Help with puffer identification

[lostcrow]

Hello all:

Today I bought a puffer, allegedly a Figure 8, from a LFS. I've had a fascination with puffers for a a few years now, and have seen more than my fair share of F8's and Green Spotted Puffers, since they seem to be the common fare at LFSs. Anyway, this fish is approx 3-4 inches long, has a mottled green coloration, vaguely resembling a F8, but has an orange saddle over his midsection (orange oblong ring surrounding black) and an orange circle surrounding black on his tail. Any thoughts? I was told he was kept in light brackish and confirmed this at home (SG 1.0015). My concern is that I will condition and place him in the wrong water conditions. I have enough tanks at various conditions to accommodate whatever he prefers, but obviously I need to identify him first.

I found a fish with his orange markings on the front of the following book at Amazon. It is the large picture in the center.

http://www.amazon.com/Aqualog-Puffers-F ... 970&sr=1-1

I also attached two pictures I took with my cell phone...

Thanks in advance

Greg

[julianchan]

Thats a Takifugu Ocellatus with really cool markings on it. SW fish, requires 55 gal tank, though, from my observations, a longer tank is really whats needed. Nice find, really unique markings on it. I love them. Great hunters....

[apachepufferman]

i'm with julianchan on that one definately a t. ocellatus. Check puffer pedia here ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Marine/T_Ocellatus/

[lostcrow]

Thanks for your help guys. Unfortunately, after some quick research, it seems these don't do well in captivity. This is one of the quotes I read and it's far from encouraging:

"There seem to be an influx of these "peacock puffers" (Takifugu ocellatus), available in the aquarium trades lately. It's a shame really, since there has never been anyone (even the best puffer experts, Robert T Ricketts, a puffer keeper of over 40 years & Dr Klaus Ebert, author of The Puffers of Fresh & Brackish Waters) able to keep these puffers alive more than a few months.
RTR said, "I have tried 4 of them, various times and various water conditions. My shortest-lived was on the order of a week, the longest did grow a fair bit, but was still only a handful of months at the most - I don't have the exact figures handy. All were definitely still juvenile fish, all ate, all were active to hyperactive, and all died."

Supposedly he has been at my local fish shop for five weeks before I bought him. He seems happy enough, and was more than content with the blackworms I gave him. I feed my GSP ghost shrimp, snails that breed in his tank, brine shrimp, and blackworms, so hopefully he will be ok with this diet as well. I'm working my SG of the GSP up from the 1.003 that I bought him in - he's at 1.007 now...

[side19]

doesn't someone on here have one of those? and yeah its def a t. ocellauts. i can recognize the red saddle markings. but maybe you'd want to talk to the person on here who has one. i can't remember their name but they started a thread about cheap frozen crabs and had a video of their t. ocellatus eating one.

[Bonsai_girl]

Yunachin, I believe, is a fugu nut

[Pufferpunk]

Yes, Yunachin has one & is looking to do some research on them & why they are so difficult to keep. I do know the one thing that has been found recently is they prefer cooler temps--a chiller may be best for that.

[recombinantrider]

doesn't someone on here have one of those? and yeah its def a t. ocellauts. i can recognize the red saddle markings. but maybe you'd want to talk to the person on here who has one. i can't remember their name but they started a thread about cheap frozen crabs and had a video of their t. ocellatus eating one.

Ah that would be my thread:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13452

I got my Takifugu ocellatus from a LFS about 2 months ago. He was kept in FW at the LFS but I've been raising the salinity gradually and it's at 1.010 now. He was originally kept in the same tank with my GSP but since I learned from the forum here that they've been seen to take big chunks out of the GSPs, I've separated them and that seems to be better for the both of my puffers. He's a really beautiful fish and has been doing very well so far. He's quite erratic and hyperactive when I approach him, but he calms down after about a minute or so and then either burrow in the sand to rest or hover behind the rock to check out what's going on. I just enjoy this puffer so much I hope he will stay healthy for a long time.



He eats everything my GSP eats:
frozen/freeze-dried krill, freeze dried bloodworms, ghost shrimp, blackworms, small snails, frozen crab, frozen clams and even algae wafers (he's so aggressive he won't even let it hit the ground).

[lostcrow]

Thats a Takifugu Ocellatus with really cool markings on it. SW fish, requires 55 gal tank, though, from my observations, a longer tank is really whats needed. Nice find, really unique markings on it. I love them. Great hunters....

I noticed in your signature that you have two GSP's with blue lobsters... How do the lobsters feel about the salinity. I would love to put some crayfish (lobsters) in with mine but wasn't sure how they would be with the high pH and salinity. Thanks.

Greg

[lostcrow]

I got my Takifugu ocellatus from a LFS about 2 months ago. He was kept in FW at the LFS but I've been raising the salinity gradually and it's at 1.010 now. He was originally kept in the same tank with my GSP but since I learned from the forum here that they've been seen to take big chunks out of the GSPs, I've separated them and that seems to be better for the both of my puffers. He's a really beautiful fish and has been doing very well so far. He's quite erratic and hyperactive when I approach him, but he calms down after about a minute or so and then either burrow in the sand to rest or hover behind the rock to check out what's going on. I just enjoy this puffer so much I hope he will stay healthy for a long time."

Thanks for the info. My GSP seems more 'interested' in the Taki than the Taki seems in him. The GSP is kind of a coward though, so as long as the Taki keeps ignoring the GSP, they should be ok. I lowered the temp a bit since there seems to be some speculation that his may help. He made it through the first night well, and I agree, he is such a happy cheerful puffer I hope that I can keep him healthy. Thanks again. Greg

By the way, that is an awesome picture in your post!

[julianchan]

One GSP is now gone...I had to take him to my LFS for him to find a new home....I could not support a large enough tank for two of them. It only took a day, and he has been sold. I hope he does well. sniff.......

The blue lobster leaves the fish alone mostly, though they are opportunists....I had a small incident 2 days ago that I dont want a repeat of, my GSP Elevator got too close to him and he got pinched up. He puffed up and escaped before i could even get my hand in. The first time it has ever happened. It was a big scare, you just have to be careful and make sure you dont feed your fish too close to the crayfish....if it happens again, the lobster will have a new home.
Why I like him? He is one of the most awesome natural aqua sculptors you will find. I put him in a FW tank with a sand substrate, with rocks, and he started digging caves under the rocks that my fish swim through. He hides mostly, but comes out at lights out. I have been told that he will be fine in BW, but first signs of problems with him and he will come out of it. I have only just started raising my salinity. I am at 1.002 now. Elevator is still small, about 1 1/2" and I have only had him a month. Wanted to make sure he was good and happy before I started bringing my salinity up. So far, so good....white belly and happy as ever!

As for the takifugu, he might seem docile for now, but he will grow bigger fast. Might even double in size in a few months, faster than your GSP, and he will get aggressive. Keep a close eye on them. If you have a huge tank, it might be ok, but I am not even sure about that. Also, for the sake of pufferdom, keep tabs on what you do raising this little guy, not too many live past a few months in captivity, and keeping my fingers crossed that you are lucky, it would be nice to know how you succeed with it, because they are beautiful puffers, and more people aught to know how to keep em right. They are active fish when they get going, swimming around fast, so I would imagine a longer tank is more important than a taller tank. And like Recombinant Rider said, sand substrate......its quite important since they do burrow. Its kinda fun to watch a pair of eyes looking at you from the sand bed....

[Pufferpunk]

I think the loberster should have his own FW tank before somebody gets hurt.