The Puffer Forum

I have had a puffer for over a year now and i was under the impression that it was a Green Spotted Puffer(T. nigroviridis) however i have recently raised the salinity from 1.005 to 1.010 and since doing this he seems to be stressed out and his belly is often black. When posting on another forum it was suggested that he may actually be the puffer T. Sabahensis which is a freshwater species. Can anyone help me positively identify my puffer and does anyone have any information on T. Sabahensis.

Here are photos and videos of the puffer:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HAJvOf9O6RE

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3E1802ge-JE

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2eHYfk2juX8

Looks like a GSP to me. How fast did you raise the salinity?

i have been raising the salinity for the last 4-5 weeks or so. In the tank i have monos, scats and a smaller GSP and none show signs of stress.

I raised the possibility of it being a Sabahensis on another forum. As for identification after reviewing these pics and videos I still think it could be one. Head shape, position of eyes, speckles on tail along with the beginning og black stripes, luminesence on top of head. It just doesnt say GSP to me.

Sabahensis have different spot patterns than the GSP. Looks like a GSP to me. Where did you get the idea the Sabahensis was FW, Hilly?

Pufferpunk wrote:Sabahensis have different spot patterns than the GSP. Looks like a GSP to me. Where did you get the idea the Sabahensis was FW, Hilly?

Fishbase states sabahensis to be freshwater doesn't it?

Something about that fish made me wonder if it was a GSP. I'm not sure we'll ever know though to be honest.

Fishbase does list it as freshwater, of the 3 pics of juveniles listed in the Aqualog 2 state BW 1 FW. I didn't give the idea this was a freshwater puffer. I cant be sure and it's possible this is a GSP but something about it just doesnt sit right with me.

1st pic he looks like a GSP and the second pic he kinda looks like a ceylon.

Looks like a GSP to me.

Hilly wrote:...luminesence on top of head. It just doesnt say GSP to me.

That's what makes me sure it's a GSP. Every GSP I've seen has a very luminescent head the same color.

SeCon wrote:

Hilly wrote:...luminesence on top of head. It just doesnt say GSP to me.

That's what makes me sure it's a GSP. Every GSP I've seen has a very luminescent head the same color.

It was the specific pattern of luminesence I was interested in. Other members of this group also display it.

I believe the sab. to be a morph of the nig. & is should be treated as same, just like the fluviatilis.

I think it is too early to say that they are just morphs, not enough is known. I have seen several pics from Sean of what appear to be members of the Fluviaitlis family with varying degrees of pattern and colouration, some look like my specimen, others dont resemble the same patterning or have different patterning included. This species may thrive in the same conditions as is set out for GSP's and Ceylons.

That's not to say though that they cant thrive in other conditions which wouldnt normally be considered normal depending on size of the specimen. More research needs to be carried out.

We really do not know what this group of fish in fact or taxonoically or genetically are. T nigroviridis may well represent more than one species of very similar fish, and could well include T. fluviatilis and/or T. sabahensis as not-quite-so-similar species, subspecies or simply detectatbly different morphs.

We handle the two bigger fish species as marine in captivity, even though we know that they are not really (just as T.biocellatus is not rreally BW - whatever that is) because in captivity they handle well that way. Pragmatism, pure and simple, is enough.

T sabahensis has not been in the hobby, or recognized as being other-than-GSP for long enough, or publicized enough for me to have any real idea of what it needs.