good laboratory-based primer on Takifugu species including Takifugu poecilonotus. The gist of their study is that apart from T. obscurus, none of the other Takifugu species adapts to freshwater successfully. They further note that Takifugu poecilonotus adults are seen in the sea, spawning occurs in the sea, and it's the "fingerlings" found in river estuaries. Bottom line, treat these as temperate (~18 degrees C; i.e., a cool room temperature) high-end brackish to marine (SG 1.010+) fish. A chiller may be needed in summer to prevent overheating, but certainly ensure a spacious tank with lots of water current and oxygenation.>
Thanks,
Jessie
<Hope this helps. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Takifugu poecilonotus 2/17/12
Thank You :)
<Most welcome. Neale.>

some ID please if you can 1/8/12
How are you guys,
<Fine.>
Went to the beach (Pattaya Gulf of Thailand) tonight as it was low tide to look for snails, Hermits and some crabs to add to my Sump and Fuge set up.
Found a lot of life there.
Saw some nice anemones (which I decided not to touch) caught a little octopus but decided to put it back as I don't think it is something for the aquarium.
Also found tons of snails (Nassarius) and crabs what I was looking for Anyway now my son found this one can someone ID this puffer?
Also found some of these fish?? Not sure if they are fit for the aquarium but the wife said to take them grow them and eat them?? She is Thai and gave them some Thai name but would like to find a name and check out what they are?
can anyone help?
Dirk and Noi
<Hi Dirk and Noi. The puffer is a Chelonodon sp., likely Chelonodon patoca or C. laticeps (taxonomy of this genus is a little messed up in my personal opinion... forget about most of the online picture IDs and much of the printed material). The Rabbitfish is likely Siganus canaliculatus
http://www.flickr.com/photos/puffinbytes/5492401605/ and
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4548481776_0b40d288ca.jpg which is
actually a food fish. Cheers, Marco.>

Question about golden puffer, ID 04/26/09
Hi guys,
<Hi Eric.>
I just had a question about my recent purchase, a golden puffer from the Christmas islands. My question is, how can I be for certain that my puffer is truly a golden puffer? It is about 6 inches in length and only about 60-70 percent of it's body is yellow. The rest of his body is a light gray color. Kind of like the bottom portion of a dogface puffer, but it doesn't have the distinct mask like the dogface puffer has. I also don't see any sign of his original patterns (black with white dots). Attached are some
pictures so you can see for yourself. Please let me know what you guys think.
<A yellow A. meleagris. The almost equally yellow colour morphs of A. nigropunctatus have slightly different body/head proportions, more black spots as well as a at least grey area at the mouth.>
Thank you, Eric
<Welcome. Marco.>

UNIDENTIFIED SWIMMING OBJECT 9/15/08 Hi Bob, <Hello George!> Your help in identifying this fish will be greatly appreciated. All the best, George Some information follow (the fish was found on the Aegean Turkish coast)******** Further to our correspondence two hours ago, I am sending in the attachment the pictures of a strange fish which I found dead in the sea on the Turkish coast just across from the Greek Island Castellorizo. I had never seen this fish before and it looked very weird due to its unusual shape. The fish in the pictures was about 30 cm long, weighing about 400 grams. Peculiar characteristics of the fish were as follows : 1. It had no scales and had rough skin with spots. The skin texture was like the skin of a stingray. 2. It had no operculum and no vents to discharge water. Since we forgot to perform autopsy, I can not tell if it had any hidden gills. The question is : As it did not have any operculum, how did it manage to circulate water for oxygen extraction ? 3. It had fleshy lips, but no teeth in the shape that we are familiar with. Instead, it had a monobloc (U shaped) upper and lower jaw bones with sharp cutting edges all around the arc, which apparently work like a giotine. Both in the centre of upper and lower jaws, there was sharp protrusions like a parrot beak, which apparently the animal used to fight or catch its prey. Since I found it dead, there is a possibility that it may not belong to the fauna of the Turkish coast. It might have come from North African coast or from the Red Sea. Another possibility may be that it could have been brought by a yacht (frozen in the fridge) and thrown into the sea on the Turkish coast. akin -- George J. Reclos Ph.D. <Am pretty sure this is a Takifugu, likely T. rubripes Bob Fenner>

