The Puffer Forum

Jivenjune wrote:See, the thing is, I'm biased. I'm automatically inclined to say that puffers are, by far, the smartest fish regardless of what anyone would've posted

I'm biased too. But I also have several different types of fish and I would still say the puffer. haha
IMO anyway.

my teacher has said, if 1.5 billion years ago the continents failed and weren't able to susain life (something like that I was half asleep lol) octopuses would be the smartest thing in the sea but what does he know about biology? He's an Earth science teacher.

Well, he doesn't know much about evolution (sorry, most people don't, even those in biology). It's completely unpredictable so the idea that octopi would even evolve a second time is beyond idealistic. Chances are if it happened again we would see very different results. Body shapes in aquatic species would remain quite similar but beyond that...

Cephalopods are extremely interesting. Not only because we know so little about them and their communication systems but because they are so intelligent yet short lived. If I had an opportunity to study their intelligence and communication I'd be all over it.

PS: Don't buy cuttlebones.

Schismy, oops, pufferpuggirl (PPG?) - That documentary must have been about octupi. Squids are smart too, but nothing like octupi. Cuttlefish are way up there too. I want a pygmy octopus one day.

I'll have to stick with the manta ray from past research as the smartest fish.

Exciting, my first post outside of the Meet & Greet forum!

When I first read this, I assumed it meant the smartest fish commonly kept in aquaria. While I can definitely see saltwater puffers not being the smartest fish in the ocean, I have to wonder... do you think freshwater puffers are, if not the smartest, at least among the smartest fish commonly kept in captivity?

EDIT: Oh yeah! Was the video originally posted the one of the two DPs, and one chases the other off a couple times, then stalks a snail? Because ohmigosh I LOVE that video and I watch it ALL the time!

LilGreenPuffer wrote:Schismy, oops, pufferpuggirl (PPG?) - That documentary must have been about octupi. Squids are smart too, but nothing like octupi. Cuttlefish are way up there too. I want a pygmy octopus one day.

Yes, after re-thinking about it, I do believe it was octopi, because I remember it using it's "arm" to move something in order to get through the obstacle course.
It would be cool to have something like an octopus .... but I bet it would also be like having a small child, always getting into things.
(and by the way ... PPG is fine for those that don't want to type pufferpuggirl out )

Yeah, I heard they have been able to play with mr potato heads, end up in a tank that they didn't start in and making homes out of bottles and opening jars

I thought I had read somewhere that puffers were one of the smartest species of fish you could keep in a home aquarium, aside from cichlids. I think they have the most personality and are by far the CUTEST fish you can keep in a home aquarium. But I am totally biased.

There was an octopus who started playing with some valves and flooded an entire aquarium.

Okay, in retrospect, maybe not so smart!

But really, the desire to play with things and understand how they work seems unsurpassed by other aquatic animals.

omplmpa3 wrote:I thought I had read somewhere that puffers were one of the smartest species of fish you could keep in a home aquarium, aside from cichlids. I think they have the most personality and are by far the CUTEST fish you can keep in a home aquarium. But I am totally biased.

No offense to people who keep cichlids, bit I never could see the attraction in them, and I still don't see it. Here in England, they seem to be a big hit with many LFS's catering to people who keep them. Compared with puffers, they just don't compete. If the LFS's were as devoted to puffers as they are to cichlids, I'd be one happy camper. Same thing with Discus. Okay, some of them are pretty ... but what do they do all day?? Puffers "do" things and interact with you. I don't see many other fish (that are kept in a home aquarium) that can do that.

I heard that octupi were as smart as a 8-month old human baby or something?? Anyways my vote for fish would be octupi, anything in the sea, dolphin, and fish kept in the aquarium hobby would definately be puffers.

pufferpuggirl wrote:

omplmpa3 wrote:I thought I had read somewhere that puffers were one of the smartest species of fish you could keep in a home aquarium, aside from cichlids. I think they have the most personality and are by far the CUTEST fish you can keep in a home aquarium. But I am totally biased.

No offense to people who keep cichlids, bit I never could see the attraction in them, and I still don't see it. Here in England, they seem to be a big hit with many LFS's catering to people who keep them. Compared with puffers, they just don't compete. If the LFS's were as devoted to puffers as they are to cichlids, I'd be one happy camper. Same thing with Discus. Okay, some of them are pretty ... but what do they do all day?? Puffers "do" things and interact with you. I don't see many other fish (that are kept in a home aquarium) that can do that.

I agree. I have never been fond of cichlids. I do like the shelldweller cichlids. I've always wanted them, but we don't have any around here. Otherwise they are just fancy rock bass.

pufferpuggirl wrote: No offense to people who keep cichlids, bit I never could see the attraction in them, and I still don't see it. Here in England, they seem to be a big hit with many LFS's catering to people who keep them. Compared with puffers, they just don't compete. If the LFS's were as devoted to puffers as they are to cichlids, I'd be one happy camper. Same thing with Discus. Okay, some of them are pretty ... but what do they do all day?? Puffers "do" things and interact with you. I don't see many other fish (that are kept in a home aquarium) that can do that.

i 100000% agree with that lol!! i dunno why cichlids are so big over here, obv the ppl who breed them have never owned a puffer i had a malawi cichlid set up in here, but sold it all n started again for my dps. cichlids are very pretty yep, but imo thats all they got going for them lol!! like ppg says, at least puffers do things lol, and its so obvious they know what is going on around them etc puffers have defo gotta b 1 of the smartest aquarium fish at least

I don't like them either. I don't even find them pretty. Perhaps I've never seen nice ones... I think it's awesome that they have two jaws though, very very cool.

pufferpuggirl wrote:No offense to people who keep cichlids, bit I never could see the attraction in them, and I still don't see it. Here in England, they seem to be a big hit with many LFS's catering to people who keep them. Compared with puffers, they just don't compete. If the LFS's were as devoted to puffers as they are to cichlids, I'd be one happy camper. Same thing with Discus. Okay, some of them are pretty ... but what do they do all day?? Puffers "do" things and interact with you. I don't see many other fish (that are kept in a home aquarium) that can do that.

I've noticed the same thing in the LFS by me, Cichlids seem to be the most popular fish to keep. I had an angelfish for about a year, he would go nuts when he saw me feeding live bloodworms to the fish in the tank next to his. He would get so exited, he would stick his head right out of the water and eat them off the dowel I used for feeding. I was devastated when he died. I have six red chromides in a brackish community tank and they are fun to watch. They are kind of like a gang of rowdy but well meaning kids. Even though I've had good cichlid experiences thus far, I've never felt that the cichlids personalities even come close to that of a puffers.