The Puffer Forum

Sadly I went into the horrific "W" store tonight AND....

They had gotten new GSP's 2 days ago, but they don't look like GSPs...and all but one was dead by tonight.

One of the best Associates was amazed that they were almost all dead and seeing that the one survivor has either lost parts of his tail and back fins due to the other fish biting him OR it is rot. He really doesn't look to be long in this world...... So she asked me if I would take him home and see if he can survive (free).

So now I have a "puffer" in a 30 gallon tank that recently (until hours ago) homed some other fresh water tropicals. I transferred them to the snail tank and gave this guy the larger cycled freshwater tank. Also added some live bacteria I picked up on the way home. It is similar to BioSpira used to be when it was made for freshwater (refrigerated).

So this puffer has red eyes and has more of a hexagonal pattern vs SPOTS like a GSP. He is very dark so the pattern is hard to see though. Right now he has a very dark belly but does have a slight green glow to his head, but his body is mainly dark in color. I think he has more of a pointed snout than my GSP has also. I am leaving him in a dark tank for now hoping to destress him a bit.

Would like to know if there is anywhere here that has pictures with ID for puffers, or if anyone can venture a breed identification from my description. Seeing that he is SO dark and unhappy looking right now, I will try to get pictures of him tomorrow and add them to this post. Would really like advice on what I can/should do to help him feel better and if Melefix will help his fins/tail, or should it be aquarium salt? I would really love for him to survive if at all possible. Also should I try to feed him or just let him be tonight.

Please any help will be greatly appreciated. You all were life savers for my GSP when I first accepted him from a bad situation. Hoping to do the same for this guy!

We really need a pic. For now, add 1 tbsp salt/10g & Melafix.

He is very excitable right now. I have him set up in a quieter room. I will add the salt and melefix. Will take pictures tomorrow .... hopefully he will calm down a bit by then.

THANK YOU!!

So morning is here.... and the puffer has made it through the night. He is not as active as my GSP and seems to be hiding quite a bit. But he is still alive and his belly has whitened up somewhat..... hopefully that means he is feeling a bit better.

Here are some pictures.... hopefully it will help make an ID of him. I did a bunch of web surfing last night and my guess is that he is a Monotrete Turgidus but I could be way off base.









Looking at the pictures his belly looks much thinner than it does in person.... but should I treat for IPs just in case? Or wait a day or so and let him get over his trama and start healing the fins first?

Thanks again for all your help!

M. turgidus was my first guess, too.

But then I saw the nostrils... This is no Monotrete... Their nostrils are quite small like this one:
http://www.kugelfischwelt.de/bilder/joo ... 694847.jpg or this one:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_57FOa0lPIqA/T ... CF2432.JPG or this one http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v345/ ... juice2.jpg or this one http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p189 ... G_2530.jpg

Your puffer has large nostrils like GSPs http://www.lode.biz/pufferpics/nigrovir ... idis_9.jpg or this one http://www.splutphoto.com/puffer2.jpg

So my guess is T. nigroviridis. This "species" has a huge geographic range and shows some variation. So, don't be surprised if it doesn't look exactly like your other one.

With red eyes?

True ... he does have really large nostrils.

I can understand the color pattern differences from my other GSP and stuff depending on where they are from. But the red eyes have me thrown.... I have never seen a GSP with red eyes, nor can I find a picture online of a GSP with Red eyes.

Thank you!

They are not that red on this puffer like on these:
http://www.ppaquarium.com/..%5Cimages%5 ... %20EYE.JPG
http://bestfish.com/fish/redeyep.jpg

and they can be orange to red on the outer rim of GSPs:
http://img400.imageshack.us/img400/7673 ... gsp1kx.jpg
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/img/Te ... idis_4.jpg
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/at ... 12&thumb=1

oh and this one
http://home.earthlink.net/~snebluemoon/ ... urface.jpg

Well, I certainly have never heard of a turgidus being sold at Walmart...

Thank you Corvus for the references and information.... but I think his eyes are much redder in person than they appear in these pictures. I will admit I am not the best photographer when it comes to my fihses.....

Please don't get me wrong.... I am not disagreeing with you, just had never seen a GSP with anything other than vibrant yellow eyes.

Pufferpunk wrote:Well, I certainly have never heard of a turgidus being sold at Walmart...

I have not ever seen anything other than GSP sold at this Walmart either.... but these were being sold as GSP. I don't know that I would trust their suppliers though in any manner.... a while ago they had fish that looked much more like Bass labeled as Oscars. I am not sure what they were but almost positive that those green fish were NOT Oscars.

Feel free to disagree with me, no problem here.
I'm going mostly by the nostrils, which in my opinion are the most reliable character here.
I'm pretty sure this is an Asian Tetraodon sp., no Monotrete and certainly no M. turgidus (it also lacks the lighter bar between the eyes, above the head).

I still think GSPs are more than one single species or at least several subspecies... also look at these http://limpid-aquarium.blogspot.com/200 ... ridis.html (click on the pic to zoom), these also have reddish eyes, but different spots more like those T. cf. sabahensis... or these, also with orange to red eyes http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TifpvXrj3uQ/S7TsM ... 0_4188.JPG Here's one from this forum: http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/ ... C01116.jpg.

Corvus wrote:<span>I still think GSPs are more than one single species or at least several subspecies... also look at these <a class="smarterwiki-linkify" href="http://limpid-aquarium.blogspot.com/200 ... is.html</a> (click on the pic to zoom), these also have reddish eyes, but different spots more like those T. cf. sabahensis... or these, also with orange to red eyes <a class="smarterwiki-linkify" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TifpvXrj3uQ/S7TsM ... 188.JPG</a> Here's one from this forum: <a class="smarterwiki-linkify" href="http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/ ... /a>.</span>

His shape and stuff looks very similar to the last photo link you posted here. I guess I will just work on getting him healthier and happier (hopefully I succeed) and get more pictures as his colors improve. Since he only wants to hide mostly right now, I was thinking maybe he was some kind of lurker..... probably just feeling crappy due to his prior experience. If he turns out to be a GSP it will be easy enough to care for him.... what is one more SW tank right?? hahaha

Thank you for all your help! The reason I made a point of saying I was not disagreeing with you is I don't want to come across as one of the people who come here for advice and then disagree or argue with the people that are trying to help me. I do really appreciate all the help you all have been. Thanks again.

Yes, I was also considering the T. cf. sabahensis, which have almost the same nostrils as GSPs (on pics absolutely the same) and darker eyes (see pics in my last post), but your puffer has not even a trace of their labyrinth like spots on the back. If I remember right, they liked light brackish (like F8) more than high brackish to marine (like GSPs)... If it was mine I'd personally go light brackish (1.005) until it gets healthier.

Good luck!