The Puffer Forum

The internet says both are also called Leopard Puffer. I bought a "Leopard Puffer", and I previously thought he/she was a GSP, but now I am not sure. schoutedeni and nigroviridis look similiar to me, but one is brackish/saltwater while the other is fresh. How can I tell them apart? Also, the Fluviatilis looks similiar to me.

My puffer doesn't have bright yellow coloration, it is kind of brownish except a patch on his head. I guess this means his conditions aren't optimal. I have never seen him be full yellow, but I have him in a 25 gallon tank all my himself, slowly acclimated to about 1.007 salinity. He's around 3".

Can you provide us with pictures? This will provide the best odds at getting it ID'd.

Really need a pic...

But you mention brownish looking..so I would guess you have a sabahenis looking green spotted puffer. More common than the schoutedeni.

I haven't heard of the T schoutedeni being available in the aquarium trade in >20 years.

Yes, what PP says, at least in the US and Europe.

Consequently, you will find very few real T. schoutedeni pictures on the internet.
This one is the real thing:
http://www.fishbase.org/images/species/Tesch_u0.jpg

I always also thought this one is right:
http://puffernet.tripod.com/t_schoutedeni.jpg
but the nostrils are not 100% clearly visible. THe mottled back however is quite T. schoutedeni like.

I think of T. schoutedeni as being quite similar to a small T. mbu.

If you can provide a picture, I'm confident we will be able to help you with the ID of your puffer.

The aqualog puffer book also has some real T. schoutedeni. Quite different to T. nigroviridis in my opinion.

If he has a greenish patch on his head, he's definitely a GSP. I don't see much similarity to the fluviatilis.