I have recently bought 2 red banded puffers (tetradon erythrotaenia). They were sold to me as fresh water puffers but looking on various sites they could be fresh or brackish. Does anybody here have experience of these fish to confirm either way? thank you.
Red Banded Puffers
- Thread starter digdog
- Start date
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
This species is very rarely kept or traded. But in the wild it is found primarily in brackish water habitats, so unless you are experimenting with them under lab conditions, there's no reason at all to keep them in a freshwater aquarium. A specific gravity of 1.005 at 25 C should be ample. They are known to be territorial and nippy, so need to be kept one to a tank, with no tankmates.
Cheers, Neale
Cheers, Neale
They cant be them then, although pictures seem to comfirm it. They were with danios in the shop and are living quite happily with 3 saps and 1 lorretti. Will keep a close eye on there health to see if ok in fresh and go from there. Thanks anyway.
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Oh, I'm quite sure they're Tetraodon erythrotaenia. The fact you're keeping them in freshwater and they're living with danios doesn't prove anything. Like most puffers, they're nippy when hungry and territorial when sexually mature. If they're neither hungry nor sexually mature, then they may well be good as gold.
This species is extremely distinctive -- I can't think of any other puffers with a red line along the flanks. If they have the red line, then they're Tetraodon erythrotaenia.
What saddens me about brackish water fish is that people *choose* to keep them in freshwater, even though they know the fish will get sick. The "go from there" attitude is how a lot of figure-8 puffers and GSPs end up sick or dead. What you're essentially saying is that *once* the fish gets ill, *then* I'll keep them properly.
Cheers, Neale
This species is extremely distinctive -- I can't think of any other puffers with a red line along the flanks. If they have the red line, then they're Tetraodon erythrotaenia.
What saddens me about brackish water fish is that people *choose* to keep them in freshwater, even though they know the fish will get sick. The "go from there" attitude is how a lot of figure-8 puffers and GSPs end up sick or dead. What you're essentially saying is that *once* the fish gets ill, *then* I'll keep them properly.
Cheers, Neale
I wish i hadnt asked. I AM KEEPING THEM IN THE CONDITIONS THAT THE SHOP TOLD ME TO. They have sold lots of these fish on regular basis. I only asked because i have read conflicting imformation. I wont bother trying to comfirm things again. How long have you had yours though?
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
The reason I got into brackish water fish (and ended up writing a book about them) was precisely because fish shops often don't know what they're selling. Around about 1991, I bought a couple of "freshwater puffers" I'd never seen before. Eventually, I found out they were juvenile Arothron hispidus, a marine species that happens to breed in estuaries and has a high tolerance for freshwater. Over the years, I've collected information about many brackish water fish species sometimes sold either as freshwater fish or marine fish. I try my best to get this information out to hobbyists, either through my book, or my web site, or in magazine articles.
Here's the thing. It's all very well getting annoyed with me for telling you something you don't want to hear. I can understand that; it's a very human reaction to bad news. But the reality is that you don't need to re-discover the preferences of a species like Tetraodon erythrotaenia. They're out there, in the scientific and advanced hobbyist literature. There's no conflict at all in the literature: these are brackish water fish. The fact your pet shop didn't know anything about them is unfortunate but not an excuse; nobody would be foolish enough to buy a mysterious fish before reading up on them... or would they?
Tetraodon erythrotaenia may well do fine in freshwater for long periods, particularly if the water is clean, hard, and has a basic pH. But if the figure-8 puffer is anything to go by, it will live much longer, and be much more disease resistant, in brackish water. Since the species hasn't been traded much until the last year or so, we really don't know exactly how big a difference proper maintenance would make. In the case of the figure-8 puffer though, specimens kept in brackish water can live for twice as long!
You can choose not to ask questions. You can choose to be ignorant about what your fish need, and then not worry if they get sick, aggressive, or causes some other problem. If they die, well, that's not the end of the world is it. It's just a fish!
That may well be your approach, but it isn't mine. I'm simply trying to help you keep your fish better.
Cheers, Neale
Here's the thing. It's all very well getting annoyed with me for telling you something you don't want to hear. I can understand that; it's a very human reaction to bad news. But the reality is that you don't need to re-discover the preferences of a species like Tetraodon erythrotaenia. They're out there, in the scientific and advanced hobbyist literature. There's no conflict at all in the literature: these are brackish water fish. The fact your pet shop didn't know anything about them is unfortunate but not an excuse; nobody would be foolish enough to buy a mysterious fish before reading up on them... or would they?
Tetraodon erythrotaenia may well do fine in freshwater for long periods, particularly if the water is clean, hard, and has a basic pH. But if the figure-8 puffer is anything to go by, it will live much longer, and be much more disease resistant, in brackish water. Since the species hasn't been traded much until the last year or so, we really don't know exactly how big a difference proper maintenance would make. In the case of the figure-8 puffer though, specimens kept in brackish water can live for twice as long!
You can choose not to ask questions. You can choose to be ignorant about what your fish need, and then not worry if they get sick, aggressive, or causes some other problem. If they die, well, that's not the end of the world is it. It's just a fish!
That may well be your approach, but it isn't mine. I'm simply trying to help you keep your fish better.
Cheers, Neale
Just because the shop told you they are freshwater doesn't mean it's correct!
The advice you have recieved so far is from a man who is an absolute expert in keeping all sorts of fish.... but his main interest [as far as I am aware] is Brackish fish and Puffers.
Try reading the pinned topics at the top of this section.....most if not all are written by Neale....Oh or you could try reading his book
Lisa x
That's not fair!!!!!
You posted at the same time!!!!!!
Lisa x
The advice you have recieved so far is from a man who is an absolute expert in keeping all sorts of fish.... but his main interest [as far as I am aware] is Brackish fish and Puffers.
Try reading the pinned topics at the top of this section.....most if not all are written by Neale....Oh or you could try reading his book
Lisa x
That's not fair!!!!!
You posted at the same time!!!!!!
Lisa x
Yeah just to add to neils reputation I would take his advice over anything personally. In fact only realized the other day he wrote one of the articles in PFK that got me hooked on this stuff!
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Aw shucks, you guys are going to make me blush... 
Happy fishkeeping to you all!
Cheers, Neale
Happy fishkeeping to you all!
Cheers, Neale
Aw shucks, you guys are going to make me blush...
Happy fishkeeping to you all!
Cheers, Neale
Now come on Neale....stand up and take your compliments like a man!!!!!!
You've always been more than helpful to me.....and countless others....Go on....blush again.....lol
Lisa x
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