Re: UNIDENTIFIED SWIMMING OBJECT 9/16/08 Hi Bob, <Neale> > So far as I know, Takifugu doesn't occur in the Northeast Atlantic, so isn't like to be seen in the Mediterranean or Black Seas. <Had thought that this might be a contaminant...> In any event, the streamlined shape reminds me immediately of the pelagic Lagocephalus that we see here in the UK from time to time. These are big pufferfish with classic silvery countershading typical of oceanic fish. I think the species in question is Lagocephalus sceleratus judging by the black spots on the silver body. <Ahh! I do agree> It's an exotic species that got into the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, as did Lagocephalus suezensis, another species worth considering. Lagocephalus lagocephalus is the native species, but it's usually quite plain in colour. Cheers, Neale <Thank you Neale. Will send to Geo. in Greece, post along side on WWM. BobF>

Ahhh - I think it's actually Arothron stellatus! -- 07/08/08 Hi, <Hello!> I just purchased an "Arothron mappa" from my local fish shop; the puffer is currently about 3inches in size without tail. It's been in the tank 24 hours and is eating fine and very active. However, now it's settled in, its colours are not typical of a Mappa. I contacted the shop and they insist it was labeled 'Arothron mappa' from the distributor TMC, but they thought it might be a Brown Dog faced puffer. <'¦In my opinion importers/traders should know what they are dealing with'¦> But I am worried its actually Arothron stellatus, it has a rust brown base colour with tiny black spots over its upper body and tiger stripes on its belly flanks with scribble pattern on its belly...maybe a juvenile stellatus? <May very well be possible. Young A. stellatus are found here: http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=2&ID=6526&what=species and http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=6&ID=6526&what=species and here's a nice drawing on how this fish changes with the years: http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/faunabase/_images/Arothron_stellatus.jpg . Also see here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tetraodontpuffers.htm . In contrast A. mappa always have star like lines radiating from the eyes (compare to some pictures, I'm sure you'll know what I mean.> I have seen adult grey Arothron stellatus in the wild numerous times while diving and although the quoted size is 4ft, I have not seen one that size, I have seen about 6 of them in the Red Sea at different times over the years and the largest was just over 2 ft. Have you heard of Arothron stellatus having a 'sub' species which are not the usual grey colour? <The young can be very colourful. I've seen stunningly red, yellow and orange ones. However, the grown adults become grey to light brown or tan. They can appear very mottled, especially when sleeping or stressed.> What are chances of it actually being an Arothron stellatus do they import them for the aquarium hobby <Sure'¦ much too often, sometimes as 'brown dog face puffer', sometimes as 'red puffer'.> and do you know how big they reach in captivity? <At least the 2 feet, likely 2.5 ft. The larger ones are very rare in nature, too. However, I believe one should plan with the size an animal *might* reach given good care. Most A. stellatus imported simply die or are killed as they grow.> As I might have too contact a public aquarium at some point in the not to distant future to house it, the shop is willing to swap for what I wanted but I worry what they would do with it? <I guess they would sell it to someone else (who might or might not have an adequate tank). A public aquarium might be a better place, but naturally they often do not wish to obtain all the tank busters the hobby produces. Cheers, Marco.>

Re: Ahhh - I think it's actually Arothron stellatus! -- 07/08/08 Thank you Marco <You are welcome.> Seeing I made the shop double and triple check what he was and check with their supplier for peace of mind, as they are a very well known major aquatic chain here in the UK and he was sourced from an equally well known importers I am little annoyed (that I trusted them). <Understandable. Neither am I sure they have the time to spend hours studying literature on each of their thousands of fish, nor do I believe this would be necessary, but a simple look into FishBase or a book like Randall's reef and shore fishes would have easily given the right ID in this apparently unclear case.> He was a lot darker in the shop so I could not see just how defined those black spots were and the stripes on his stomach and his colour convinced me he was not Arothron stellatus, but looking at photos of juveniles I am convinced he is. I attached a photo of him as the evidence speaks for itself. <Very nice specimen, thanks for sending. This picture and post will help others to ID their puffers.> Thank you for your help, very much appreciated. <Anytime. Take care. Marco.>

Please help, Pufferfish Id - 11/1/07 <Hi Marcus> I have this Puffer that I cannot find what type he is anywhere. <He is a neat looking little fish, isn't he? I believe it's Arothron reticularis, commonly called the Reticulated Pufferfish. It also looks very similar to Arothron mappa/Map Puffer, but I've never seen one without radiating lines around the eyes. Please see these links for more info/photo comparison re: http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=6594 http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=7857 http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tetraodontpuffers.htm > Marcus
<-Lynn>

Re: Puffer <ID> and Brackish Tank <env.> query 7/12/07 Hi guys Its me again. <Hello.> I purchased this puffer today. And I need to ID the new puffer. It was sold as a marine puffer. The LFS was not able to tell me what type of puffer fish it is. All he could tell me was that he lived in salt water. <Statistically a fairly safe bet! About 2/3rds of the family Tetraodontidae are either exclusively or mostly marine.> A few questions: 1) What puffer do I have? Is it a Chelonodon Patoca? Takifugu? <Doesn't look like C. patoca to me. That species has milky-white spots on alternating mid-brown and silvery transverse bands. It doesn't look like any of the brackish water Takifugu spp. that I've seen traded. So I'd tend to go with what your retailer said, and assume it's a "marine puffer" of some kind. Which one, not sure. There are numerous look-alike species in the family, so identifying them can be tricky. A little time at Fishbase might help, especially if you can narrow down the list by establishing where it came from... Southeast Asia, China, etc. Counting the number of rays in the dorsal and anal fins will help. See here: http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/identification/specieslist.cfm?famcode=448&areacode= . For what it's worth, it doesn't look like an Arothron puffer to me, the head's wrong, and I'd tend towards either a Takifugu or Torquigener species.> 2) Can this puffer thrive in brackish water? mid to high end brackish? <Assume not, until you know better. While it is true that very many marine puffers routinely enter brackish water for periods of time, in many cases these jaunts are limited to hunting excursions or spawning events. It's a whole other issue to maintain such a fish at SG 1.010 permanently. While SG 1.018 is probably safe, just as it with many other marine fish, anything less than that should be undertaken only with care, and while observing the puffer for signs of distress or loss of appetite.> 3) Maximum length it grows too? <Without a name, who knows! But something in the 20-40 cm bracket is typical.> 4) Any other unique behaviours that may require special treatment. <You number-1 issue is to try and establish if this is a temperate zone, subtropical, or tropical species. Many of the Takifugu in the trade are subtropical fish and don't last long in warm water. In the meantime, I'd be tempted to keep this fish at a low-ish temperature for the time being, say, 22-24 C rather than anything higher. This would be safe for tropicals while not too stressful for subtropicals. Other than this, you can probably treat this fish as any other marine puffer.> Thank you guys once again. <Sorry couldn't be more helpful. Nice fish though! Neale.>

Re: Puffer ID Follow Up - 7/12/07 7/13/07 Hi guys. Just a short note on the puffer from yesterday's dailies. This likely is Tetractenos hamiltoni also called the common toad fish, another Australian species, which appeared in trade this year. It's marine, but enters estuaries. Very toxic if consumed, even compared to other puffers. They like to bury themselves in sandy substrate and live in groups. See e.g. http://www.amonline.net.au/FISHES/fishfacts/fish/thamiltoni.htm and fishbase.org re. Cheers, Marco. <Hello Marco. Thanks so much! Not a species I have ever seen in the trade in the UK (yet). Sounds an interesting species. I like the idea of a schooling species that stays relatively small. Let's hope this species turns out to be amenable to aquarium life. I note from Fishbase that its a subtropical species, so by analogy with the also subtropical Takifugu ocellatus I'd have to assume that it requires slightly below tropical temperatures, around the 18-20C mark. Correct? As for salinity, these estuarine puffers seem to be very tolerant, so by analogy with Arothron hispidus we can probably assume anything from 1.012 upwards should work well. At the very least, it sounds like a species worth experimenting with in the high-end brackish community, provided you had a marine tank you could move it to if things didn't work out. Cheers, Neale.>

Puffer ID Follow Up - 7/12/07 Temperature for Tetractenos hamiltoni 07/14/07 Hi guys. Just a short note on the puffer from yesterday's dailies. This likely is Tetractenos hamiltoni also called the common toad fish, another Australian species, which appeared in trade this year. It's marine, but enters estuaries. Very toxic if consumed, even compared to other puffers. They like to bury themselves in sandy substrate and live in groups. See e.g. http://www.amonline.net.au/FISHES/fishfacts/fish/thamiltoni.htm and fishbase.org re. Cheers, Marco. <Hello Marco. Thanks so much! Not a species I have ever seen in the trade in the UK (yet). Sounds an interesting species. I like the idea of a schooling species that stays relatively small. Let's hope this species turns out to be amenable to aquarium life. I note from Fishbase that its a subtropical species, so by analogy with the also subtropical Takifugu ocellatus I'd have to assume that it requires slightly below tropical temperatures, around the 18-20C mark. Correct? <<Yes, that is exactly what the temperatures are in the natural habitats (East coast: New South Wales and Queensland; see http://www.amonline.net.au/FISHES/fishfacts/fish/thamiltoni.htm and click on the underlined word 'map') in winter following http://www.marine.csiro.au/~lband/web_point/ . In summer, it may be slightly warmer, though, at least in the coastal and estuarine waters.>> As for salinity, these estuarine puffers seem to be very tolerant, so by analogy with Arothron hispidus we can probably assume anything from 1.012 upwards should work well. At the very least, it sounds like a species worth experimenting with in the high-end brackish community, provided you had a marine tank you could move it to if things didn't work out. Cheers, Neale.> <<I am not sure if they can be kept in a community. Although they live in groups, it is known they attack and kill other fishes of similar size when they are trapped in tidal pools and cannot flee, a condition quite similar to an aquarium. I hope the keeper of this puffer reads our discussion. Cheers, Marco.>>

