The following links suggest that Fugu have been bred in captivity:
Link 1
Link 2
If you search deeper for the author of the tetratodoxin study (shimizu san), a plethora of links are uncovered.
FUGU FUGU FUGU
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RTR
- Mentor
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Fugu is the Japanese generic term for any pufferfish which is eaten, not just the genus Fugu and certainly not just the fish Tetraodon ocellatus. But I do agree w/Jhong that the situation seems quite like that of the Moorish Idol. Controlling or required factors are simply unknown.
Even in wild-caught fish, toxin levels fluctuate seasonally, which is part of the argument for a naturally-occuring material which is stored but not synthesized by the fish themselves. I think it is pretty generally accepted that the toxin is bacterial in origin, and that Pseudomonas and/or Aeromonas are likely involved as the original producers. Whether or not the bacteria are hosted in the fish indefinitely and do produce toxin in that situation is unknown. Fish showing light production do host the bacteria involved indefinity, there is no valid reason why puffers could not have a similar adaptation (But show none of the specialized structural adaptation required to host bacteria in other species. As these bugs can live in the gut, special adaptation might not be required.), but there is no evidence either way. If the fish do consume the material as part of their diet, obviously they are most likely to do so by consuming some of the bacteria producing the toxin, but that has no hard evidence either.
FW puffer's toxin source is even less studied or known.
Even in wild-caught fish, toxin levels fluctuate seasonally, which is part of the argument for a naturally-occuring material which is stored but not synthesized by the fish themselves. I think it is pretty generally accepted that the toxin is bacterial in origin, and that Pseudomonas and/or Aeromonas are likely involved as the original producers. Whether or not the bacteria are hosted in the fish indefinitely and do produce toxin in that situation is unknown. Fish showing light production do host the bacteria involved indefinity, there is no valid reason why puffers could not have a similar adaptation (But show none of the specialized structural adaptation required to host bacteria in other species. As these bugs can live in the gut, special adaptation might not be required.), but there is no evidence either way. If the fish do consume the material as part of their diet, obviously they are most likely to do so by consuming some of the bacteria producing the toxin, but that has no hard evidence either.
FW puffer's toxin source is even less studied or known.
Where's the fish? - Neptune
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midgetwaiter
- Puffer Fry
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- Location: Calgary, Alberta
Update
Well both puffers have settled in resonably well but I think one of them has a bit of ick going. I just noticed it in the past couple days, I wasn't sure what it was at first as they often end up with particles from the sand stuck to them after they bury themselves. I'm sure now, and interestingly enough my yellow tang was flashing against the rocks today in another tank.... This has to be because I'm going away for a few days. I haven't had ick at home in years! Arrrgh!
The little Fugus are really interesting, they are amazingly fast and constanly moving most of the time, otherwise they're burried. I was going through the tank last week before a water change, removing bits of anubias that was tangled up with the java moss and I picked one of them up thinking it was a burried shell. I don't know which one of us was more surprised. I also found a blue ram that got left behind when I moved everyone out to make room for the Fugus. That's one lucky little dude.
Fugus are eating well on mysis, krill, ghost shrimp and brine shrimp. They don't go for the mealworms and crickets at all.
So anyway I can't decide what to do about the ick, I leave Monday night and won't be back till Thursday. I could just crank up the heat in the main tank and hit it with some salt but I'd like to get the sick puffer into a Q tank. I just don't want to setup the Q tank with a heater turned up that high and not be able to look after it, at least in the larger tank if the heater locks on it won't cook them. What would all of you do? I'm so heater paranoid after cooking my cuttlefish eggs this winter I just can't decide.
The little Fugus are really interesting, they are amazingly fast and constanly moving most of the time, otherwise they're burried. I was going through the tank last week before a water change, removing bits of anubias that was tangled up with the java moss and I picked one of them up thinking it was a burried shell. I don't know which one of us was more surprised. I also found a blue ram that got left behind when I moved everyone out to make room for the Fugus. That's one lucky little dude.
Fugus are eating well on mysis, krill, ghost shrimp and brine shrimp. They don't go for the mealworms and crickets at all.
So anyway I can't decide what to do about the ick, I leave Monday night and won't be back till Thursday. I could just crank up the heat in the main tank and hit it with some salt but I'd like to get the sick puffer into a Q tank. I just don't want to setup the Q tank with a heater turned up that high and not be able to look after it, at least in the larger tank if the heater locks on it won't cook them. What would all of you do? I'm so heater paranoid after cooking my cuttlefish eggs this winter I just can't decide.
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Bred
- Former Staff Member
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Midgetwaiter, if you're concerned about the heaters, I'd put salt in the tank to treat the Ich but leave the temp as is until you return... I think the only difference would be that the fish carry around the parasites for longer. No real harm done as long as you can clear it out in one lifecycle.
Cuttlefish eggs, eh? You were breeding cuttlefish? Do you have any pics?
Cuttlefish eggs, eh? You were breeding cuttlefish? Do you have any pics?
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midgetwaiter
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2005 9:42 pm
- Location: Calgary, Alberta
Eldonko, It's kind of a 50/50. They were pretty good at first but they've started in on each other now. I don't know what I'm going to do about it yet, I wish I could sell them but I keep telling people how impossible they are to take care of.
Bred,
What I did was add another heater to the main tank and jack them up. I talked my girlfriend into stopping by and checking on them a couple times a day, that's gonna cost me
. All is well, no more ick, I'm still pretty surprised it showed up.
I don't have any adult cuttles, I got eggs and they we just about to hatch when the heater went. To this day whenever a customer brings one of those heaters up to the till at the store I say, "that thing is complete sh*t, get this EBO instead". Luckily my boss thinks that is funny and he agrees with me.
Bred,
What I did was add another heater to the main tank and jack them up. I talked my girlfriend into stopping by and checking on them a couple times a day, that's gonna cost me
. All is well, no more ick, I'm still pretty surprised it showed up.I don't have any adult cuttles, I got eggs and they we just about to hatch when the heater went. To this day whenever a customer brings one of those heaters up to the till at the store I say, "that thing is complete sh*t, get this EBO instead". Luckily my boss thinks that is funny and he agrees with me.