i got a puffer fish today and now i have some Q's....?

Question

I went to the pet store where i got my other fish from and i saw a puffe fish there and i really wanted him....so i baught him lol!!
i asked the guy at the pet store if the puffer would be ok with my tetras {i think that's their name(fresh water)} and he said yes, but i'm just double checking....
1} will the fish be ok tpgether?
2} do i need to get special food for the puffer or something?
3} what makes them puff and are they ok afterwords?
4} will the poison they have in them really kill my other fish?
5} does he release his poison when he puffs?
6} can you touch them?
7} any other general info you can give me about puffer care or info in general will be great, thanks!!! ♥katie!


the puffer kinda looks like this,, black spots all over w/ a yellow head { http://static.flickr.com/22/37051787_c88eade6a6.jpg }

these are his tank mates... { http://badmanstropicalfish.com/gallery/characins/painted_tetras_sm.jpg }

BTW, no, these are not the actually pics of my fish...they were just the closest match i could find on a google image search.

Answer 1

I love those lil guys too... they are my favorite fish. Lets start with identifying your lil guy... Since you have tetras I am assuming you have a fresh to brackish tank... and by the picture I am going to assume that you have figure 8 puffers.
1) I was thinking you had neon tetras until I saw the pics you put up--- those neons should be fine... they might get nipped a lil as figure 8's are tail nippers. But they should be ok.
2) Puffers can eat the flake you put in but should really have some krill and maybe frozen brine shrimp in their diet as well.(Stay away from frozen daphnia... these are water fleas and can cause an infestation in your tank.. especially the frozen kind)
3)They puff out of defense. They won't puff unless they are frightened or are on the verge of death. And once they puff, they almost always die. These aren't blow fish or barbed puffers... these only puff when they feel threatened and then they will pass away.
4)Your other fish would probably not eat it... maybe nip at it if it died but wouldn't devour it so the fear of the other fish in the tank getting the poison out of the glands is pretty slim to none. If it were to die just remove it immediatley and it will be fine. These puffers won't emit their poison into the water upon death... the poison is in the spines that come out of its body when it puffs.
5) It moreso injects poison from its barbs when it puffs... but it isn't like a sea cucumber or urchin who emits poison into the tank when it dies. If it dies your other fish should be fine.
6)You don't want to make a habit of touching any of your fish. I usually use my hand to transport my fish instead of nets but only if it is a must, for example if the fish will get hurt in the net like plecos or larger fish who are strong and can hurt themselves in a net. Your skin has soaps and oils on it that can injure them. I did pick my puffers up once as our power went out one night and when I woke up everything was floating at the top of the tank.. you could still see them twitch every so often so they were still alive, but with the puffers I could tell they had air in their bellies because of how they were floating. I gently picked each up one at a time and rubbed from tail to chin up their belly and essentially burped them and they were fine. The other fish in the tank were not as they had hard bellies and you could not do that to them. The puffers are still alive and kicking today!
7) They are fairly hardy. They are really fun to watch and they are very personable. They will jump about an inch out of the tank to get krill out of your fingers, lol. They are meat eaters and they nip. Their tails are hardly ever in tact even in the stores as they tend to nip eachother a lot. On that same note they will eat your tetras so be careful. We had ours in with Archers, which are super cool as well but a lil more sensitive to water issues and air bubbles(that is the other fishes that died when we lost power). Basic rule of thumb, lol, if they can get their lil teeth around it they will eat it. They do seem to do better in a group... so if you have room in your tank try to do a couple more... the figure eights dont get very big. They love the bubble stones.. and lil formations to hide in.
I can't think of anything else off hand. They are by far the most fun fish we have ever had. And they are too darn cute for words, lol.
I hope this helped!! Good Luck and Have fun!!!

Answer 2

1) No. Puffers are teritorial and aggressive - your puffer will probably nip the fins of the other fish. They really should have a tank of their own.

2) Yes. They have a bony tooth that they need to keep filed down, otherwise they become unable to feed and die. You'll need to get (or raise) small snails, or give shrimp withthe shells on as a part of his diet.

3) They puff as a way of protecting themselves from being eaten. They only do this is a last resort, and they may die afterwards from the stress.

4) Maybe. They don't produce the poison themselves, but injest bacteria as a part of their diet in the wild, and it's the bacteria that make the poison. Unless you know for certain that it's captive bred, or has been in captivity for a long time, it may have the poison.

5) Only if they're bitten/eaten. The poison is in their skin (smaller amount) and internal organs (larger amount).

6) Not recommended. This can stress them, and you can end up with a nasty bite.

7) There are several puffers that are yellow with black dots. I'm thinking yours might be a dwarf puffer (only gets around 1.5 inches): http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/freshpuff.php?puffid=3, http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/

You should be sure that this is the correct puffer, though. While the info I gave above about feeding and having their own tank is true of all puffers, there are some species that need to have salt in their water (the dwarf isn't one of these), so make sure you're giving yours the care it needs. All puffers are very sensitive to poor water quality, so make sure you're doing 25% water changes every week and not overfeeding the fish.

Answer 3

1. The Puffers will eat any fish you put them with (for their tiny size, they are extremely aggressive), so no Tetras.
2. Most Puffers will not take flake food. Feed them little snails, blood worms, and other small live foods (no feeder fish).
3. They puff up with air or water. It is a defense mechanism so they can't be swallowed, and they also look more intimidating.
4. Their poison is not lethal to other fish, pretty much only humans are affected by it. The poison is only dangerous if ingested (if you eat it).
5. No poison is released when it puffs.
6. You can touch them, but I don't think it will let you if you reach into the tank.
7. They need hard foods, like snail shells, to wear down their beaks. If their beaks are not worn down, they will just keep growing until the fish can no longer fit food into its mouth.

