Dwarf Puffers
WWMC,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Hello I have two questions...
How Do you sex dwarf puffer? they both (2) just turned a yellow tint.
Are there any sicknesses or disease that make them change color? (like Yellow)
<Here's a link to a great website about dwarf puffers.  It is translated from Japanese. http://www.rr.iij4u.or.jp/~kohda/en/en-dwarfpuffer.htm After reading it, you have any more questions, just write me back.--Pufferpunk>

Puffer Fry 2/1/04
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Hi, my black spotted freshwater puffers egg hatched and I collected the babies in a nursery. Now I've had a bad out break of lice in the tank. Can I treat the tank for lice or do I have to remove thaw babies first? Thank you for your time. 
<Are you talking about dwarf puffers ( Tetraodon travancoricus)? Those are pretty much the only easy puffer to breed in captivity. What do the "lice" look like? Here's a great site on your puffers: http://www.dwarfpuffers.com I definitely would not put any meds in the tank with the fry. ~PP> Tim 

Puffer Breeding ??
Hello, Thanks for your Website and your fast replies to my questions. I've learned a heck of a lot. I have an adult arrowhead puffer and I want to breed him (or her) in the future. How would I go about doing that? First of all you can't sex puffers so would I have to keep buying them until they breed? They aren't cheap. Also, what size tank would you recommend? And is there anything specific I should know about the babies, or better yet, is there a good website that can tell me all this so you don't have to? Thanks a lot! Eric <Hey Eric, check out this site http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/thread.jsp?forum=91&thread=8676&msRange=15 this is a conversation with a person who has actually spawned this species.  Good Luck! Heather>

Dwarf Puffer Bullies 2/14/04
<Hi, Pufferpunk here.  I must start out by asking you to please use capital letters at the beginning of all your sentences.  These questions are posted on our website & I have to take the time to correct this, before we can send it.  This takes precious time away from my helping folks with their fish.  Also, it would be helpful if you added a subject title, so we can better sort out your questions to the best person to answer them.  Thank you!>
I have 3 dwarf puffers that are in a 10 gallon tank with lots of plants to hide in and a little cave. The bigger on has picked out one of the other ones to pick on and will not let it swim around in the tank. It has to stay still or it will go after it. Do you think i should take the bigger one out and put him by himself or just let them work this out?
<I am wondering if you might have 2 males in your tank that could be causing the problems?  Male dwarf puffers will fight.  The ratio in dwarf puffer tanks is best at 1 male to 3 females, or all females.  To ID the sexes, look on this site: http://www.rr.iij4u.or.jp/~kohda/en/en-dwarfpuffer.htm  If this does not look to be the problem, then maybe there is not enough decor in your tank.  All puffer tanks with more than 1 puffer need several broken lines of sight, to establish territories & cut down on aggression.  Even with good established territories, there is always a chance that you have a dwarf puffer that just doesn't play well with others.  In that case, try returning it for a different one.>
Thanks
<Good luck & enjoy your puffer friends! ~PP>

Sexing Green Spotted Puffers
how can i tell the difference between a male and female spotted green puffer (about 3 inches long each) and if i do happen to have one of each, how can i get them to mate?
thanks
Dennis
<Hello Dennis, from what I have heard the sexual differences are internal, and there is no way to tell from the outside.  there's a lot of information in articles and FAQ's on our WWM site on this topic... check out the following pages and links at the top: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwpufferfaqs.htm, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwpuffers.htm,
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwpufffaqs2.htm,
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tetraodontpuffers.htm
Best Regards, Gage>

Egg-heavy puffer? (07/24/03)
<Hi! Ananda here with the puffers this afternoon....>
Hi I have two figure eight puffer fish.  
<So do I. :) >
I was wondering if you could tell me about them laying eggs.  
<Very little is known about these species' reproductive cycles.>
One of my puffers got really fat overnight and it looks like she is gonna burst.  Would this be eggs or what.  
<I would suspect other things before eggs, which would be unlikely to develop overnight, I think. Did it perhaps overeat? Also, I've heard of at least one instance where a puffer had gas. Another possibility is that it's stressed and puffing up (unfortunately, I can't describe exactly how that looks on a figure eight, since I've never seen that species puff up). How long is the puffer?>
Can you send me pictures of a Pufferfish that is gonna lay eggs.  
<Alas, no...but a photo of your puffer would help.>
And what do I do to keep my other fish from eating the eggs?
<Probably remove either the other fish or the eggs from the tank. I'm not yet convinced that the puffer is egg-heavy...>
Please help me and e-mail me back.  Thank you so much
Brandon and Amanda
<You're welcome. --Ananda>

