Puffer ID: Fahaka or Mbu?

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Lineatus/

[Pufferpunk]

library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/

[Newbiepufferowner]

Hi I'm new to the whole Forum thing and not sure if I'm posting this in the right place ...
Me and my partner went to a LFS today, one we don't particularly like OR trust but we thought we would pop in and have a nosey!
Well as soon as we stepped in we notce a ticket stating Mbu puffer £60 I couldnt believe my eyes as we have only ever seen Mbu's for £150 + When we managed to locate it in the display tank we saw it was very small and decided this must be the price difference. Further to that we notice that it appeared to be in pretty bad shape
Well that was it we HAD to save him! lol
My parnter negotiated the price down to £50 and we thought we had a bargain as well as doing this little puffer a life saving purchase.
The LFS told us they had been feeding him every other day, something we know is just not enough (we learnt when we purchase two colomesus puffers earlier in the year).

Having purchased this little fella we drove straight to our normal fish shop to get a once over for him by some people who know what they're talking about!

Upon arriving and explaining where we had been one of the fish keepers immediately said i bet without even looking at it that it's not a Mbu it's a Fahaka !!! well out of the paper bag he came and the four fish shop emplyees who had gathered all gasped! He was THAT thin.

Now none of them could tell for certain if he is a Mbu or Fahaka, and all believe him to be on deaths door and appeard unhopeful that we would even be able to get hime to eat due to how starved he appeared. So we have brought him home to nurse him back to health and see what time will show. We have put him in our smaller tank to start with (as advised) It is a 70 litre tank with small/med community fish. so far so good, he hasnt shown the slightest it of interest in anything other than the snail population! He started eating bloodworm before i had even taken him out of the bag to acclimatise. Within just half an hour he looked SO much better.

Now I'm worried because he is a lovely puffer but if he is indeed a Fahaka there is no way we can keep him

Here are some pictures when he first entered the tank prior to eating, I will take some more tomorrow in the light.
Anyone got any strong inclination to what he may be???
Thank You

[bertie 83]

Defo a fahaka

[sevenyearnight]

Why wouldn't you be able to keep a fahaka, but you thought you bought an mbu? Mbu need 1000 gallon tanks, you can keep a fahaka in a 120 gallon.

[Ohyouknow]

+1 sevenyearnight, the requirements for a fahaka are much smaller than an mbu...

[Pufferpunk]

Good thing it turned out to be a fahaka. I'd treat immediately for IPs: library/hospital/internal-parasites-pre ... treatment/