This is a brief tale of our (KugelKat's and mine) many-month-long search for and acquisition of a beautiful T. baileyi (“hairy puffer”). Our search came finally to an end thanks both to circumstance (the puffer’s availability at an incredible price) and also to Pufferpunk and Chewal!
Here is what its home looks like (you can see the puffer in the picture, the sort of hiding-in-the-bottom-left-corner patch of reddish brownness):
There were two conditions that needed to be met in the search for the puffer. We wanted to find i) an inexpensive specimen from ii) a seller that’s willing to ship it to us in Toronto.
Picking up a puffer 9 h away in a very roundabout way
The puffer was found through a private seller at Aquatic Predators (http://www.aquaticpredators.com). The seller was unwilling to ship it to Canada, though, but for good reasons (which I will keep private). I will say that neither courier with whom he checked would ship (knowingly) live fish.
We (KugelKat and I) were going to be heading out to British Columbia for three weeks, and were going to be driving (it took us five days), so we decided that we were going to drive back through the U.S. on our way home to Toronto and were going to pick up the puffer in Chicago in person along the way! (Chicago and Toronto are about 9 h apart.)
The puffer at rest in one of its "caves":
A 20-day gap: Pufferpunk to the rescue
There was one problem: the seller was moving, and so he needed to sell the puffer more than 20 days before the date that we were going to arrive in Chicago! We needed someone to hold the puffer for us for three weeks until we arrived!
Enter Pufferpunk and Chewal.
I PMed (and then called) Pufferpunk, who lives in Chicago, asking her if she would be able to hold the puffer for us. She didn’t have the space, but she found someone else in Chicago—Chewal, a discus breeder, who posts on this forum—to hold it for us until we could pick it up!
What a cute face:
Chewal: The saviour
Chewal, after a brief phone conversation, offered to pick up the puffer himself, in addition to housing the puffer for the three weeks or so until our arrival in Chicago!
With the plan in motion (and what a plan it was!), we were off to British Columbia. We had a wonderful time, and thoughts of the puffer were ever lingering in-mind. On our drive back through the States, anticipation was building—we would soon be united with our soon-to-be friend.
On our one night in Chicago, we visited Pufferpunk. She has the most beautiful puffer specimens, including a rare red T. miurius, a mild-tempered T. lineatus, and an A. modestus. Her planted tank is green and luscious. Overall, her collection of tanks and specimens is very impressive.
Still at rest:
Chewal—Butch—kept our new friend safe in a little tank amongst his many discus tanks. Who better to keep the puffer safe for three weeks for us than an experienced breeder? He is very knowledgeable and has high-quality discus—rivaling that of other discus I've seen in the past. PM him or visit Chicagoland Discus, at chicagolanddiscus.com.
We drove the puffer to its new home in Toronto, taking 10 h or so to make the trip. Chewal, experienced with packing fish, had packed the puffer very well, so we knew we would have nothing to worry about. We could hear violent little splashes coming from a little package on the back seat, nestled between some towels. There were no problems with transport.
Here are some more pictures of the puffer. KugelKat has named him or her Moog.
Moog is doing very well. It sits in a sort of flowerpot cave (see above photos) most of the time, but is very active at feeding time. It eats market shrimp, live crayfish, snails, mussels (well, it doesn’t like them all that much), and squid.
Thank you once again for all your help, Pufferpunk and Chewal!
puffer_puff
cheers to all those who helped you get your puff!
Never seen those clearly before. The bamboo is a really neat aquascaping idea, too! Have fun with your new little buddy. 
