The Puffer Forum

Is this actually a blue porcupine puffer? I've never seen anything like this before, have any of you? If it is real, I want one!
Here's the link, just scroll through the pics until you see it http://www.absolutelyfish.com/photos/marine/puffers/

I'm not up o my regional variants of porc puffers but if there isn't a naturally blue variant then it has been dyed blue.

If it is a natural variant its very nice.

Well, I actually didn't think of that, but that may be the case. But also, a naturally blue porc would be amazing.

wow there are some lovely fish there, I like the blue boxfish too

Yeah, I noticed that nearly all of the fish were healthy and well fed

Actually this might not be dyed. Julian Sprung has related to me that he had seen a wide variety of colors in juvenile porcupine puffers. Now if this was an adult that color - I might be suspicious as most brightly colored juveniles do lose their colors as they mature.

His colors look very nice and even not like most dyed fish. That's awesome.

Looks dyed to me (& depressed too).

Juvenile Diodon hystrix are very often dorsally blue. Just like the one shown. Totally normal IME.

If thats a true juvenile colour it rocks!

Well, if it turns out that it isn't dyed, I really want one!

Deep Freeze wrote:Well, if it turns out that it isn't dyed, I really want one!

Sure, why not. Only 2.5-3 foot lenght when adult.

No need to get edgy, I just thought that it was a blue diodon holocanthus.

Another blue species is Diodon eydouxii. This one stays "small" (one foot) but is pelagic (living in the open sea instead of reefs), schooling and therefore not suited for usual home aquaria and unlikely to appear in trade. No pix in the net of this species I fear. You'd need fin ray counts, spine counts etc to tell young apart from young D. hystrix.

I always thought these were dyed- very interesting. It still looks pretty unhappy in that photo.