Pregnant puffer?
<Hi, Ananda here tonight...>
Hi, We've had two green spotted puffers in our tank for about a year now and about a week ago we noticed that one is looking quite pregnant.  
<Hmmm. How large is the puffer? As adults, they are at least 4" long.>
If it is indeed pregnant how do we keep the other fish in the tank from eating the eggs that will be laid or the fry eaten?   Joan
<Almost nothing is known about the breeding of these fish. I'm not certain that there are any records of them breeding in captivity. Please do get back to me with more details about the fish, tank, and water quality (every single thing you can measure) -- I fear the puffer may not be healthy, but if it is and you truly do have a pregnant puffer, the data will be valuable. --Ananda>

Figure Eight Puffer Fry
Hello again Mr. Fenner,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing to seek some
advice about one of my quarantine inhabitants. I want
you to know I have done all of the research I could
get my hands on, and have exhausted all of my
theories. I am getting somewhat desperate here.
<Let's jar your memory, give you a bit more to cogitate furiously with>
On October 24th I received a call from my LFS about a
nasty torn finned Figure Eight Puffer (Tetraodon
biocellatus) they needed help with. I have little
experience with fresh to brackish water fish, but was
happy to see what was the matter. I went down there
that day to see the puffer. The staff expressed to me
that they felt the puffer was pregnant. How they came
to that conclusion I do not know. :) I had no reason
to doubt their concern, so I told them I would take
her home and see what happens.
She was about 2 1/2 -3" in length and beyond the norm
for puffer chubbiness. It's fins were torn quite badly
(I am convinced it was shipped and bagged with others
of it's species) 
<Common, and common result>
but she ate well and adapted to my QT
tank without incident.
On November 2ed almost over night, her belly darkened
and had 2 distinct lumps. One below it's mouth and
1/4" below that, a much larger darker swell. I did all
of the research (asked on WWF and Ananda was quite
helpful)
<As I've seen>
I could, and honestly became convinced it
could not be a pregnancy. Bloat? Naww.. she swam around
like she owned the tank and ate like a mad fiend.
Five days ago I awoke to go start my morning tank
chores to find one very FAT mama puffer and 5 little
babies hiding behind a banana leaf plant. I put the
puff fry in my nursery tank and proceeded to freak out
at how large mama was. Calmed down some and guessed
she ate the rest of the family. :)
<...! Are you sure these are puffer babies? All tetraodontiform fishes are oviparous... not livebearers... Takes two to tango, with pelagic period...>
I have tried everything under the sun to get these
little fry to eat. I am down to 3 fry now. They are
about 1/2 the size of an eraser on a # 2 pencil. So
cute they will drive a person crazy. I have tried
newly hatch brine, and Mysis, slurry of all sorts of
ingredients, baby snails and SMALL pods from my
refugium are all that seem to sustain them. Now they
seem to have lost interest in that and are rather
lifeless. I think another puff fry is going to be lost
today because it is bottom dwelling and looking rather
sad. I add a low dose of vitamin supplements to their
water as well.
Water quality for the fry and mama are all good.
Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate 0, temp a balmy 80*, soft
water flow. 2 of the three do look somewhat active,
but how to stimulate their appetite is at this point
unknown to me.
Any suggestions are beyond welcome!
<Live baby brine shrimp... which you can hatch out... but for now which you can have your LFS strain out (with a fine mesh, usually white in color, net under their larger net...)
Now about mama. She is looking to have signs of bloat
now. She will not eat, hardly moves. I thought I would
give a Epsom salt treatment a try, but I have a
nagging suspicion that it was birth her fry. any
trauma related to it that is causing this reaction. Is
it at all possible for infection to accrue, as I have
seen with marine fish, after birth? 
<Yes>
I always hesitate
to give any kind of chemical treatment without a firm
belief in the cause of the illness. I am not sure
about the presumptions I am making. She was fine the
day of and the day after her birth. It sounds like an
infection setting in to me.
<Which hopefully can, will solve itself with time, good general care>
Again, if you have some thoughts as to what might be
at play here for both I am all ears. I hope I gave all
of the information needed. I have the fry and mamma's
plight well documented so if you need additional
information I would be glad to supply it.
Forgive me for the long post. Hope to hear back from
you soon. I wish I could repay you for your time and
effort.
Happy Holidays
Lenore
<No worries re notions of remuneration. My "pay" is manifold in your, others involvement in life, concerns even just here, let alone the obvious good exercised else... Don't consider that there is much more to do than you have mentioned... if/when the young are a bit larger do try a glass dish on the bottom with some Tubifex/tubificid worms... Be chatting. Bob Fenner>

