what type is this fish?!

[CountryGirlAmanda]

i REALLY want it but they sold it as a Golden Papaya Puffer Fish, but the other name they said it was was Arothron nigropunctatus which is the Dog-Faced puffers. but i really want this puffer but if i dont kno what it really is then how am i suppose to find it? that site must be whack, see heres what it says about it (and its my signature) i would do anything to get this fish, even if i ended up in a wheelchair! heres what it says:The Golden Puffer is like the Mappa Puffer highly prized and sought after. Don’t miss out when these arrive, they arrive so infrequently that they sell out almost immediately. The one pictured sold within minutes of being posted on the net.
okay so is it a golden puffer with rare color shade or what? I WANT THIS PUFFER! and its driving me insane! pleaseeeeeee help. that site/shop is really bad.

[edmlfc1]

It's a golden puffer. They have one at my lfs, but it's not that bright yellow. The owner said he really don't want to sell it. But he will if someone wants it. Most of the gp's I've seen has some sort of spotted pattern. I have never seen a sold golden one in person. Maybe it has something to do with them still being young. I don't know that much about them so I can't tell you.
Here's one for sale :
http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03 ... arent_id=4
Here's another one:
http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03 ... arent_id=4

[CountryGirlAmanda]

thank u so much! now i just hope i can find one that looks like the one in my pic, i jus love the colors and stuff lol..i wish i could buy that one in the link u jus sent me but i dont have 270 dollars to spend at the moment

[edmlfc1]

That's about the running price for a golden puffer. I've seen them as much as $499. Just depends on where you get it.

[Corvus]

Those gold colored fishes are color morphs of standard Arothron species. It's a phenomenon similar to albinism, leucism or xanthism, but I'm pretty sure no one knows yet for sure, which of the three effects exactly. Just like albinos they are born golden and grow up golden. This phenomenon is not limited to puffers, but occurs in many other fishes, e.g. there is a yellow/golden variety of the usually spotted Gymnothorax miliaris and there are golden archers (true xanthism here), and many more.

Now the interesting part about puffers: The golden ones are not color morphs of one, but of TWO puffer species: Arothron meleagris and Arothron nigropunctatus. Both morphs are hard to tell apart, but the golden A. meleagris has a few tiny white spots often in groups and often on the back, while the golden A. nigropunctatus has exclusively black spots.

A. meleagris:

http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Photos/Pic ... at=species
look at the fins!

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03 ... enpuff.jpg
Look at the fins of this one and the back

A. nigropuctatus

http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Photos/Pic ... &TotRec=18
can be much more yellow, best picture I know is in Mergus aquarium atlas #6.

[Pufferpunk]

Yunachin has one.

[CountryGirlAmanda]

yunachin is sooo lucky! i want one soo bad, but i can only work 26hrs a week since im only 16 stupid rules, i want one so bad...guess ill have to save its worth it!

[Pufferpunk]

Se owned a LFS at the time, so I'm sure she got a good discount.

[CountryGirlAmanda]

oh wow she was so lucky! owning a fish store, or just a pet store would be great *daydreaming*

[CtHM]

That for sure a gorgeous golden puffer there :]

[CountryGirlAmanda]

yea i know, i wish i couldve gotten it :'( its just sooo beautiful

[Green Puff Machine]

That has to be the most beautiful fish I've ever seen and you should definately get it. I would get it in a heart beat if I had a few thousand $ for the tank and if I had a few hundred for the fish

[edmlfc1]

The original post was Aug. 2008