African Parrot Puffer

[cjack]

So a year or two ago the store i work at we had this f.w. puffer that we got as a "African Parrot Puffer". This thing was insane, ive never seen anything move as much as this guy did. He (for sake of conversation its a he, sorry ladies) was about 8-10" long, tanish, and had a metabolism that no matter how much we fed him every day he couldnt gain weight, but instead just moved faster and faster. A few days earlier a customer brought in a ~12" oscar, which we put into our biggest tank, sadly its only a 125 (we're a small store). When we got the puffer we figured he and the Oscar would be great together being big and mean. But when we were gone that night the puffer took a huge bite out of the oscar, so we put the oscar into the pond across the aisle.

I guess the reason i started this thread is to ask: has anyone seen a puffer like this??? insane, skinny, tan, in a tank by itself, and dozens of broken clam shells at the bottom of its tank

 

[Stab]

Mbu? Fahaka? How large was the puffer? Was there any pattern on him?

 

[fugupuff]

probably tetradon lineatus, or fahaka puffer, google the name to match the picture.

the reason its not gaining weight is probably because it has internal parasits or disease., should consider treating it with prazipro, metronidazole (hexamite) etc...for 7-10 days., this should help. they're very aggressive, and probably shouldnt' be kept with any other fish, period

wes

 

[cjack]

can fahaka's be less brownish/black and more of a tan/grey color??

edit: the one at our store also didnt have as narrow of a snout, looking at the pics it almost looks like a cross between a fahaka and a mbu

 

[fugupuff]

colors can change and are variable. shape of the mouth depends on diet, and sometimes overgrown teeth or malnutrition would make it more pointy.

 

[jdiidy271]

dont know but watever it is it sounds cool

 

[groovitudedude]

Pics would help. Or go to the pufferpedia.

 

[cjack]

i wish i had pics, but over this past summer my boss was cleaning the tank and as usual the puffer was freaking out...and then it stopped. Our best guess is that it had a heart attack...no external signs, no tankmates, eating but skinny, healthy for months, it just stopped.