Puffer Fish

[salman]

Puffer fish were my dream fish up until i found them today in my LFS. I have been to most fish stores near me and none of them had any puffer fish. Today, i saw some Green Puffer Fish. I got so excited when i saw them, then i looked at them for a minute. I don't know if they were poor quality Puffer fish or they are naturally like like. They had some trouble swimming, its like they were a floating ball in the tank. And i thought puffer fish puff. You know like a big air balloon. Can someone please give me some information about them?

[kimmers318]

"green puffer fish" could be a common name for a couple of different ones, green spotted puffer or modestus I have even heard called that, so you really need to figure out which one it might have been. Here are profiles for the above 2 mentioned.
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If you browse around in that forum you will find profiles for a lot of species.

As for the puffer looking poorly in the store, many reasons for that.....could be they have them in the wrong water, they are stressed from transport, or just general poor health. Occasionally you will find someone get ahold of a poorly looking puffer and with lots of TLC will be able to bring it around, but as most puffers are still wild caught imports, alot of the time they just don't do well. A healthy puffer is going to have nice markings, coloring and a white belly, black bellies indicate stress/illness. Floating around the tank is probably not them puffing, they are most likely bloated or sick. Of course different species look different, my modestus really looks like a balloon after eating, whereas my dwarf puffers look like pot bellied pigs.

Figure out which puffer they have, most common in LFS is the Green spotted or figure 8's, both need brackish water, with the GSP needing full marine as an adult. Once you figure out what there needs are, you may find that they don't look so bad considering they are not being handled properly at the LFS.

[salman]

Its the Tetraodon nigroviridis (Green Spooted Puffer) In the store they had them in fresh water. Maybe thats why they looks sick.