Which puffer to buy?

[Tigerlilly]

Hey this seems a slightly silly question I guess but after going to an aquarium today and seeing a tank full of puffers I was finding it hard to say which I'd choose.
I'm not getting one yet but some where perfectly happy swimming about and chubby... some where happy swimming about and skinnier and some where on the bottom with their tail wrapped round them looking sad.
Which would you pick?
The healthiest, the skinnier one to fatten up or the one on the bottom to try make it healthier and save it from the shop?
Thanks.

[Pufferpunk]

Always get the healthy one that greets you at the front of the tank. You don't want a huge expense of trying to help out a sick fish that will probably die on you anyway & then you're heartbroken. Would you buy a sick puppy?

[erinmd]

Oh dear...I think I would buy a sick puppy...

Puffers are trickier though, definitely go for a jolly chubby guy.

[Brent]

You don't want a month long (or more in some cases) treatment process for ich or internal parasites (I'm not saying this is the case, but it is a possibility). And there's a chance your puffer wouldn't survive as well. It'd be like working towards devestation. Why not stick to the safe side, and pick the happy, healthy puffer?

[Pufferpunk]

A sick puppy could cost you thousands throughout the years you have it. And HUGE heartbreak when it dies.

[erinmd]

Definitely true. I'm sort of a "save everything you can!" idiot sometimes though. It'd definitely depend on the illness, just like I wouldn't buy a puffer with huge obvious illnesses because it's pretty rare not to get really attached and unlucky at the same time.

...I'm going to go hug my dog. Haha

[purplecandle]

100% agree with PP.

But, I always completely go against that good advice (in all my animal acquirements). As long as the animal does not have some major contagious illness...Heck, sometimes I know they are not fixable..but I will let them live out their last days in peace...This comes from a woman saw something in the woods late at night...went into the woods and found an opossum and who let a stinky opossum live in her house (spoiled and babied) while he died of injuries from a car accident because no vet in my area at the time would see an opossum.

So, if you are anything like me you take a twisted ethical stance and want to save everything...so I suggest finding a happy medium.

Realistically..buying the worst off is not the best choice. It is just not. But you still need to save something. I am going through this now..I do not regret my decision..but I do recognize that had I had the choice to pick healthy GSPs my life would be easier.

Pick the one that does greet you and seems to be in overall good health..but seems to be the one that gets picked on or the smallest (smallest inch wise)....however, avoid one that seems to be small because of IPs.

This way..you are not picking the one that will die tomorrow...but you are picking one that is relativity healthy and needs a better environment.

So, you still save something..but you also save your heart and wallet.

Just my HO

[Pufferpunk]

I do tend to try & buy juvie fish whenever possible. I like to raise them right, with the proper foods & care.

[Tigerlilly]

Thanks everyone I'm kinda of the same when it comes to saving things, my long hair guinea pig when I bought him had mites, no hair, no teeth and was about 1/4 the size of the rest.. and I ended up getting him and spending hundreds at the vets for his teeth etc. I think I might take the safer option this time and get the healthiest I can.

[Pufferpunk]

You bought him dentures?

[Tigerlilly]

Haha nope I wish I could of .. I had to hand feed him about 5 times a day for about 6 months until his teeth stopped breaking off, poor thing.