The Puffer Forum

zookey wrote:

Their puffers were almost yellow in color with light brown spots and red eyes. My puffer is green with yellowish colored eyes. I have not been able to find any pictures on here or through google of puffers that look like them. They did have nicely round bellies and none were dark colored. Some were quite small, and others were larger, but all were active and content looking..

They weren't GSPs? Was there a label for them anywhere?

Was it like the second pic at the bottom of this page?

ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Cochinchinensis/

where in the US is the wal mart you were at with "good" conditions? hopefully they arent selling fangs puffers as GSP's and telling people that they need brackish-marine and 30 gallons each growing at 6+ inches. that would be a little backwards for wal mart lol. wrong fish, right description lol. i was thinking fangs by the description too PC, but thats only because they are the only puffs with dead red eyes i have seen in person. not too much variety around here in puffs all F8, GSP, Porc, S&S and Dogface in stores. not once have i seen a fahaka, a (properly labeled) ceylon, abei and all the other cool ones i see on here that people have

I do not believe Walmart carries anything but GSPs.

The 2 Wal-Marts around me that still has a live fish department carries GSP's and F8's at times. Never have I seen anything else. But I have seen a Wal-Mart in the past carry really rare species of fishes time to time. Maybe order something that pops up new but sometimes not label it right.

my first expirence with puffers was at walmart. i got a little f8, i had no idea about puffer care, and the fish man gave me all the wrong directions. I originally went for another fantail goldfish and of course i thought the puffers were cute so he threw "puffyhead" into the bag with the goldfish! he told me i could keep it in my freshwater aquarium full of ammonia ridden goldfish, and the food he gave me was tropical fish flakes. As expected puffyhead only made it 2 days, after that i researched why my little friend died and found that i had been very misdirected! i dont think walmart should carry puffers, most petcos dont even carry them and they are at least one step up from walmart..

i made a video for just this experience lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv9naVRgsY8 let me know what you think

mrswiss420 good video but you said f8 like brackish but are mainly fresh water which is untrue. They are light brackish not FW at all.

Many puffers visit or even live at the margins - tidal or estuary areas where the water may be FW, BW, or SW depending on the tide, rainfall, etc. You really cannot say that F-8s are not FW at all, as plenty have been caught in FW.

But in captivity, F-8s do best and live longest IME in rather light BW, preferably with somewhat higher KH than the low specific gravity reading would imply. The optimum care in captivity does not necessarily mirror their wild habitat. For tank-bred fish the wild condition or habitat is rarely needed and in fact may not be the optimum condition for health and longevity.

HTH

trekenk wrote:mrswiss420 good video but you said f8 like brackish but are mainly fresh water which is untrue. They are light brackish not FW at all.

but no one sees the real issue..THERE ARE f8's and GSPs in the SAME TANK!! both require different salinity. SO you are telling me the guy at wal-mart is right for just putting a Tablespoon of aquarium salt in right? hahaha give me a break. And please state WHEN i said they are mainly freshwater....because i watch and edit these videos like crazy and i know i never said that.

I doubt there is ANY salt in there, since all the tanks are connected to the same system.

I just wanted to let you guys know that I am a walmart manager. In my store I have set up a donated tank from me for the gsps that we sell. Also some extra information for you guys is the walmart associates that deal with the fish actually arent trained by walmart. It is Apet that supplies the information for the associates so do not blame your local wal mart associate for not takin the prope care of the gsps it is not ALL their fault. Sorry im just tired of the bashing of wal mart because most pet mangers i have talked to in my region are doing the best they can with the info they learn from the fish supplier. The best way you can help is goto the store and talk to the pets manager with the right information the fish will be in better shape

purplecandle wrote:Was it like the second pic at the bottom of this page?

ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Cochinchinensis/

No... the puffers don't look like those in that article.

jus85411 wrote:where in the US is the wal mart you were at with "good" conditions? hopefully they arent selling fangs puffers as GSP's and telling people that they need brackish-marine and 30 gallons each growing at 6+ inches. that would be a little backwards for wal mart lol. wrong fish, right description lol. i was thinking fangs by the description too PC, but thats only because they are the only puffs with dead red eyes i have seen in person. not too much variety around here in puffs all F8, GSP, Porc, S&S and Dogface in stores. not once have i seen a fahaka, a (properly labeled) ceylon, abei and all the other cool ones i see on here that people have

I live in Northern MN. I am not sure what kind of puffers these are if they are not GSP... those are actually the only ones you will find in this neck of the woods though. I wonder if the food and such would cause a lightening of the "green" coloration of the puffer. As far as the one with the red eyes.... he was sold quickly so can't get a pic of that one. I could probably get a cell phone picture tomorrow if the odd colored ones are still there.