The Puffer Forum

Hello I just got an awesome puffer fish, I was told that he is a brown puffer fish but he/she has two spots on both of his sides kinda like a Fangs Puffer. So just out of curosity I was hopping that you guys can help me afrim this puffers ID and give me some info on this kind of puffer. So please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!
Also the tank he is in is only his temporary home until his permanent home is fully cycled.

my guess would be:
Monotrete turgidus ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Turgidus/

I agree with J-P.

How long is he without the tail?

Edit to add..do you think he is a juvenile, teenager or adult?

A very chubby turgidus, too!

purplecandle wrote:How long is he without the tail?

Edit to add..do you think he is a juvenile, teenager or adult?

He is around 3.5 inches with his tail, probably around 3 without. So he's probably a teenager.
I've already fall'n in love with this fish, he's just so cute and round!

Pufferpunk wrote:A very chubby turgidus, too!

lol, Yup his previous owner took good care of him. I can't wait to get him in his bigger permanent home.
Also happy to afrim his id as a brown puffer, his two big spots kinda threw me off even though I was told he was a brown puffer.

I agree: It looks like a turgidus. A very nice species, with lots of personality!

He is a little overweight. I'd reduce his feedings to every other day.

midnightsunPuffer wrote:

purplecandle wrote:How long is he without the tail?

Edit to add..do you think he is a juvenile, teenager or adult?

He is around 3.5 inches with his tail, probably around 3 without. So he's probably a teenager.
I've already fall'n in love with this fish, he's just so cute and round!

Pufferpunk wrote:A very chubby turgidus, too!

lol, Yup his previous owner took good care of him. I can't wait to get him in his bigger permanent home.
Also happy to afrim his id as a brown puffer, his two big spots kinda threw me off even though I was told he was a brown puffer.

Ok, my vote is for a turgie then. A nice puffer!

His eye spots are actually not that big, it is an optical illusion. If you take away the ring around the spot, you will see that the two eye spots are roughly the same size and color as the rest of his spots.

Pufferpunk wrote:He is a little overweight. I'd reduce his feedings to every other day.

I've only had him for a few days and I haven't seen him eat yet. But I guess it doesn't help that I have a bunch of snails with him in his tank. I think he is cute being so round, but I get your point. I know that it isn't heathly for him or for anything else to be overweight. Guess I'll have to take all of the snails out of his tank.

Troender wrote:I agree: It looks like a turgidus. A very nice species, with lots of personality!

Awesome! I can't wait until he gets use to his new home and feels comfortable enough to show his full personality

I did an internet search on this fish and I didn't find much on brown puffer fish, so I have a few questions. Do their belly's turn dark when they aren't feeling well like GSP's and how do I know when he is happy? Also would a ph of 8 be harmful to him? He is at a ph of 7.5 right now, but the ph in my tanks are usually around 7.5- 8.

What's the pH of your tap?

You can leave the snails in unless you have a different place to keep them. A diet is definitely in order though Specific pH isn't too important as long as it is relatively close to neutral and it's stable. Stability is more important than the number itself

I'll go a bit farther than Flutter. IMHO and IME, a specific pH is only very rarely important to puffers. The stability of the pH (and other water parameters) is of much greater importance.

Very soft (low GH) and acid (low KH) water can be harder to manage as it is less stable, but pH 6.5 to 8.0+ is generally suitable for most FW puffers. The very soft acid water requires more careful monitoring and gerenally more upkeep than higher KH and GH water.

All the above pH/KH/GH measures are after the water is aged. Freshly drawn tap water may not read what it will after aging.

HTH

Pufferpunk wrote:What's the pH of your tap?

The ph of my tap reads around 7.5. So it's pretty much the same as in my tank.

Flutter wrote:You can leave the snails in unless you have a different place to keep them. A diet is definitely in order though Specific pH isn't too important as long as it is relatively close to neutral and it's stable. Stability is more important than the number itself

I think I'm going to have to move the snails tomorrow, it looks like he has been snacking on them like crazy recently. I keep finding empty snail shells. I thought he would at least leave the larger ones alone and eat the smaller ones that he could crunch, but I guess all the snails are fair game to him. Glade to hear that a specific ph isn't too important as long as it's close to the recommended amount. I'm still kinda new to fish so I don't know a whole lot about the importance of ph in aquariums, other than the fact that it should be a certain amount. I haven't had to worry too much about the ph in my tanks because it's always been in the recommended level, at least for my GSP.

RTR wrote:I'll go a bit farther than Flutter. IMHO and IME, a specific pH is only very rarely important to puffers. The stability of the pH (and other water parameters) is of much greater importance.
Very soft (low GH) and acid (low KH) water can be harder to manage as it is less stable, but pH 6.5 to 8.0+ is generally suitable for most FW puffers. The very soft acid water requires more careful monitoring and generally more upkeep than higher KH and GH water.
All the above pH/KH/GH measures are after the water is aged. Freshly drawn tap water may not read what it will after aging.
HTH

How long does the water take to "age"? And when the water is aged does it make the ph go up or down? What should I do to help keep the ph stable? I do lots of water changes, at least 50% a week but more right now because my brown puffer is in a smaller tank than he should be in until his larger tank is fully cycled. So I have been doing small water changes pretty much every day just as a precaution.

I do lots of water changes, at least 50% a week but more right now because my brown puffer is in a smaller tank than he should be in until his larger tank is fully cycled. So I have been doing small water changes pretty much every day just as a precaution.

You're doing a great job for a new fishkeeper! I personally don't age water. I add Prime directly to the tank after removing the water I want to change out & fill with a hose, making sure the temp is the same.