Fish Expert a MORON

[GP]

ok guys, I need some help. I went to the fish store to pick up my DWARF puffers, and I saw them in the tank. To make this brief, the fish expert is a freakin moron. First, the puffers were labeled, Leopard puffers, said to prefer salt water, and grow up to 6 inches. The scientific name is Tetraodon Fluviatillis, they look like GSP, but everyone at the store says they are Dwarfs and the expert says they are just Leopard Puffers....

 

[GP]

This is what they look like...

also note these are the exact ones I had last time.... but it was long ago and I forgot alot...

 

[appleblossom]

Well I dont know much about any puffers except fig 8s simply because I have never owned any, but it is so often the case that the lfs a)labels everything wrong and b)has no clue what they are talking about, that I would go with the image you have just found, search on google and find out as much as you can about the species and its care, and once you know the real species of puffer, I'm sure lots of people here will be able to help. This is where the real fish experts lurk!

 

[GP]

When I searched google this is what they told me the fish are

Tetraodon nigroviridis

Can I get some info on them, as far as tank setup, sexing, breeding, and size?

 

[Teelie]

Google is your friend.

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/puf-nigr.htm
http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile31.html
http/www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gpuffer1.html
http/www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-...G=Google+Search

 

[CFC]

Looks like a green spotted puffer to me, in a nut shell they are mean, aggressive and unsocialable, will need brackish water and like a diet of snails and other crunchy foods.

 

[GP]

Yes but how many can I keep in a 5 gallon? 6 INCHES?!?!?!?

 

[diVer]

I wouldn't keep any in a 5 gallon. I think they need something like 30 gallons. Either get a bigger tank or return it to the store.

 

[GP]

Does this mean my cycle has been useless? How about I get two, and when they start to grow and/or I start to really care about these puffers I get a bigger tank...

 

[wrs]

why not take it back and wit and get real dwarf puffers.

 

[GP]

These were the fish that I got three years ago, and these were the ones I wanted. I'm more prepared now, I have a great knowledge of the Nitrogen cycle "not as good as some of you guys" and I now have two of them in the bag ready to be opened into the tank, all set up for a brackish tank.. I have devised a plan, so that in one year when these fish are bigger, I will move away to college and buy my dream tank, a 30-40 curved glass tank.... Thanks for your help, this site is the greatest and I will be staying here for years to come...

Chris

 

[appleblossom]

Well, be careful, the two of them may be agressive with each other, I have a 5 gallon next to me right now and it certainly doesnt look big enough for 2 GSP's....but the final decision is yours.

Your cycle wouldnt be wasted if you decided to keep something else in there and waited till you get your dream tank before you keep any puffers....

 

[GP]

They actually really like eachother for some reason... They always stay close togehter, but I have another problem.. Possible present that came with the fish, maybe ICH..

 

[CFC]

It wont last long, green spotted puffers hate the very sight of other green spotted puffers and in a 5 gallon they will tear each other to bits in time, you may be able to get away with keeping more than one in a larger tank with each fish having 20 to 30 gallons of water to call a territory.

 

[GP]

So a 60 gallon tank for these babies would do fine...


I'm getting a 49 gallon in a year when they get a little bigger. And you can't say that all green spotted puffers become territorial and begin to hate eachother... But I did have a question. After juvenille, how can you tell the difference between male and female?