Re: Puffer ID Follow Up - 7/12/07 7/15/07 I am not sure if they can be kept in a community. Although they live in groups, it is known they attack and kill other fishes of similar size when they are trapped in tidal pools and cannot flee, a condition quite similar to an aquarium. I hope the keeper of this puffer reads our discussion. Cheers, Marco. <Marco -- Yet another single species aquarium pufferfish! Too bad. I agree, I do hope our questioner is reading all of this. Cheers, Neale>

Whassthis? -- 06/28/07 It's Tetraodon fluviatilis that has either [a] been messed about with in Photoshop or [b] is the "Bengal variant" of Ebert (2001) in Aqualog. This variety has small spots and reticulations along the sides of the body, whereas regular T. fluviatilis have less complex markings. My understanding is that Tetraodon fluviatilis and T. nigroviridis are not really "species" but ends of a continuum, with a whole variety of intermediate forms. Cheers, Neale <Mmm, well... I took this pic ayer at the local S.I.O. Aquarium... in full seawater... Thank you! BobF>

Puffer ID'¦ Marilyna pleurosticta -- 05/09/07 Hi. I was wondering if you could help me distinguish what puffer this one could be? <Sure.> I was advised by the LFS that this is a freshwater (that they kept in a brackish 1.004 or so) and that it was native to New Guinea... I'm from Australia by the way and according to my research there are no common puffers in the Oceania region, for freshwater anyway. But currently, I have it in a tank with the following water parameters. Temperature 22-24 - I believe it should be at 24-26 <yes.> salinity - 1.002 or so diet - crickets, bloodworms (plan to feed snails and small fishes) ph - 7 and above <should be around 8.> Questions: 1) Is this Amazon puffer (Colomesus asellus) or a banded puffer (Colomesus psittacus) or something else? <No, although they may look similar. Your puffer is a Marilyna pleurosticta.> 2) Are any of the water parameters wrong, which needs to be adjusted. The critical one is how much salt is needed for this species of puffer.. at what level. <They often enter estuaries and river mouths with brackish water, but basically they are marine fish and need corresponding water parameters. They probably were caught in a river mouth and therefore considered freshwater fish.> 3) How can I tell from the puffer fish that it needs less salt or more salt in the water? behaviour? physical colouring? <Heavy breathing and a black belly. They can stay in brackish water for a while, but I'd start raising the SG by 0.002 a week> 4) Are crickets bad for puffers? <No, but seafood such as shrimps, clams etc. is more appropriate.> 5) What are the best scavengers or clean up crew that is best with this puffers? Would Cory's be regarded as dinner? I was advised that Plecos could work best? <Hermit crabs and snails when your tanks reaches marine salinity.> Please advise of best environment for my new puffer (had him for a week).. as I plan to have him for the longer term. Thanks very much. <You are among the first to have this species in your tank. Good luck and have fun. Marco.>

Re: Puffer ID'¦ Marilyna pleurosticta II -- 5/11/07 Hey Marco, thanks so much for your help.... <Glad I could help.> That's the most information that I have found.... Do you have like a care sheet that you can forward... as I have searched the net and have found nothing about this species of puffer... <No surprise. This species is relatively new in the hobby. You might want to try visiting http://www.thepufferforum.com. There is at least one other person from down under with this species. Try sending a personal message to the user navy asking how her puffers did the last months. Care for them probably is not too difficult. A cycled marine tank with low nitrates and a varied diet will be among the most important things.> Thanks again.
<You are welcome. Marco.>

