Toby puffer identification  9/25/05
Hello Bob,
<Emily>
I was on your site and read your notes on the difference between the Toby and the filefish.  I can't
really tell from the pictures which is a puffer and which is not.  I have recently bought a Toby puffer(
valentini I think) and just wanted to verify that I got a puffer instead of a filefish.  Can you give me
more prominent signs to look for in order to tell a puffer from a file fish?
<Mmm, the very best is their dorsal fins... though not often erected, will likely be when excited (like when feeding). The Filefish has a prominent anterior spine (first dorsal ray), whereas the puffer has all-about the same appearing rays>
  My fish doesn't seem to have the obvious blue lines running from the head to tail
but there is a hidden blue/green color at the back if seen at a special angle.
<Mmm, the color difference/s are not consistent, nor telling>
Appreciate if you could help me identify my fish.
Thanks,
Emily
<Look on fishbase.org, the Net... at both species... and their dorsals. Bob Fenner>

False eye puffer
I read on the wet web about puffers but I didn't see information on this
one. I have a 46gal. aquarium with two
Percula clowns and a yellow tang so far. would it be okay to have the
false eye puffer. I read about him on another
site and it looks like it would be. I looked under compatibility but it
just says puffers not specific one. Thanks,
<This is a new common name (for me...). If a Toby/Sharpnose Puffer (subfamily Canthigastrinae) might be nippy toward your Clowns... Other species get real big... so do try to find which species this is... maybe take a long look on www.fishbase.org under the puffer family names Tetraodontidae, Diodontidae. Good luck. Bob Fenner>

Some Puffer Questions . . .
Dear Mr. Fenner,
I wrote to you a few days ago about "False Eye" puffers. After closer examination of Fishbase.org (great site, by the way, thank you for the link), I am sure that my puffer is a Canthigaster solandri. 
<Ah, good>
If you don't mind, can you tell me if this species has ever bred in captivity? 
<Not as far as I'm aware>
What is the normal lifespan of a sharp-nosed puffer? 
<A few to several years, depending on care>
Do they do better in pairs or as single specimens? 
<Almost always singly... though often found in pairs in the wild. Please see my "Puffer" group coverage on our website: www.WetWebMedia.com for pix and more information on Tobies... including the FAQs there... and the lead to other articles.>
What would be the minimum tank size you would recommend for a pair? 
<Sixty gallons>
I am sorry I have so many questions, but I can't seem to find anyone that seems to have any experience with this species. Also, you wouldn't happen to know any importers that sometimes get C. pygmaeus, would you?
<A very nice fish... only see it occasionally... You could put in a special request... with the specialty e-tailers of such livestock... like Marine Center... link on the WWM site>
Thank you so much for your help, Stella
<You're welcome. Bob Fenner>

Comment on recent FAQ (False Eye Puffer, Toby)
Recently, someone e-mailed you asking about a "False eye puffer" and you said you weren't familiar with that common name. There are three species sold as the "False eye puffer": C. solandri, C. janthinoptera, and C. margaritatus. I can't tell the difference between solandri and margaritatus; do you know if they are the same thing?
<Ahh, thank you for this. These are all distinct species... You can see them on the www.WetWebMedia.com site as well as www.fishbase.org (under their genus Canthigaster, or the Family Tetraodontidae listing... You will also find a huge offering of common names on Fish Base, but on entering the "False Eye Puffer" I got "no response"...>
I currently have a 3.5" specimen that is one of the above. He is getting along fine with two clowns, an algae blenny, and a 1" valentini puffer.
<Ahh, good. The Tobies, aka Sharpnose Puffers are amongst my favorite fishes... nippy to a fault at times, places, but hardy, intelligent, even comical animals for our interest. Bob Fenner>

