The Puffer Forum

I've never kept them but I hear that compared to most other puffers they aren't as interactive.

Well i got lucky my SAP aka El Guapo is very interactive but it took him 2-3 months to get around knowing im his caretaker. He alwasy swim next to the glass and see what im doing and swim fanatic when i put my finger close...maybe he thinks im gonna feed him.

well they reconize you and they agnolage you but unless there realy hungry they like to do there own thing

Whoa, plurmaster, do you own a fish store or something? How can you get all those types of puffers? Around here, its hard to find any that are worth purchasing. A lot of lfs either don't sell them, or if they do, they have some really sad looking fish.

What are the symptoms of IP anyways? Other than a stomach with funky lookining protrusions, or his belly going down soon after eating, what are other signs?

The reason I worried about IP is because I read on this forum, that because almost all puffers are wild caught (except for DPs), that 99% of them have some sort of worm/parasite. Is this correct?

My two cents. I think having multiple DP's would be awesome. You get to watch more fish interact and breed. The plus to breeding is you can trade in your babies (keep at least one) for store credit. They are FW, cheaper and you can grow plants if you want.

Some Symtoms of IP's is sunken belly even after eating or soon after, loss of appetite, long stringy whitish poop, inactive, ill acting and looking.

From what I have read most of our puffers have IP's. Most of the time They are not affected by the IP unless they are stressed out and are over taken by the IP. It is recommended all puffers be treated for IP's.

other sign are fasting(not eating) pooping out worms...

no i dont own a store but i know alot of LFS because i was doing a research trying to find out which is best LFS for me but i never founnd one. Each LFS have something i like and dislike. So when i go shopping for fish stuff i have to go few different places. If you want any of those puffer i surely can find a healthy one for you and even help you qurantine him/her till i bring it to you. Just pay for the fish. I be sure to leave you name of LFS,address and number so you can verify the price of the puffer.

Wow, you guys are just too much. Everyone on this board has been sooo incredibly helpful. Seriously. This board is wayyy cool.

Thanks for the offer plurmaster. I'll definitely keep your offer in mind. If I do take you up on your offer, I'd be more than happy to pay any extra for your hard work and effort, or at least treat you to a meal. I just called that same lfs, and they just got a shipment of 6 F8s this morning. I'm gonna go and take a look today to see if they're healthy looking. If not, I'll PM you. Its interesting though, because I'll be driving down to LA on May 23rd, while you'll be driving up.

Maybe if you gave me some names of LFS, I could pick one up myself when in the area. Although LA is a dang huge piece of real estate to drive around. I do hear what you're saying about pluses and minuses of lfs. This one lfs (King Aquarium) has awesome looking plants! But their puffers are sad looking. Where Bangkok Aquarium has sad looking plants, but usually has healthy looking puffers. Stuff like that.

Never buy any fish that just arrived. They are beat from shipment. Some might not be healthy. Just wait for couple of days.
Yes i can give you some good LFS referal just let me know if you take a trip down L.A.

Hmmm....you make a very good point.

But with only six f8s to choose from, the healthiest looking ones may be purchased within the next couple of days, no?

Thanks for your help.

well dont take chance of getting a sick fish thats why im saying. When i got my irrubesco they were sick with ich shortly after. It took me a month to cure them with the help of this forum and people here. just dont take chances observe more before you buy.

fish from a reputable site should be alright though, and the shipping would be a sacrifice for a good fish. I'm sure somebody could give you a good site. also, you could adopt...

I'm sorry to hear you had a puffer get sick from ich plurmaster. Dang a month is a long time for a fish to get rid of ich. The lil' guy have been seriously stressed out then.

So then, have any of you ever purchased a fish online? Any comments or suggestions on who's a good supplier?

it took 6 days using salt only to get rid of the ich..i did use some melfix in the beginning but it was suggested by the people here at the forum use salt only and turn the heat up to above 86. Is also recommaned to quarantine least 21 days to completely get rid of ichs on the puffer and in the tank for futher outbreaks.

Personally i never buy any fish online and never will. I just dont trust getting a fish i never seen with my own eyes before i buy it. I usually observe the fish couple of visit before i actually buy it. To make sure they are healthy. Next thing is i will qurantine them before i put into my main tank for futher observation incase i missed anything. Plus most of the time their fins are nipped or bite marks on their body. I like to cure them first.

Wow! 86 degrees! That's awfully high! I'm sure your puffer was sweatin'. But at least the ich was gone.

I agree with you. I'm not a big fan of buying something online, especially when it comes to fish. You just never know what sort of condition your fish will come in.

Well its been a couple of days, and I'm thinking about going back to the lfs to buy another f8. There were two that I was debating over getting when I checked them out on Tuesday.

One had a more beautiful zebra pattern (for lack of a better description), but also looked like it was laying down on branches and gravel more. It also had some damaged skin on it's side.

The other one is more plain looking and docile, but looked really healthy as compared to the rest. Only a slightly chewed up caudal fin, and a small damaged skin close to it's dorsal fin. Other than that, he looks healthy, mellow, and just trying to stay out of harms way because he's the smallest, and gets chased a lot by some of the other gsp. (I know, gsp and f8s in the same tank is not a great idea).

The rest of the f8s have more noticeable wounds with some significant damage to either their fins or skin. There's one in there who looks almost dead, as he's getting chewed up.

I'll let you know which fish I end up choosing. Wish me luck.

If you buy another f8. Please qurantine him for awhile. add some melfix for his damage skin and salt..be sure to add airstone.