Puffer ID--No Pics 2/27/07 Hi there, My name is Mike. <Hi Mike, Pufferpunk here> I set up a brackish aquarium virtually two years ago and have always been on the lookout for different fish. My local pet shop got two of these puffers in (see pictures) but could not tell me what they were. I took a chance anyway as they are beautiful fish, and after hours on the internet, I cannot identify what type they are. They like to bury themselves in the sand most of the time, they are not aggressive towards the other fish I have in there, some small also. They are quite amusing to watch when they bury themselves up to their eyes. I have had them for about 4 months and they live quite happily in the brackish community home. I first thought they were Congo puffers because of their tendency to bury themselves and the placement of the eyes up top at the front but I understand that Congos are freshwater. Mine have lightish-green bodies with big blue eyes and light yellowy spots all over. They have one dark band that goes right the way round the bodies near the head and a couple of large dark spots on the rest of their bodies. Please help me identify what these guys are and any information you could possibly provide for me. I thank you in advance for reading this message and replying to me at your earliest opportunity. <I'm sorry but none of those links work for me. Look here for your puffer: http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/?sid=84750776d8d66060c112006b16594204 If you don't see your puffer there, post a pic of your puffer in the forums at that site for ID. ~PP> Mike

Hi PP, Mich here. I copied and pasted this query because the images were so large it crashed the server. The photos are in the email with images folder (hopefully) and you sent the message to me and not Mike. His email is below. Hope that helps,
-Mich

Hi PP. I could see the pics and (hopefully) know the ID, but you already answered. See below. See you at TPF. Cheers, Marco.

My name is Mike. I set up a brackish aquarium virtually two years ago and have always been on the lookout for different fish. My local pet shop got two of these puffers in (see pictures) but could not tell me what they were. I took a chance anyway as they are beautiful fish, and after hours on the internet, I cannot identify what type they are. They like to bury themselves in the sand most of the time, they are not aggressive towards the other fish I have in there, some small also. They are quite amusing to watch when they bury themselves up to their eyes. I have had them for about 4 months and they live quite happily in the brackish community home. I first thought they were Congo Puffers because of their tendency to bury themselves and the placement of the eyes up top at the front, but I understand that Congo's are freshwater. Mine have lightish-green bodies with big blue eyes and light yellowy spots all over. They have one dark band that goes right the way round the bodies near the head and a couple of large dark spots on the rest of their bodies. Please help me identify what these guys are and any information you could possibly provide for me. <Most likely Takifugu niphobeles. Gets 15 cm (6 inches) and will need a full marine environment for long term care. Also have a look at FishBase. Cheers. Marco.> I thank you in advance for reading this message and replying to me at your earliest opportunity. Mike.

Actually I found it in the Brackish folder. On my first try the pictures did show some marine slugs, but then I saw the T. niphobles probably in the picture folder. Actually I just saw I typed wrong and had one 'e' too much in the species name, hope that is not a problem. Cheers, Marco. Oh good! I don't know why those links didn't work for me. What folder did you find that at? I had guessed, probably a Takifugu of some kind. If at all possible, I link folks to TPF, as we can't cover everything they may need to know about puffer keeping in 1 letter. ~Jeni <No problem... and a great example of how "things" can work out... RMF>

Masked or Blackspotted Puffer? 3/2/06 WWM CREW, A while back I bought what I thought was masked puffer. The dealer had several like sized puffers identified as Blackspotted. <... where are the spaces between your sentences?> One looked like a masked puffer to me [a wider white band across face, whiter belly and no obvious black spots]. I grabbed that one as they were all priced the same, knowing masked puffers are much rarer and expensive.. I've had the fish a few months, doing fine, but after reviewing my sw fish literature, visiting fish stores and internet research, I not sure if it is a masked or Blackspotted. Any help distinguishing them? Thanks, Paul <See WWM, fishbase.org re and fix your English before sending! Bob Fenner> -Arothron Color Morph- 12/8/05 Hello Tireless Crew Members, My local fish store has an interesting looking 2" puffer. He's listed as an Arothron Hispidus (White Spotted, Stars and Stripes, take your pick). The interesting thing about him is he's solid black with the "stars and stripes" barely visible in a tan/white . Is there a black color morph to this species? I've Googled every possible combination and can't find a black version or talk of this particular morph. They've had him for two months now and he seems to be a survivor worthy of purchase. Thanks for your input. Jeff <Jeff, This is a fairly common fish with an interesting color shift that is a bit harder to find. It is probably a dogface puffer with a black morph as you have deduced yourself. It will need very good filtration, a solid maintenance schedule, and a variety of hard shelled foods. If it will eat shrimp or crab or mussels at the store and is active and healthy with a high level of curiosity at the store, then it sounds like its worth buying. Please have a 125 gallon or bigger tank at home for him as he hits 12+ inches. Also check out WWM and www.thepufferforum.com for more information on the fish and its needs BEFORE you purchase it. It is always better to put it on hold and get the setup right instead of scrambling for filtration afterward.> <Justin>

