The Puffer Forum

Went to the LFS yesterday afternoon and browsed their stock. Noticed a 1" baby fahaka puffer aggressively darting at me while flaring it's bold yellow tail I already own a larger fahaka and this was the first time I've seen them at this size for sale, so I asked a employee to ring it up for me and he warned me to be careful because the little bugger is a bitter haha.
The old guy was also a puffer keeper, so we chatted for a while. He bagged the puffer and labeled it for $5.99, when the actual price tag said $19.99. I pointed out to him, that he mislabeled the price and he said don't worry about it lol. Went to the cash to pay and the cashier said just $5 was fine. Pretty cool guys, wished the old guy a happy fathers day before I left.
The baby fahaka is currently in 10 gallon, fed it a trumpet snail and a shrimp tail. Can't wait to watch this guy grow into a monster and at a growth rate of a 1" per month for the first year, it's going to be quick haha. Going to pickup a 110 gallon tank from a friend of mine tomorrow afternoon for my larger fahaka and once this little guy puts on some size, I'll move him over the my 75 gallon. One thing I'm wondering about though, this little guy has a red spotted pattern from his mid section down to the tail. Haven't really seen this pattern on juvies before, guessing it fades as the fahaka matures right?

Possibly a pustulatus/fahaka mix? We call that a pustulaka. Pic?
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Pustulatus/

Pufferpunk wrote:Possibly a pustulatus/fahaka mix? We call that a pustulaka. Pic?
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Freshwater/T_Pustulatus/

Will do Pufferpunk, once I get home from work I'll try to snap a few pics.

Oh, sorry about that haha. I've reposted the links to the pics in the comment below.

Alright guys here's some pics of the little guy, boxed him to get some pics, he wouldn't stay still lol. You can make out the red spots circled with black rings, across the back half on the puffer. Colours and patterning are pretty nice so far for a 1" juvie.

http://imageshack.us/a/img32/8788/dx7c.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img20/6986/e0mu.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img811/9916/qara.jpg

The ones you posted are way too large.
does seem to have a bit of the pust. genes in him.

I see those dots. I think it is too early to call him any thing other than a fahaka. Keep us updated to see if his patterns change!

However, please treat for internal parasites while he is still eating!

Cute little fella!

Are fahaka/pustulatus hybrids actually real? or are they pattern variations?

purplecandle wrote:I see those dots. I think it is too early to call him any thing other than a fahaka. Keep us updated to see if his patterns change!

However, please treat for internal parasites while he is still eating!

Cute little fella!

Been difficult finding the meds in my LFS. They're telling me that they're out of stock or they don't carry the meds anymore. I'm looking to have jungle tabs and praziquantel shipped over.
I'll keep the thread updated, I'm going to try garlic juice soaking while waiting for the meds. I did see a bottle of Hikari PraziPro for sale, but I'm not sure how effective the product is, what's the general opinion of Hikari PraziPro?

prazipro is all I use although it doesn't say hikari anywhere on it, it won't do anything for external parasites but those should be visible unlike internal.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=12098

nzac wrote:prazipro is all I use although it doesn't say hikari anywhere on it, it won't do anything for external parasites but those should be visible unlike internal.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=12098

I see, there is a Hikari brand PraziPro though.

http://www.bigalspets.com/prazipro-4-fl-oz.html

aquarium solutions and hikari must be one in the same then, since both are the same product. the hikari says aquarium solutions on the side of the bottle in the pic.

A-xander wrote:Are fahaka/pustulatus hybrids actually real? or are they pattern variations?

This is a huge argument that no one can agree on. Some would say You have a hybrid, OR just a fahaka pattern variation, OR that those dots will stretch into stripes as the puffer grows.

Me personally...I think you KNOW for sure when you see a pustulatus. And how you know is that your willing to pay a lot for him. Like art, you know it when you see it.

Just picked up some Tetra tabs and a bottle of PraziPro.