Re: Figure Eight Puffer Fry
Mr. Fenner,
Okay, I thought I was freaking out before, now I
think it can be called going crazy. Not puffer
babies?? ::insert hysterical laugh:: What the heck
could be going on that I could misinterpret this. I am
99.9% sure that the puffer in my QT is in fact a
figure eight. The babies are small, but I swear to you
on all that is holy that they look to be a miniature
of the puffer.
<Amazing... strange>
Good grief, not live bearers. That's great. ;) Okay,
now that I am thinking that my .1% might be a big
factor here. Could you suggest a possible other fish
(similar in appearance to the figure eight?) that I
would mistake as a puffer?
<More likely... that whatever young they are were transferred in the bag, introduced into the system in some other way... these do look like very small versions of the "parent" I trust>
I will try the baby brine once again and cross my
fingers that they will take to it.
Thank you for your obviously much needed help. :)
Lenore
<A pleasure, yet mystery for sure. Bob Fenner>

Green/gold puffer
Robert, 
first off, a very informative sight.
<Where? Oh, you mean site...>
Next, a question which no one at the pet store could answer.
I bought a freshwater green/gold puffer. All was well until she (I am assuming it is a she) got sluggish. A couple of days, she was hanging on, not doing too well. However, I noticed a small bubble egg-sack with eggs inside. It was laid on the slant of a rock.
My questions are : does this sound like an egg-sack?
<Maybe, but not of a puffer>
also, does this breed lay pre-fertilized eggs? 
<No, egg scatterers, no parental care... eggs float about in the epipelagic environment...>
or does the male come 
and fertilize after? 
<They spawn (release their gametes/sex cells) into the environment after a bit of "courting-dance">
it seems that throughout the past days, the eggs are getting more white (or yolkie?)
<Likely "fungussing"... if these are eggs (from somewhere), they are "going bad", decomposers consuming them>
for now, I have removed the dead puffer and all other fish to see what happens. I have a real small tank (under 5) and want to see if they will hatch (or if they are even fertilized)
Also, how long approximately does it take from lay to hatch?
I appreciate your expertise, Glenn
<Do you have any snails in this system? Other sorts of life? Bob Fenner

Re: green/gold puffer
Robert
thank you for the response.
here is the thing...there were only two other animals in the tank. One a guppy which the sack is bigger than, and a snail smaller than half a pinky-nail....Leading me to believe that it was the puffers work.
These are the only three to have ever inhabited the tank. Now, the sack is in there alone. Any ideas?
<Hmm, think this may be that small snail, or perhaps others hiding in your substrate... Next most likely possibility, an insect (from outside the tank) using your system to reproduce... next category? Algae of different sorts that look "egg sack like"... Have you got an inexpensive microscope (up to fifty power?) or friends in a bio. lab with same? Perhaps a closer look would be revealing. Bob Fenner>

Re: green/gold puffer
I've got a microscope...ill take a look. thanks for your help.
<Ah, and likely a doctorate in invertebrate zoology! Make it known if I may be of assistance my friend. Bob Fenner>