- Name that Pufferfish - Hi Scott: <Actually, JasonC here...> how are you doing, <Well, and you?> hope you're doing great!!, recently, I went to purchase my harlequin tusk fish, and I didn't find it, well there was one specimen, but it was to large for my tank 120gal tank in witch I have (clown trigger 3" and puffer 3 1/2"), but I was fascinated by one 4" puffer fish that I saw, they have it like a (DALMATIAN PUFFERFISH), and it was like 120dlls, so I started to search for information about these fish, and I didn't find anything, only one picture that I attach) but they only have it like (pufferfish). I was wondering if you could tell me the scientific name of these fish, or other names that these type of puffer it's call, so I can search for more information. <I'm pretty sure this is an Arothron nigropunctatus, commonly known as the Dog-face Puffer - this is just a unique color pattern, and quite pretty.> With my research I come to the conclusion that is a golden puffer in his early stage, but I am not sure, and if it is would it grow with the same black color, or change to yellow color???, and what size will it grow in a tank?? <Hard to say what the colors will do over time - nigropunctatus grow to about 13 inches in the wild.> Thank you for your time, and tips, I added the picture that I found on the net, It was an identical fish. (thanks again). <Yes, very pretty and unique - would make a good addition to your tank.> PS. I herd that puffers are like lionfish, that they could be several puffers in a fish tank, but not same species, is it true??? <It's true, but works best in larger systems - 400-500 gallons.> also you told me that the harlequin Tuskfish (was a great option for the tank, with my other two fishes, If I don't find these fish (Australian), witch one do you recommend, (the Philippines harlequin Tuskfish), or a miniata grouper, please tell me your opinion two my final fish addition. <The Philippine specimens are less colorful, and sometime caught with questionable means. If your store has one, do consider putting a deposit on it and waiting a week or two to make sure the fish is in good health.> (thanks again). Saludos!! JSG
<Cheers, J -- >

Dalmatian Puffer? Hope all is well to the whole Wet Web Media crew! Your help is always much appreciated!<thanks>The reason I am contacting you is my girlfriend and I visited our LFS this past weekend and saw some unusual puffers that we have never encountered before! The body structure is like a Dog Face but the color is what is unusual! The color on some were like a Dalmatian dog but more black than white kind of swirled all over its body. <Either Arothron nigropunctatus or an Arothron meleagris species puffer fish> Others were just straight black but with white fins with black spots. The LFS called them Dalmatian Puffers but when I asked about them they did not know anything about them.<have seen these "Dalmatian puffers before"> I don't even think this is the correct name for them. Well anyway, we ended up buying one because it was an unusual type of puffer plus my girlfriend fell in love with it because every time she walked up to it would come to the front of the tank to greet her. <Puffer fish tend to be very social animals> If you need a picture E-mailed I can probably do so.<ok>I would just like to know the proper name for this puffer.<again, either Arothron nigropunctatus or an Arothron meleagris species puffer fish> I would also like to know if it changes appearance during different stages of its life.<Do read more on our puffer fish webpage http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tetraodontpuffers.htm> One other question that I have been wondering about is I was debating on whether to get a Red Emperor Snapper as a new addition.<This fish grows to more than 3 feet in the wild> Right now I have a porcupine puffer, that other puffer that I have described above, and a Huma Picasso trigger. All these fish are fairly small in size and have a lot of growing to do the only draw back is I know the snapper grows rapidly.<It sure does>My question is how fast do Triggers, Puffers, and the Red Emperor Snapper grow? <depending on how they are fed, fast or very, very, very fast> Well have a good day and thank you for your time it is much appreciated. <would not go with the snapper, will grow too large for any but the largest of home aquariums (couple hundreds of gallons, plus) Good Luck, IanB> Takifugu ocellatus 3/31/04 <Hi, Pufferpunk here> First, thanks for providing what I consider the most comprehensive captive aquatic information source there is! :) <Awwww shucks, thanks a lot!> My question regards a puffer I found on your site: Takifugu ocellatus is this puffer available in the US, and if so, under what common names? <Personally, I have never seen it available for sale in the US. It's common name is ocellated/peacock puffer. I did recently hear of someone on my puffer site that found one in Florida, but I'm not really sure about the ID. Here's the thread: http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=marine&action=display&num=1080532270 > I wasn't able to find much information about it, even on Fishbase. How large does it get? <It's cited in Dr Klaus Ebert's book, The Puffers of Fresh & Brackish waters to grow to 6".> What water parameters does it prefer (if I'm even able to acquire one). <Here is what Dr Ebert says about this puffer: "This exceptionally attractive marine puffer is imported from China. It is a lively swimmer & neither a fin-biter nor aggressive towards conspecifics (it's own kind). Unfortunately it has proven tricky to maintain. No long-term data are available. It is hoped that this attractive puffer will be imported again so we can discover the optimal maintenance conditions for it & so that interested aquarists have a chance to try & breed this beautiful fish". I assume it eats foods and has habits similar to other puffers. Thanks for any info. Michael <You're welcome. Definitely not a fish for keeping in captivity, as even Dr Ebert couldn't maintain one. There are other nice fugus available though, like the one the guy has at the end of the thread I sent you. ~PP>

