So...

[Pufferpunk]

Mine had nice spotted tails like the one in that last pic. IMO, the Sab has much more "marbled" markings, than spots.

[SammyDee]

That's the word I was looking for. "marbled" I agree

[jus85411]

[quote="Corvus] Can't exclude that, but don't think this is the only factor in play. I assume there are also possibly genetic differences in different populations. What's also remarkable is that some grow fast and reach larger sizes and others very slow to small sizes given the same environment. This might also be a hint for regional variations/different subspecies or species.

Could the spotting on fins have something to do with the differences in species?

Possible, however, these fish can have spotless fins when young that change into spotted fins when older. That's what I observed with some specimens. Therefore, this is hardly a usable character for the young specimens generally imported.

For characters a very close look at the nostrils might reveal differences, at least Dekkers describes some.[/quote]

i had two GSP's at one point. the first one i got was 1 1/2 inches without the tail(this is the one i currently still have). the second one i got was about 2 1/2 inches with the tail(sold this one to a friend for his 90G). once i was in the middle of being brackish right before i was fully marine, the smaller one of the two shot up big time while the other one didnt seem to grow at all. i have had him just over a year now, about 15 months, and he went from 1 1/2 inches to about 4 inches without including the tail. you could definitely tell the differences of these two GSP's by looking at them. one had more of a rounded face and body, and the other had a slightly more narrow face and body. the one i kept was the more rounded one. also the size of the pectoral fins seemed to differ pretty significantly with being proportionate to the size of the fish.

[zombiefetus]

ignoring the fact that this tank is obnoxiously over crowded and just... awful... there's a bunch of pictures of Sabahensis
http://easyfun.twbbs.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=73

Here's another picture thread of a supposed Sabahensis, but this is what I imagine a fully grown GSP to look like..
http://kogelforum.lode.biz/forum/viewto ... =43&t=1677

[Hilly]

Some interesting patterns on those. Not a fan of the tank layout though.

[Pufferpunk]

I think the bright spot on their heads is a giveaway for GSPs.

[Hilly]

I was having a look round at fish shops and came across this pic on a garden centres website.
Pic could be old but they seem to have several species of puffer in stock so if I get opportunity ill go and investigate.
Tetraodon SP