The Puffer Forum

Sounds like quite an adventuresome life of diving you've had! Got pics?

Flutter wrote:At a LFS they have giant green puffers. Those are tetraodon fluvilatus right?

Yes, that's the one!

Giant green puffers are sabahensis.

Technically that's true, but when I've seen Giant Green puffers at an LFS, it's usually been fluviatilis. I've love to get ahold of a Sabahensis, that would be awesome!

In fact, there's a shop up in North Yorkshire that's got Ceylons right now and he's calling them Giant Green puffers.

**and again, this is why I prefer to use the latin names, there's less confusion with them**

I don't remember them looking like sabahensis. Those are beautiful. Darn it. If they were sabahensis I'd probably grab one and change all my plans...

LFS can mislabel the Latin names too.

And I can missplell 'em also!

Interesting.

I've seen very few 'not GSP', 'not fig8' puffs around. From the pics I've seen, theses are big T. fluvilatus but I'm no expert...

I've a few diving pics from a while back - I'll post some when I have a mo...

Just wondering, what substrate do T. fluvilatus like? Coral sand?

Also, I'm presuming they like plenty of hidey holes, plastic plants I'm afraid due to the coming sal content.

Do they like 'cave' or somewhere they can get under?

Thanks in advance. I'll try to get the shop owner down to one puff or I'm overstocked if I'm not careful.

BTW, I work with a load of dentists on the materials science side. So, maybe if worst came to worst and a puff needed his teeth doing, I could take him in! Imaging the scene: Bloke, bloke, lady, weird bloke with pufferfish! Wouldn't work like that, but hey


Oddly, oil of cloves (looked at as a fish anisthetic) has been used in dentistry for yonks!

I think it's one of the drugs of choice in the dentistry article in the Library here.

My Ceylons do appreciate some place to be under. I made them up some caves from slate I bought and then siliconed them together, it came out rather well, although for about 2 weeks the Ceylons would not go anywhere near them, but now they are used to them and will get underneath.

Really, I don't think it matters which substrate you use, although I personally have sand in my tank because my two actually will "sit" on the bottom of the tank, so I think that is better for their bellies. But I also have sand in most of my tanks too, I just like it better, because I think it's more natural.

** Just a note on clove oil ... I won't use it, as it has bad effects on puffers, so I bought some Koi Sedate, which works really good with no problems. **

Yes, clove oil is found in the toothpaste/toothache isle in our drug store.

Did you check out the GSP article? That just about covers everything you need to know about Ceylon care.

Thanks for the feedback on clove oil. I'd heard from some marine forums that it could be quite nasty for fish. Maybe the koi sedate contains MS222, the 'definitive' fish anisthetic. To the best of my knowledge you need a vets prescription to get that. Might be useful when I move my Pacu but I'll probably just put on my titanium lined dive gauntlets and use a Koi sock! Thus, splash, thud thud, Splash, splash splash - SPLASH! All over in 30 secs...

It's probably stressful enough to have to do dentistry anyway (for all parties) so I'll try not to go there by feeding lots of nice crunchy items, such as bits of dead crustaceans.

I've some good sized foot square bits of inch thick slate that I can rest on chunks of granite to form caves (three at least) and I'll probably use just a small ammount of coral sand on the base, mm deep so I can keep it clean. Then just anything plastic, cleaned shells etc out of the reef tanks.

I'll try to move the decor around or add/remove some to keep the beastie or beasties amused.

Wonder what they'd do with one of those air powered giant clams etc? Usually I wouldn't give that tank room but if it kept them / him /her amused that's fine. Thoughts, anyone?

Might try to eat the plastic though...!

You can get MS222 from many on-line pharmacies now, without the need for a vets prescription.

soggydrysuit wrote:Thanks for the feedback on clove oil. I'd heard from some marine forums that it could be quite nasty for fish. Maybe the koi sedate contains MS222, the 'definitive' fish anisthetic. To the best of my knowledge you need a vets prescription to get that. Might be useful when I move my Pacu but I'll probably just put on my titanium lined dive gauntlets and use a Koi sock! Thus, splash, thud thud, Splash, splash splash - SPLASH! All over in 30 secs...

It's probably stressful enough to have to do dentistry anyway (for all parties) so I'll try not to go there by feeding lots of nice crunchy items, such as bits of dead crustaceans.

I've some good sized foot square bits of inch thick slate that I can rest on chunks of granite to form caves (three at least) and I'll probably use just a small ammount of coral sand on the base, mm deep so I can keep it clean. Then just anything plastic, cleaned shells etc out of the reef tanks.

I'll try to move the decor around or add/remove some to keep the beastie or beasties amused.

Wonder what they'd do with one of those air powered giant clams etc? Usually I wouldn't give that tank room but if it kept them / him /her amused that's fine. Thoughts, anyone?

Might try to eat the plastic though...!

If yours are anything like mine, they will try to work on anything and everything that's in the tank. Mine will bite the plastic plants, they bite the glass thermometer (my GSP's do this as well), and just generally mess with anything they can. So be prepared for that, unless yours isn't as naughty as mine.

Good thing i've a couple of heater guards, then! They don't really enclose the wire to the heater though. I'll buy some pvc tube from work (it's a lab, but I can't just walk off with stuff) to get around that. I've no idea how many 3 pin plugs on tanks I have but there must be 40 or 50. ish!

Still decorating or rather stripping walls of paper. I need to move a two footer tank with tetras etc in upstairs, then I'll set up a 100l (36 by 12 by 15 inch) qt for the puffs - if it needs a change every day, so be it. It will have quite a lot of filtration and aeration on it. This is for two weeks then they can have a 150l, inside a month, a 240 l. And then we'll see if it's to be high end brackish or full marine (best I think for these).

I went to see them again today (sad) and the four that were left were all looking very sorry for themselfs. Black colouraton in one case, snuggled up aginst another. I was quite seriously worried. Turned out they hadn't been fed yet and they were all sulking. I've never seen a fish change colour and attitude so quickly. Two had been up and begging already, other two had lost interest - I thought they were diseased (nitrite spike etc which is possible) and I've kept fish for 35yrs. Within seconds of food being put in (freeze dried shrimp) they were all normal colour and totally out competing a couple of siamese tigerfish! (should rehydrate those shrimp before feeding).

I'd have got my test kits out, seeing them sulking - instant water change time!

These animals are total nutters and I cannot wait until two (scratch the one which is far too sensible) are in my charge. They will get their 100g tank!

Ah, well work to do...