My fish

[BlueDSM]

This was my Puffer about a month after I bought him.

Potato:

BIG Smile!

Here he is after 6 months..... A little fatter

(sorry about the blurry pic)

Here's one of the BBG's he shares his tank with:

And another:

And the third BBG..... See Potato running away from him? What a coward..

I just added in 4 Hermit Crabs that I found on tidal flats, near brackish marshes along the ocean coast..... Its been 1.5 weeks and theyre doing great!
Ill post pics of the crabs when I get my digi-cam back

 

[Fuzzy]

great pics and fish

FOTM on the first pic good luck on getting a second

 

[BlueDSM]

AND Here's my Brown Puffer:

Scary looking

What an ugly mug!

He occasionally has little "Tantrums" and puffs up for no reason.... I think its a system check..

Here he goes...

OMG! What a fatty!

So.... being embaressed about his weight gain, he tried to hide behind a plant... Not going to work!

He's around 4 inches long, and was given to me from a friend who had him in his Cichlid tank. Well, after he ate three 6" Cichlids and a Pleco, the previous owner was going to flush him so I had to rescue him.

My friend liked him, so I gave it to her after I owned him for 2 months.... He seems happier with darker sand in his new tank, plus now I can get Dwarf Puffers .

 

[GP]

That's not very good if he puffs up like that...

 

[thellama]

holy crap he gets fat

 

[BlueDSM]

That's not very good if he puffs up like that...

Actually, thats not entirely true.

From my experience it depends on what type of Puffer it is, and the reason why he's puffing.

Obviously its bad if its related to stress, but this is a Brown Puffer (Tetraodon turgidus), and from what other Brown Puffer owners have told me, this seems to be a regular thing for them.
There is very little info on these guys because theyre not very common, but they seem to puff up unprovoked... Mine never puffed up fully, he'd inflate a little, then swim around and act "tough", then deflate - Almost like a little game. I tried leaving the tank lights off for a day thinking he may be stressed, and he still did it, and he has no tankmates because he will eat them. He does it in his new tank as well, once every few days.

Porcupine Puffers have been known to puff up regularly as well, but I havent owned one yet so I dont have personal experience with them.

But the point is; if theyre doing it on their own, and there is no source of stress, then how could it be bad? It's controlled behaviour on their part, not a stressful reaction.

 

[Sorrell]

I'll second that, awesome picture

 

[Nina7777]

I've never seen a puffer puff! Congrats on the hermits as well!

 

[myenigmaself]

Awesome pics!