Arothron Reticulated Sourced Do you think that you can help me find an AROTHRON RETICULARIS? I have come to the conclusion that this fish is commonly confused with the HISPIDUS. <Yes> I already have almost all the other AROTHRONS finding them has had there challenges but this one I am running in to a lot of brick walls is this found under any other names .... toadfish puffer pufferfish. Any help would be great. Thanks again Bunkley <I encourage you to seek out the resources, personnel of the larger online marine livestock etailers... Dr.s Foster and Smith, Marine Center... (.coms)... contact, and ask them specifically to search out this puffer. Bob Fenner>

Re: Arothron Reticulated Thank you for the info. I did go to the link that was on the first email response. It did not take me to the exact page of the response that I found on the second response. So all said and done thank you for all your help and direction. I have already gotten in contact with a couple of wholesalers and retailers. They understand the struggle in finding that Arothron. <All has to do with factors like this genus' members distribution, common occurrence and these areas nearness to modern airports/collecting businesses... some species are far more common underwater than others> They put me on a couple of watch lists for it. Thanks for all the help and your info in the articles around that link are really interesting. Bunkley <Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Puffer question Hey Guys, <Joe> Love your website. I have had a Mexican (Arothron) puffer for about three months now. "Puff Daddy Pig" is about a foot long and its age is unknown. My question is will it turn into a golden puffer? <Mmm, not likely... A. meleagris are one, the other, or mixed... genetically> He is about 20% gold now and the rest of him is brown with white dots. I have not noticed much change in his coloration since purchased. I read that puffers rarely change into one of there three color stages in captivity. Is this true? <As far as I know, yes> Thanks for doing what you do! Joe <Thank you. Bob Fenner>

Coldwater (Atlantic) Arothron Dear Bob. As you are supposed to be an expert in Tetraodontidae may I ask you if you can tell me something about the Arothron spp that a fisherman brought to us last day at our Aquarium Finsiterrae Spain. <Mmm, I know a little... more about the Balistidae (Triggerfishes) of the same order> It was collect in Atlantic water 16ÂºC . We presume that it is a tropical animal unlikely realized but we still don't know the species. I will appreciate your help on that mater. <Wow, this is cold (Brrrrr!), and yes, some Arothron species are found in cool, non-tropical waters. Generally, these do adapt to more warm water conditions (mid-20's C.) but should be thermally acclimated to such slowly (like a degree C. per week), otherwise kept at lower temp.s with a chilling mechanism. Will refer your question to our "Puffer Queen" Kelly Jedlicki for her input. Bob Fenner> Antonio Vilar <antonio@casaciencias.org> Aquarium Finisterrae - Casa de las Ciencias <http://www.casaciencias.org/>

Re: Coldwater (Atlantic) Arothron (right family, other genus) Dear Robert I thank you very much your quick answer I tried to send you the pictures of it but the line could not with it. Here it is again. What do you think about <Ahh, yes... this is almost certainly a Sphoeroides pachygaster (family Tetraodontidae). Please see fishbase.org here: http://www.fishbase.org/Country/CountrySpeciesSummary.cfm?Country= United%20Kingdom&Genus=Sphoeroides&Species=pachygaster Bob Fenner>

