Bumblebee Puffer

[bymauldin]

Have any of you heard of a Bumblebee Puffer? I called my LFS today to order some fish and I asked for some dwarf puffers. She told me that they didn't have a way of ordering those for me, but that she could order some bumblebee puffers for me. From the way she talked it was a brackish puffer the equivalent to the Dwarf Puffer. I tried GOOGLING it and I found a couple of contradicting websites. Some websites say that it's just another name for a DP and that it is indeed freshwater...and is indeed a DP. Other websites state that they believe it to be a South American Puffer So, I don't know. Can anyone help me out here??

 

[cjc75]

Well I was just in a Petsmart on my way home from work tonight...

Ironically; after reading a thread here earlier today about Dwarf Puffer's being sold by them... and while I was there, I saw them there. A whole tank stuffed with them. They were all really tiny; about a centimeter in size.

Just above it; was a seperate tank with a sign that read Bumblee Puffer... they were bright colored, yellowish black and no more then an inch. They're definetely not the same as the DP; unless my local Petsmart mislabeled something. Wish I could provide more info; I just thought it ironic that I just happened to see two seperate threads on these two fish and then I see them in the shop on the same day.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

honestly? there's no way of knowing unless you have a picture or a scientific name. the collection area would also help, as there's only one puffer from SA that's regularly traded, but there's a lot of overlap on the other puffer species.

 

[Hilly]

There is no real brackish equivalent to the freshwater Dwarf Puffer, All brackish puffers will get substantially bigger than the Dwarf. If I was to guess I would probably say that they have baby GSP's in and they are trying to shift them.

A pic of them would be good for a positive ID.

 

[Darkehorse]

Probably an Amazon puffer: Colomesus asellus. I used to have one of these in a previous fishkeeper life. I made the mistake of trying to keep it in a community brackish tank. From what I just read about it on the internet, it is neither community nor brackish. Ignorance was bliss in the good ol days before the Internet. YMMV.

-Darke

 

[DarkEntity]

The above puffer also commonly know as a SAP, South American Puffer is probably the nicest Puffer available, not as aggressive as the rest, having said that i wouldnt want any, far too much hassle with twice yearly dental work to keep the bill trimmed, naaaaa!!

 

[bymauldin]

The Bumblebee Puffers that I got ended up being Dwarf. So, Dwarf it is. BB Puffer=DP

I would love to have a SAP...might have to get one, one of these days. No room for it now. Besides, I don't think I'm ready to perform dentistry yet either...

 

[Pufferpack]

The best way I have found to avoid dentistry on S/A puffers is to incorporate a flat piece of rough stone (I use rough Granite) as a feeding platform. As the puffers pick the food off the rock's surface they also wear away their teeth. I have not had to trim the teeth on any of my 3 little guys since I started using the the granite 2 years ago....before that I was doing dentistry every 4-6 months

 

[bymauldin]

The best way I have found to avoid dentistry on S/A puffers is to incorporate a flat piece of rough stone (I use rough Granite) as a feeding platform. As the puffers pick the food off the rock's surface they also wear away their teeth. I have not had to trim the teeth on any of my 3 little guys since I started using the the granite 2 years ago....before that I was doing dentistry every 4-6 months

Wow. I bet that's a relief. Wonderful idea, really. Do you keep your 3 SAP's together? What size tank?

 

[Pufferpack]

The best way I have found to avoid dentistry on S/A puffers is to incorporate a flat piece of rough stone (I use rough Granite) as a feeding platform. As the puffers pick the food off the rock's surface they also wear away their teeth. I have not had to trim the teeth on any of my 3 little guys since I started using the the granite 2 years ago....before that I was doing dentistry every 4-6 months

Wow. I bet that's a relief. Wonderful idea, really. Do you keep your 3 SAP's together? What size tank?

Yup, South American puffers are schoolers and seem more relaxed in groups of 3 or more....my 3 are in a 35 gal with 5 Skunk loaches.

 

[Maximus]

Hey can i ask,

What are you feeding them?
How do you get the food to
stay on the rock?

Thanks

 

[Pufferpack]

Hey can i ask,

What are you feeding them?
How do you get the food to
stay on the rock?

Thanks

I feed them frozen bloodworms and mysis shrimp.....the feeding rock is a piece of flat grainte about 4 unches by 8 inches, and is in the calmest corner of the tank (farthest away from the filter outflow), so I just pour the food onto the flat rock's surface....some floats off but most settles onto the rock where the puffers pick it off.

Here is a pic of my feeding rock in the first tank I used it in: