The Puffer Forum

Is there any way to tell (just for curiosities sake - not for a tryout at breeding) if a figure 8 puffer is male or female?

Nope, only the puffers know for sure.

Well there is.

1) Be born a puffer....

I guess the fact that there's no sexual dimorphism does point to the fact that they're not really grouping fish. No pair bonding...the female just lays her eggs in a convenient spot, and a passing male does the honours, as it were.
I wish we had it that simple..........
Pami.

Actually they do have mating rituals, just as we do. But relationships among puffers are definitely one-night stands for the females. Baby care is PaPa's domain.

How's that been observed? Who did that? So the male does his stuff and then stays with the developing offspring?
Pami.

I've never had viable/fertilized egg deposition, but multiple mating rituals. They are very substrate-spawing Cichlid like. Male nudging, nipping, wagging for the female. Males guard the spawn to hatch I've seen reorted, then the fry are are on their own. Whether any/many of them "herd" the fry as many Cichlids do, we just don't know yet.