The Puffer Forum

I was out earlier, and my little brother thought my Dwarf puffers were feeders for my Congo! !! I feel so sorry for the little guys, my Congo ate 2, are Dwarfs poisonous? Is it going to kill my Congo?

x0rtrunks answered this question in the freshwater puffers forum:

i agree with x0rtrunks, i remember reading somwhere about puffers having some immunity to their own toxin, i beleive the dwarves would have had saxitoxin, and possibly tetraodoxin, sometimes domesticated puffers lose their tetraodoxin, but whether they can regenerate it is unknown.

as x0rtrunks already said, monitor your congo carefully. i hope he does allright for you.

Captive bred pufferfish are not poisonous because pufferfish get their ability to produce the toxin from the toxic shellfish they consume in the wild.

So no, they are not poisonous

perek wrote:Captive bred pufferfish are not poisonous because pufferfish get their ability to produce the toxin from the toxic shellfish they consume in the wild.

So no, they are not poisonous

not nescesarily, not all DPs are captive bred, and the thought has been brought up that if the toxic shell fish generate their own toxin, why cant the puffers? if the puffers can consume the toxic shellfish , they must be immune to tetraodoxin, but im not sure if theyre immune to saxitoxin.

i wasnt aware that consuming shellfish was the only way puffers produce their toxin.

im sure someone like RTR will be able to clarify.

I've been watching him closely, and he seems fine, he's just burried. I mean I feel bad for the little Dwarfs too.

The Fisherman wrote:

perek wrote:Captive bred pufferfish are not poisonous because pufferfish get their ability to produce the toxin from the toxic shellfish they consume in the wild.

So no, they are not poisonous

not nescesarily, not all DPs are captive bred, and the thought has been brought up that if the toxic shell fish generate their own toxin, why cant the puffers? if the puffers can consume the toxic shellfish , they must be immune to tetraodoxin, but im not sure if theyre immune to saxitoxin.

i wasnt aware that consuming shellfish was the only way puffers produce their toxin.

im sure someone like RTR will be able to clarify.

Dwarfs are a totally different phylum(?) they are not a member of the tetrodons I am not sure if they have any toxin due to their orgin of india.

DPs are in a different genus (Carinotetraodon), not in a different family or phyllum. They are Tetraodontidae just as are Tetrtraodon, Colomesus, Auriglobus and all the other multiple genera in the family. All share similar architecture and the use of the toxins.

The toxins used by the family are likely from bacteria or algae or both, the shellfish get them from the original producers or carry those producers on their shells, or in their mantle.

No pathway for producing the toxins gave been found in puffers, and lots of folk have tried. Nor have the special tissues or organs been found that would be needed to host the bacteria in the fish.

Puffers are immune to their toxin.

Blue-ringed octopus uses the same toxin, as do some salamanders.

Wild caught DPs are expensive, that price has not come down, in fact it seems to have gone up due to scarcity of folks willing to pay the price.

RTR wrote:DPs are in a different genus (Carinotetraodon), not in a different family or phyllum. They are Tetraodontidae just as are Tetrtraodon, Colomesus, Auriglobus and all the other multiple genera in the family. All share similar architecture and the use of the toxins.

The toxins used by the family are likely from bacteria or algae or both, the shellfish get them from the original producers or carry those producers on their shells, or in their mantle.

No pathway for producing the toxins gave been found in puffers, and lots of folk have tried. Nor have the special tissues or organs been found that would be needed to host the bacteria in the fish.

Puffers are immune to their toxin.

Blue-ringed octopus uses the same toxin, as do some salamanders.

Wild caught DPs are expensive, that price has not come down, in fact it seems to have gone up due to scarcity of folks willing to pay the price.

Thanks for clarrifying. I dont claim to be a biolgy major

On an off topic note my local petsmart got 10 of those little guys in and man I almost bought 5 of them for my 20l tank.

I keep 5 in my 29.

RTR wrote:I keep 5 in my 29.

kool. I almost wish I had gotten em, but I found my Exodon the next day and couldnt resist for 4 bucks.