Starry Puffer I just recently picked up a Pufferfish, Arothron stellatus, from my LFS. They called it a "mappa" puffer, but looking at different websites (yours included), the markings seem to deem it a Starry puffer. It seems as if these puffers go through a "yellow phase" as listed on http://chunkypuff.net/projectpuffer/a_stellatus.htm. <Hmm, some do "turn yellow", others more mottled... others just stay "normal colored" their whole lives> I was wondering what this phase was. Does it mean that my puffer will lose it's yellowish/orangish hue? I really like the current coloring, kind of leopard-printish on top with patches of tan and yellow/orange... picture included of my new acquisition happily swimming around in my QT. BTW, do these really get to be 4 feet in the wild? <Maximum length, yes... I've seen them about three feet...> Mine is barely 3" and I can't imagine it growing even half that size!!! I've also included a picture of my Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish, Genicanthus melanospilos. I don't see any mention of this species on your website and was wondering if you could shed some light on this species for me. <Care the same as the other Genicanthus listed...> She eats wonderfully and runs the tank. Simple looking, but beautiful at the same time. The Marine Center website has it listed (very inexpensive fish, BTW) but there is no picture of it on their site... and no info. <Hmm, sounds like a "road trip" for photo taking to me...> Any books or websites you can recommend to find very-detailed, lengthy information on a specific species of fish within the trigger, puffer, angel families? <Please see the "bibliography/further reading" sections at the end of each survey piece posted on the www.WetWebMedia.com site> Thanks so much for all you do for us hobbyists... you're truly a priceless resource... and we are all indebted to you! <Wowzah, high praise indeed. Bob Fenner, at the Western Marine Conference Center for the last few days...>

Arothron sp. question Hi Bob! Finally had a viable reason to write you a note! I am the curator of Seahorse.org, and have been involved with marine organisms and their propagation for around 10 years or so. Recently I found myself utterly enrapt with puffers, especially the more rare Arothrons like the Mappa and Stellatus. I just got a beautiful little baby today, and am having a heck of a time IDing him. There is a photo of this exact fish at http://chunkypuff.net/projectpuffer/a_reticularis.htm, however, all of the other photos of A. reticularis I see look nothing like this fish. So, is this NOT A. reticularis, or is A. reticularis quite different looking as a juvenile than it is as an adult? <Yes, quite so... and pretty variable... I have many pix of sub-adults to absolute bruisers... a two foot one bit off and swallowed a whole large arm of a Linckia laevigata star in front of me (I was suitably impressed) just this last week diving in Lombok, Indo... and a few juveniles (back at home)... have you looked on fishbase.org for images?> Thanks for the help on this, as well as all of your wonderful writings that I have enjoyed so much over the years. Cheers, Christopher Burns Curator Seahorse.org <Outstanding, and will add your site/URL to our links when moving these queries about. Bob Fenner, in Singapore on way to KL...>

Re: Arothron sp. question Hi Lorenzo, Thanks for taking the time to respond! I appreciate it. Also appreciate the offer for the link. Would a banner be helpful? Once we get out links page up and running, I will definitely add a reciprocal link to WWM! Glad you liked the site. Cheers, Chris Re: Arothron sp. question Chris, Bob's on photo-safari and other business in Asia right now, I'm tending his mailbox due to the mountains of hobbyist emails he gets every day. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about puffers to be able to help you out! I just wanted to send you a note to let you know that you aren't being ignored! Bob gets back on June 12th, and in the meantime, he occasionally manages to finagle internet access while he's not underwater with a camera attached to his face. So maybe you'll hear from him before then, I dunno! Very nice site, by the way! I'll have to make sure we have a link on WWM! Best regards, Lorenzo Gonzalez

Subject: RE: Arothron sp. question Did I miss something here? <Oh, no Chris, it was just Bob, I'm sure, reminding me to add the link... he manages to get online briefly, occasionally, and fires emails off like wildfire when he has the chance, obviously that one went off in a couple of different directions! I'll get that link on the WWM site...<I put on the Links under "Seahorses" and on the Tube-Mouthed Fishes general article Zo. Bob Fenner> -Lorenzo

Help with Midnight or Black Puffer I recently saw a neat looking fish. I know that it was a dogface but I thought it was strange because it was totally black in color. I asked around and many have told me it was a color morph of a regular puffer, either Arothron Meleagris or Arothron Nigropunctatus because no one has ever seen a whole separate species in which this fish could possibly be. Many have also told me that it is rare and worth the $75 price tag for a 6 incher or so as some have told me that they have been seen at that size for $100-$200. I was wondering if you have any information at all about what species of fish this is, compatibility with other fish, size, behavior and really anything that you can tell me. <Yes... likely a color morph/variation of Arothron meleagris, but could be A. nigropunctatus... these happen in the wild throughout this species range. Here's our principal sites coverage: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/puffers.htm> Thanks a lot for any reply at all, I know people respect your views and opinions and I hope you can help me. <Glad to be of assistance. If you'd like to see some other pix of these tetraodonts let me know... Maybe I'll finally get off my duff and write a bit about the phenomenon of xanthistic varieties of fishes... Bob Fenner> Sincerely, Casey

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