The Puffer Forum

I went to a new LFS today and they had 2 unknown puffers.

One these unknown puffers have red eyes, a white underbelly, green back with black spots. Towards the tail, there was one red spot on both sides of the fish. There were 3 of them hiding under a rock, and always under the rock under lighting. Could this be an abei puffer? All of them are least 1 year old and measures approx 2-3inch.

The other puffer was housed by itself. It also has red eyes, hides in a cave, red eyes, white underbelly, green with tiny black spots all over its back, and the tiny black spots extends to the white underbelly, and I can see the eyes were bulging. Not sure what this is, but it was labeled "mekong puffer".

edit: I the "mekong puffer" actually looks like this one: ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Turgi ... 5.jpg.html

I'll post some pics as soon as i figure out how to transfer pics from my phone to my laptop.

edit #2: both kinds of puffer was living in freshwater.

Hey guys,

I just bought the puffer that was in a 20gal by itself at the LFS for several months. The puffer came from a supplier. They said the scientific name is tetradon leirus. Is kinda looks like a fang puffer. He was in really good shape and I saw him feeding before the purchase. I put him in a 29 gallon tank fully cycled and he is hiding in a castle decor. No substrate or live plants for quarantine purposes.

What kind of puffer is it? Sorry for poor quality pics. I will try to get better pics when he comes out to eat tomorrow.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/546/dscn1556t.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/812/dscn1557y.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/196/dscn1559b.jpg/

tbh thats a new one by me cant wait to find out tho well done on your purchase, just be prepared to make an upgrade as we dont know what this is and what its requirements are lol

Terrance wrote:Hey guys,

I just bought the puffer that was in a 20gal by itself at the LFS for several months. The puffer came from a supplier. They said the scientific name is tetradon leirus. Is kinda looks like a fang puffer. He was in really good shape and I saw him feeding before the purchase. I put him in a 29 gallon tank fully cycled and he is hiding in a castle decor. No substrate or live plants for quarantine purposes.

What kind of puffer is it? Sorry for poor quality pics. I will try to get better pics when he comes out to eat tomorrow.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/546/dscn1556t.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/812/dscn1557y.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/196/dscn1559b.jpg/

I'm sorry ... I guess I'm not sure what you are asking. That certainly appears to be a tetraodon leirus (Eyespot Puffer).
Commonly sold as a red eyes puffer also. It is actually pretty close to a fangs puffer, good call
Is there a different puffer you need ID'd?
That's a good find by the way

If you are just needing more info on the lil guy, here ya go:

Tetraodon leirus - Eyespot Puffer
Common Names: Eyespot Puffer, Target Puffer

Size: 4 inches approximately
Other fish: none
Tank: 29 gallon
Media: fine natural sand (target pool filter sand)
Water: fresh
Diet: takes freeze dried shrimp and juvenile baby crayfish.

Here's some basic info on that group:
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Cochinchinensis/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.ph ... sis&id=865

need to know more? just ask

in store, it was called "mekong" puffer. That name confused me. I went back again and they found out its scientific name was tetradon leiurus. The trade name confused me.

I'll get photos of the other puffer soon, but I probably won't buy them. Still looks like albei puffer though.

Fangs Puffer it is. One of the lurker species.

CyberBob wrote:That certainly appears to be a tetraodon leirus (Eyespot Puffer).
Commonly sold as a red eyes puffer also. It is actually pretty close to a fangs puffer, good call

How come when I'm looking at the puffepedia, the scientific name doesn't match?

Does each part of the scientific name mean something?

Dad says it's a fangs.
Someone not all that long ago thought they had a m. Leiurus (sp?), PP told them that puffer hadn't been seen in trade in a while and that it's probably another member of the target group.
Whatever he is, he's your new baby now!

Terrance wrote:

CyberBob wrote:That certainly appears to be a tetraodon leirus (Eyespot Puffer).
Commonly sold as a red eyes puffer also. It is actually pretty close to a fangs puffer, good call

How come when I'm looking at the puffepedia, the scientific name doesn't match?

Does each part of the scientific name mean something?

they are in the same group "Target Puffers" they vary only slightly and are usually considered to be the same puffer in the trade.
But, technically if it's scientific name is T Leirus, it's an Eyespot Puffer, not a Fangs Puffer.
Very similar though. I guess we would call them cousins, identical cousins all the way.
They laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike. You could lose your mind ...

But, anyways ... I would call it an Eyespot Puffer and when people look at you funny, say "well, it's basically a Fang's Puffer"
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there are 4 puffers in this group that all look very much alike.

Google "T Leirus" and you will certainly find more info about your particular species

Fishbase only has these two listed:

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... nchinensis
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Monotrete-leiurus.html

That's about as close I can find. I'm sure if you search more, you'll find more though. I just did a fast search.

Terrance wrote:in store, it was called "mekong" puffer. That name confused me. I went back again and they found out its scientific name was tetradon leiurus. The trade name confused me.

I'll get photos of the other puffer soon, but I probably won't buy them. Still looks like albei puffer though.

that's weird ... those are 2 different puffs ...
In the trade, they usually just call them target puffers or fangs puffers. They rarely know what they have to tell you the truth.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fish/mekongpuffer.php

Because it IS a Fang's puffer (M cochinchinensis).

Looks like a M. cochinchinensis to me, too (if it has the target spot - if no large target is there: M. turgidus).
Snout is too short for M. leiurus in my opinion.

Try a clear side shot for a more definite ID.

Pufferpunk wrote:Because it IS a Fang's puffer (M cochinchinensis).

I was just basing it on the scientific name given.
They look so much alike that it's hard to tell from those pics.

The "Target Puffer" group consists of four species, T. cambodgiensis, T. leirus, T. turgidus and T. hilgendorfi. Some confusion surrounds this group, as they all hail from the same geographical area and share very similar physical characteristics. Cochinchinensis can be distinguished by the clear red spot situated towards the rear of the fish. It's one of the more frequently seen puffers in the hobby, though it is by no means common.

The 1st thing I would look for is the spot near the tail. Is it red(ish) or black?
PP does know more then I do though. So, don't dismiss what she says by any means.

CyberBob wrote: The "Target Puffer" group consists of four species, T. cambodgiensis, T. leirus, T. turgidus and T. hilgendorfi.

for the search machine: it's leiurus und hilgendorfii.

Add some more... at least M. cochinchinensis, M. abei and personally I'd also add M. cutcutia (which can also have a black target with yellow ring). Probably there are more, at least one species recognized last year, but I have not found the time to order the scientific paper, which seems to be not too easy to obtain (at least from my alma mater or the net), yet.

For this specimen only M. cochinchinensis and M. turgidus are possible in my opinion. They are told apart by their target spot.

CyberBob wrote: PP does know more then I do though. So, don't dismiss what she says by any means.

Lmao!