Sharpnose puffer
Dear WetWebMedia Crew,
<Hi! Ananda here answering the puffer question....>
I recently started a marine tank (due mainly to my affection for clownfish),
<Wonderful little fish>
and it has been going very well, but one unexpected result of this venture has been that a couple of my friends have decided that they, too, wish to join the ranks of the marine aquarists.  
<It's a contagious hobby!>
They showed me their tank a little while ago, and although they are very well-meaning, they
didn't realize they should take the time to do some research before going out and purchasing a whole lot of fish.  
<Whoops!>
In a 50 gallon fish-only tank (meaning no live rock, although there is plenty of cover in the
form of lace rock)
<Which may eventually become live, should they add some live rock to the tank -- definitely a recommended course of action. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that the lace rock is free from undesirable minerals.>
they now have three damsels (a domino, a blue one with a yellow tail, and a tiny 1" yellow guy with ~3 horizontal dark stripes--forgive my not knowing their names!),
<Scott Michael has a wonderful book called "Marine Fishes: 500 Essential-to-Know Aquarium Species" -- I've heard it called "the picture book" in more than one fish store!>
a nasty magenta Dottyback (who is sullen but not savage, according to my friends), an unidentified little brown goby and a Sharpnose puffer.  The puffer is what I am curious about.  He was only purchased a few days ago, and apparently sold only under the label of "Sharpnose
puffer," so I don't even know what kind he is.  I looked through some of your pictures, and I think perhaps he's a C. smithae, but that's only a guess.
<Could be Canthigaster rostrata...another place to look is http://www.fishbase.org>
He is a very charming fellow, but neither my friends nor I know anything about puffers, and they're rather at a loss as to what needs he might have.  I'm now doing the research,
<Lots of good stuff in the puffer sections here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/puffers.htm>
since I'm the one "responsible" for their rather chaotic tank (the inspiration of it, so to speak), and although I think I have a pretty good idea now of the dietary needs of this puffer, he has a habit which worries me.  He doesn't appear to have any infection or abnormal growths, but at night when he "sleeps," he hangs vertically (nose-up) at the very top of one of the corners of the tank.  I have never seen a fish do that before.
<I have heard of it happening with trigger fish, but never a puffer...>
During the day he swims along (I guess normally), hovering horizontally at low- to mid-depth in the tank, but at night he always sticks himself up into the corner.  Whenever I see it, I think he's died.  I'm afraid he may have gotten some air stuck into him when he was transported, since I wasn't there to see him netted and the clerks at our pet stores, though well-meaning, have generally very minimal knowledge about what they're doing.  (I live in Madison, Wisconsin--not an ideal location for this hobby.)  
<I've driven through Madison many times...haven't stopped to check out the fish stores, though.>
My friends say that when the puffer was bagged for them, the clerk simply netted the poor fish and lifted him up OUT of the water, before dumping him into his little plastic baggy.
<Ugh. Not the way it should be done, but my brackish puffers all survived that.>  
Is there anything we can do for this poor fish if he DOES have air stuck in him?  
<Yes. Wear aquatic gloves and very carefully catch the puffer. Then gently hold him nose up and tail down and stroke his belly upwards. More on this in the puffer FAQs, linked here >
Or do you think perhaps he just has some strange preference for the top of the tank (I rather doubt it, but...)?  And is there any hope at all for him with his current tankmates,
<Should be fine -- the Sharpnose puffer, whichever species he is, shouldn't get much more than 4" long>
or should I just beg my friends to let me take him back to the store
<Not necessary>
(not a solution I care for, but they can't afford another tank, and I have doubts as to whether my false Percs and royal Gramma would welcome the addition of a puffer to their tank)?  I'm sorry this email has been so long,
<I've seen longer, so no problem>
but I thought I should give you a clear picture of the situation.  
<Which makes questions much easier to answer!>
I hope you can shed some light on this for me, because I really feel useless to this little puffer at this point.  I don't like to be the kind of aquarist whom I so often see railed against in your FAQs.
<I hope I don't come across that way...perhaps some of the ones you refer to are more of a "railing for the fish" than "railing against the fish-keeper"?>
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Mackie
<Best of luck with your fish... --Ananda>