By the way, it looks like you have painted fish (your Tetras). This means when they are young, the breeder removes them from the water and injects them with dye. Only about half the fish survive. This is very cruel and I encourage you not to support this. Please don't buy any more painted fish!

Nosoop4u

Answer 4

Dwarf Puffers are very interesting, intelligent and active fish. They learn to recognize their owner and will come to the glass to see what you're up to whenever you're in the room. They also will beg for food (they even learn what the container looks like) or follow your finger around the glass. If you put your hand in the tank, they will have to be right by it at all times. It's as if they have to know exactly what you're doing! You also have to be careful when siphoning water from the tank, because their curiosity will sometimes lead them a little too close to the siphon tube! I've sucked one up a time or two and had to rescue them from the bucket! These little guys have tons of personality and are by far one of the most fun fish to own :) Dwarf puffers can be easy to feed as well as difficult. Some of them are still collected from the wild (though most aren't), so getting them to accept prepared foods can be a chore. Others, however, will eat just about anything you put in front of them. The best way is to try various foods and see what works. Please note that it is common for them to not want to eat for the first few days you have them in your tank. They will eventually come out of their shyness and begin to eat, though. blood Bloodworms (midge fly larva - probably 90% of Dwarf Puffer owners use these as the main meal for their pets), Brine Shrimp, Mysis Shrimp, Daphnia, Tubifex Worms, Glass Worms (mosquito larva), and Krill. Remember that when feeding frozen food to your puffers, you should always thaw it before putting it into the tank. A great way to do this is to put the food, along with some water from the tank, in a small cup or shot glass. Then you can pour the food into the tank when it's thawed. Also, pouring the food through a brine shrimp net or other fine-meshed net will remove a lot of the extra "junk", causing less unnecessary pollution in the tank. Some people use fake, plastic plants and decorations. Some people use some fake decorations and some real decorations. Still, there are others who will only use live plants and real decorations. This is really up to the hobbyist since the puffers don't care either way. The one thing that is very important with a Dwarf Puffer tank is that no matter what kind of plants you use, you want to use a LOT of them!

Dwarf Puffers need places to establish territories and will do best in heavily planted tanks. The plants also break their lines of sight and will cut down on their aggression towards one another. The other purpose that the plants serve is to add complexity to their environment. In a more interesting habitat, the puffers' curious and explorative nature can really be seen. They won't spend so much time swimming up and down the glass out of boredom.

Answer 5

Is that picture yours? if not and it is yellow head with black spots it is most likely a Green Spotted Puffer and it needs brackish water as it grows up. If you cant provide him with that return him. He will not live a full healthy life and will die.

here are some tips in general for all puffers-

Don't touch it, touching it will cause it to "puff" and when it puffs its really bad. When transferring don't use a net because if he puffs air you will have to remove the air or he will die. Instead use a little canister with water and transfer it all.

Puffers are better in species tank, most likely your puffer will rip apart your tetras.

Poison is on their inside organ (forgot which one) and will not be poisonous except if consumed.

I saw your pictures of your fish, and he will definitely bite at their fins and most likely if he gets aggressive enough start inflicting some damage, do research before you buy next time.

DON'T MAKE HIM PUFF, ITS BAD AND IT HAPPENS BECAUSE HIS STRESSED

Answer 6

A lot of retail outlets will let you know that inexperienced noticed puffers are freshwater, however that's now not real. Bettas want contemporary water with a low pH, while g.s. puffers want brackish water with a prime pH. If the puffer does not consume the betta (which it surely will) it is going to undoubtedly consume its lengthy fins. Bettas are peaceable, gradual-relocating fish, and puffers are competitive and boisterous. They are wholly and totally now not suitable for the equal aquarium.

Answer 7

Looks like a Green Spot Puffer, take it back and go get an Amazon Puffer. The Amazon Puffer is freshwater and generally peaceful and thus suitable for community tanks.

Answer 8

WHOA!!! Stop!!!

Rule #1- Puffies are SALT WATER fishies!!!

1) If the tetras are freshwater, NO.
2) Nope. Pellets work for me and mrs. Puff. (Yeah. My puffer's name is mrs. Puff. My sis named her. Don't ask.)
3) Puffies blow up when provoked. They'll be OK afterwards. Don't worry.
4) If they touch your puffy when it's all bloated, yes.
5) He releases poison when these conditions are met:
a) He's all puffed up
b) He's agitated and stressed
c) Fish touch him while puffed. (it's a contact poison)
6) NO. Although you won't die from a SMALL prick, you WILL get awfully sick.
7) Get a salt water tank. That's my best advice for your puffie.

Answer 9

Here are some great links about green spotted puffers (that's the name of your fish or could be also a green puffer)

http://users.tns.net/~tazzy/spotted_puffer.htm
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/puf-nigr.htm
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070510201709AAjUlxo
http://www.whozoo.org/Intro2001/munjungs/MJS_GreenPuffer.htm (this pic comes actually closer to the one you have on)


Hope that helps, and maybe you can get in touch with the person from the 3rd link

Good luck



EB

another site I found
http://puffernet.tripod.com/confusion.html

Answer 10

puffers are fin nippers so they will try to bite fins sometimes..
they need frozen brine shrimp or blood worms or a diet of small snails.. they generally cant survive on flake food
fresh water ones generally dont puff and please dont try to make him it will stress him out
they wont kill the others with poison
because im pretty sure they dont release any
dont touch him.. it will mess up his slime coat that protects him from disease