What type? New owner!!!!

[kmbidelman]

I would like to know what type of puffer I have! I purchased at a local pet store because I thought it was so cute!!! But, upon reading about this fish I never realized how many types there were. So, any help would be great!

I could not get a very clear still shot so I uploaded to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4L9CdE05aE

Take a look and tell me what you think. Thank you all so much, I just want to care for it right and know more about it!!!!

[Black Widow]

This is a GSP - Green spotted Puffer: ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Nigroviridis/ also this fish is not Freshwater but a Brackish Water fish i.e. it lives in slightly salty water

[chuckfriedrice]

Looks to be a GSP green spotted puffer . ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Nigroviridis/

[Black Widow]

Looks to be a GSP green spotted puffer . ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Nigroviridis/

Chuck is my Parrot

p.s. I am moving this thread to the Brackish Puffer Section

[LilGreenPuffer]

Congratulations on becoming a puffer owner! Here's some reading for you:

library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/
library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/
library/puffer-care/inside-the-mind-of-a-puffer/

Have you cycled your tank? How big is it? I'd suggest reading through this, as pet stores rarely recommend the right methods:
library/water-filtration/fishless-cycling/

[chuckfriedrice]

You only beat me to the post because my puter was lagging! LOL

[kmbidelman]

Thank you all so much for the fast responses!! I have three tanks: 1. Two mating JD's....which no other fish are in. 2. 55gal, with three african chiclids and 3. a 3-gal tropical fish tank with tetras and mollies(which the puffer is in now.) Where do you think he should be placed? We have aquarium salt, will that work for brackish water???? All of my tanks have been setup for over two years. Thanks again!! I named him Leopard!

[Black Widow]

Thank you all so much for the fast responses!! I have three tanks: 1. Two mating JD's....which no other fish are in. 2. 55gal, with three african chiclids and 3. a 3-gal tropical fish tank with tetras and mollies(which the puffer is in now.) Where do you think he should be placed? We have aquarium salt, will that work for brackish water???? All of my tanks have been setup for over two years. Thanks again!! I named him Leopard!

GSPs need 55 Gallons minimum

[kmbidelman]

Been doing some reading and I think I made the wrong choice. I should have read more about them before hand. None of my tanks are set up for an "ocean" type environment. So....I guess I am taking him back to the store. Thank you all so much. I was really happy to find such a cute fish

[LilGreenPuffer]

You're making the right choice. It's always important to read up on an animal before you buy it. You should also probably reconsider the stocking on that 3g... http://aqadvisor.com/

[energizerfish]

GSPs need a 30 gallon minimum with no other tank mates, but bigger is better.

[kmbidelman]

Oooppsss....I meant that I have a 30gal, not a 3gal! Haha. So, heres the scoop......I have decided to go brackish, since mollies can be that type of water! I really want to keep my puffer!


So, the question is this: Upon changing over to brackish water, in what increments should I add Instant Ocean? I also plan on changing from gravel to "play"
sand. Any advice on how to ease the transition? Thanks again

[energizerfish]

If you keep the puffer in the 30 gallon, I would not keep the mollies in with it, since the 30 gallon will already be fully stocked with the puffer. As far as the play sand goes, I have used play sand in a GSP tank with no problems, but it does need to be VERY thoroughly rinsed before it is put into the tank. There is some article on this forum already about adding salt for brackish tanks. Pufferpunk, do you know where that article is?

[trekenk]

Here is Dad's article.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19348

[Nuclear_Glitter]

Besides being fully stocked your GSP will tear those mollies up. That'd be like a human being chased by a T-rex...scary lol