Help Pick a Puffer
Hello Ananda, once again, thank you for responding back to my email,
<Hi! That's what I'm here for... >
these were some of the choices I have considered,
<okay>
Blue Dot Puffer (Canthigaster epilampra) 5"
Saddle Puffer (Canthigaster sp.) 5"
Valentini Puffer (Canthigaster valentini) 5"
SW Spotted Puffer (Canthigaster sp.) 5"
<Hmmm. Sounds like the Canthigaster choices available at http://www.liveaquaria.com, one of the WetWebMedia sponsors. ;-) Cool. Between these species, I suspect it's more a matter of personal preference for color, etc. than anything else.>
The SW spotted puffer the one above, my LFS sells just the SW spotted puffer it doesn't say what type but the said it will get 5" max, would you by any chance happen to know which puffer that would be?
<Well, going from the LiveAquaria site, it has this fish being from Hawai'i. So I went to http://www.fishbase.org and typed in Canthigaster for a genus search. That gets me to their list of all the species in the genus. One of them has "Hawaiian Whitespotted Toby" as a common name. Checking that one out, the photos on the two sites appear to be a match...until you look at the color of the fins and tail. Looking at the "spotted Sharpnose", the body of the fish is again similar -- but this one has an orangey tail. Fishbase lists 28 species of Canthigaster...>
And is there any problems with the puffers I have listed with considering tank size and other fish in the tank?
<It's possible they could all get along...er, any one of those puffs would get along with your other fish, that is! I think your stocking list (zebra moray, copperband butterfly, yellow tang, right?) is okay, and the 75 is big enough for the Canthigaster...though the butterfly and tang would probably prefer larger quarters.>
Last question you said the sea clone 100 would be inadequate for a tank that size with  the puffers, what protein skimmers should I look into and would there be any point in adding another sea clone 100 to the tank to go along with the other one?
<I'd avoid another SeaClone...keep the current one for your quarantine tank. For assorted opinions on skimmers for this tank, hit the Daily FAQ page, scroll to the bottom, and type the following in the search box, including the quotes:
"protein skimmer" "100 gallons" "skimmer selection"
and that will give you a list of pages... then do a "find in page" for 100 and you should find relevant posts.>
And when getting a protein skimmer does it need to be right now before I get the puffer or can it wait for down the road?
<I'd get the skimmer first... so you can use the SeaClone on the quarantine tank while you have the new skimmer on the display tank. Your puffer will definitely appreciate having a skimmer on his QT!>
Ahhhhh....I'm so sorry for asking sooo many questions, I know I said 1 more question, I lied sorry, there is just too many things that I am confused about,
<We love to get questions when people are in the planning stages! It's so much less stressful on you and your fish when you can plan stuff out and iron out the wrinkles ahead of time. :-) And don't feel bad -- we have all gone through the confused stage, often more than once!>
Thanks sooooo much! Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks, Jerry
<You're quite welcome! Do check out the WetWeb chat forums at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk too! --Ananda>

Jactator With Blue Spots
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tobies.htm
At this link there is a picture at the top that says a pair of Canthigaster
jactators. They look dark with blue spots.
What would the LFS know them as to order them, and are they different colors
than the blue spots?
<Mmm, I made that pic... in Hawai'i... and I suspect that it may look more blue than the animals would appear in a lighted aquarium... Put another way, the nature of film, flash/strobes underwater... might have a great deal to do with the spots looking blue rather than white>
I like the colors of the 2 pictured but it seems to be
about the only pic I can find like them. Most of the rest are white spotted.
I also have a question about the fish I have and would like to have in my 90
Gallon. 6" DSB, Skimmer, sump, lots of flow, 2 21" 65W 50/50 PC Fluorescents
10K. bout 100 LBS of Live rock.  Its been going for about 6 months. After it
cycled I've added 1 fish each month.. So now I have 1 Yellow tang about
2.5" (He's really grown a lot since I got him!) , 2 clowns about 1.5"(One has
slowly gotten a little larger than the other) , and an Orchid Dottyback
about 2".
All fish eat well and seem very healthy. I feed Formula frozen and dried
algae and frozen shrimp every so often.  The Dottyback was the last one
added and he's been in for 2.5 weeks now. I change about 5 Gallons 2X a week.
If I can find this Sharpnose puffer I'd like to make him my last
addition.... Before Him I was thinking of added maybe 3 Banggai cardinals
and then 3 or 5 Chromis.
In your opinion will this be a good stocking level for a 90? or do you think
I need to choose between the Chromis and Cardinals. ?
<I would likely just have one Banggai... but the rest should be fine. Bob Fenner>
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Bill.