The Puffer Forum

I feel really stupid. Today, I could have swore I saw a freshwater puffer with blue/grey eyes at the lfs. However, I cannot find any that match that description. The puffers were labeled as target puffers, but they really don't look like the pictures of target puffers I've seen. When I was on pufferlist.com, I saw a picture of a male red eye puffer that looked exactly like the puffers I had seen (green, greyish body color-solid, no real spots, and smokey blue eyes)...the problem? The name "RED eye puffer" lol. I'm assuming the camera angle or flash made the eyes look blue instead of red. I really feel quite silly, because I really think I saw a blue eyed puffer....any help with the ID?

Both my red eye (C.irrubesco) females have blue in their eyes. I see it all the time but it can't be captured on photo readily because of the lighting.

Here are the only two photos that the blue turned out (out of hundreds of photos, hehe).




All other photos show this.


You are not seeing things. The male irrubescos have a gold-green sheen on their red eyes. That I must say, is even more difficult to capture on a photo.

Blue irridescence is common on puffer's eyes (and on soap and oil films), but is not easy to capture on film.

Not freshwater, but Diodon holocanthus have beautiful blue eyes. A common saltwater burrfish, but not likely what you saw in the store labelled as a 'target puffer'.

hehe burrfish arent really holocanthus.... burrfish are alot smaller and they generally are more timid

holocanthus is an 18" football with high energy.
hystrix though takes the cake. has everything holocanthus does except the dark blotches and hits over 3ft

all 3 of my juvy DPs have blue eyes...but they are only 1/4 - 1/2 an inch long