The Puffer Forum

Here's my modestus:

Bahaha, your modestus is so fat!

I like your puffers, PufferPunk.

Well looking at PP's modestus, makes me think mine is a "nefastus", but that's neither here or there.

I am amazed (well, not really) at the gross mistakes that some LFS's make. I have seen many times when they label puffers as being brackish when they are totally freshwater. You'd think that they would research what they are selling, but they don't seem to bother. Silly to sell something and have no idea what you are selling, but seems that's the norm with these LFS.

Anyway alisha40, I would think, as the general consensus is, that you will need a tank bigger than 6-gallons for 3 of those puffers.
Good luck, and welcome to the Forum!

Not fat--that is the difference between modestus & silus. The modestus has a deeper chest.

Thanks eieio for directing me. I found silus, but I wonder why it doesn't come up in a simple search for silus? That's weird.

Anyway, I'm curious how long it took for everyone's modestus/silus to reach full size? I'm planning to talk to LFS today and insist on exchanging fish so I can start something else, probably FW. I would like to be able to tell them as much as possible, such as when they can expect the little ones they got to get bigger.

Thanks.

alisha40 wrote:Thanks eieio for directing me. I found silus, but I wonder why it doesn't come up in a simple search for silus? That's weird.

Anyway, I'm curious how long it took for everyone's modestus/silus to reach full size? I'm planning to talk to LFS today and insist on exchanging fish so I can start something else, probably FW. I would like to be able to tell them as much as possible, such as when they can expect the little ones they got to get bigger.

Thanks.

dwarf puffers are about your only option with a six gallon tank, and even then, only one individual would be optimum
just curious, is your LFS a big chain type store, or an independent business?

You do know all the puffers mentioned in this thread are FW? If you're going to stick with a 6g, then by all means get a couple of female DPs (you don't want any babies in there). Sexing article in our Library.

Since your tank is so overstocked, I'd be keeping a VERY close eye on water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) until you return them. I wouldn't be surprised if your biofilter gets overwhelmed and crashes. You might want to change the water twice a week instead of once.

...or more.

given such a small quantity of water involved, i'd do a water change every other day

alisha40 wrote:Apparently, other LFSes are also labeling my fish as "Neon Green" based on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15445&p=158182&hil ... en#p158182. It might be same chain of stores based on location (NY, OH and two in IL). I just wonder where they get their information. Their supplier?

I work at a LFS and our supplier has quite the habit of sending us mislabeled or incorrect species. It's really aggitating. I told one of my co-workers last week that if our supplier has marine biologists working for them, they obviously graduated in the lowest 10% of their classes.

ohiwaiian wrote: I work at a LFS and our supplier has quite the habit of sending us mislabeled or incorrect species. It's really aggitating. I told one of my co-workers last week that if our supplier has marine biologists working for them, they obviously graduated in the lowest 10% of their classes.

haha the top 10 of the bottom 40? I was in one of those classes

regarding labeling fish as freshwater or brackish - this is a localish place and they say a fig 8 is a freshwater puff

http://www.directtropicals.co.uk/index. ... cts_id=482

can it live in freshwater or has it gotto be brackish -

i also saw another store selling gsps as freshwater only and not brackish / into saltwater when adults

Figure 8 puffers do best in low brackish.. it almost seems they need hard water more than the salt and the salt buffers it nicely for them. They certainly don't need the brackish levels that a GSP needs, but they do best with some salt (1.002-1.008 is about right).

Many stores still try to say "its a brackish fish but will do fine in freshwater". All you have to do is ask them how long they've kept one alive. These are fish that should live 10+ years.. and people keeping them in freshwater generally can't keep them alive more than a year or so.. if that.

Many more folks will be willing to purchase a fish if they think it's easier to care for than it really is. For example, we have a LFS that says their juvie dogface puffers are BW, so more folks will purchase them. After it dies in a couple of years, it's too late...

And it's way too much trouble for a LFS to set up a BW section for just a few species.