General puffer question

[MidWestMike]

Those puffers that are staple pet shop fish, the green ones with black spots, unsure of their name. As long as I've been in the hobby I've seen em kept in fresh water, and told that they need to be acclimated over to brackish water. Recently the woman who runs my lfs, who has proven herself to be very knowledgable in the past, told me they can live full healthy lives in freshwater. I've always wanted one but didn't want the hassle of regulating salt levels, or the staleness of a species only tank. So can they really be kept in freshwater perminantly, and if so what kind of tank mates could the have?


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[Fat Homer]

^ The puffer in question is most likely a GSP Green Spotted Puffer, which actually prefers to be in High end brackish - Marine conditions when they grow to adult size...

The other common puffer with those colors is the F8 puffer, which prefers very light brackish water, almost fresh...

So if you're talking about a GSP, no it definitely will not last in a freshwater environment long term... you may if you are extremely lucky get 6 months out of them if that...

As for the F8's, they may last a little longer in Fresh, but still not advisable... if you really want a puffer, and don't want to go brackish / marine, there are plenty of options out there for freshwater puffer species, so i wouldn't limit myself to what i see commonly in stores...

 

[giant19000]

^ The puffer in question is most likely a GSP Green Spotted Puffer, which actually prefers to be in High end brackish - Marine conditions when they grow to adult size...

The other common puffer with those colors is the F8 puffer, which prefers very light brackish water, almost fresh...

So if you're talking about a GSP, no it definitely will not last in a freshwater environment long term... you may if you are extremely lucky get 6 months out of them if that...

As for the F8's, they may last a little longer in Fresh, but still not advisable... if you really want a puffer, and don't want to go brackish / marine, there are plenty of options out there for freshwater puffer species, so i wouldn't limit myself to what i see commonly in stores...

+1
Theres plenty of fw puffers im waiting after mothers day to get my baby congo puffer for the 40g all to it self,theres red eye(both dwarf red eye and the one with the red dot on its tail,pea puffers,avocado,hairy,arrow head,and plenty more to choose from


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[Pufferpunk]

Recently the woman who runs my lfs, who has proven herself to be very knowledgable in the past, told me they can live full healthy lives in freshwater.

Ask her if she's kept one in FW, living to their late teens, grown to 6". I bet not... That's the longevity of one kept in high-end BW to SW conditions.

 

[purplecandle]

Here is the deal...and why people think the are fw. In my opinion!

As juveniles they live in rivers/creeks, where the water is fresh. This is also where the are caught (hence you rarely see an adult green spot for sale) Since they are caught in fw, people assume they are fw.

However, they don't stay there. As they age they move towards the end on the river.

These rivers lead to the ocean...So the green spot starts out in fresh then moves to brackish then on to marine.

They must end up in marine conditions by sexual maturity because their sperm is only viable in marine conditions.

They spend their life going up and down rivers from fw to bw to sw, but as adults they are more so found in high bw to sw.

They can tolerate salinity changes, however, as adults especially they need high brackish to marine.

 

[Master of Puffers]

Kinda like salmon..only not as tasty...