GSPReproFAQs

FAQs about Green Spotted Puffer Reproduction

Green spotted puffer; repro. 01/31/2008 Hello, <Hi Jessica.> I have had suspicion the my GSP was pregnant when I brought it home from the store. <Not very probable, but possible.> It is a lot rounder then my other two it has gotten quite large over the last two weeks now she it is laying in the sand with it's tail kind of wrapped around it's side like. I don't know how to quite explain it. <Mine do that whenever they have eaten too much, no typical breeding behaviour in my opinion.> It will lay on the sand like that for a bit then go back and join the other two for a while the go back to the same spot and lay in the sand again. I have not seen this behavior from any of my puffers until today. From what I have read there is no way to determine sex of the GSP <There is some speculation that the females are larger and rounder, and the males more angular, but that is more speculation than proven fact.> and that they are difficult to breed. <No real breeding report at all, only some statements without any definite proof.> I am not looking to breed or raise them. I am just wondering what their behavior is before they lay the eggs... <Unknown, most puffers do some kind of mating dance prior to spawning and during the fertilization of the eggs.> will it guard them or will a male that I may have guard it. <Often male puffers guard the eggs, while other puffer species just scatter the eggs and dont care at all.> or will they just eat them. <Eggs can be consumed by the parents or other fishes.> I am working my tank up to full marine as my pet store said that the GSP can handle salinity up to 1.020 and will soon be adding my yellow tail damsels as well. <Might work well or might be attacked, be careful.> what should I do if it is laying eggs? all levels are at 0 and PH is at 8.4 temp 80 salinity 1.015. <Document everything with texts and photographs: parents, eggs, water parameters you already measured. Remove half of the eggs to a small established tank with an air driven sponge filter and wait. If fry are produced in either tank remove them to the smaller tank and feed them with freshly hatched Artemia. Even if the fish wont sell at high prices you could compose an article and send it to aquarium magazines and WWM. Not only would you make some money with that, youd also help many other puffer keepers, who want to breed, to mimic the situation in your tank.> thank you, Jessica. <Good luck. Marco.>

Green Spotted Puffer <ID, sexing, gen.>, clown, snails... 30 gal... 5k US $?!!!..... 11/18/2007 I've written in the past regarding GSP's sexing and breeding. I was the one who mentioned the girl at the local pet store who said she'd visually sexed and then bred GSP's. Jeni told me that she was sure she (girl at store) was mistaken and she must be talking about dwarf puffers. I went back to the store for clarity, and she assured me that it was not dwarves, but GSP's. Anyway, it's neither here nor there to my current situation (just wanted to post an update). <I do absolutely agree with Jeni here. You (or the LFS person) described a dark line at belly of the males. Such lines are a keel, which some puffer species (genus Carinotetraodon) have. It can be erected e.g. during courtship. GSP do not have this keel (many have been dissected). Therefore, if this person bred puffers that had black belly lines, they were of the genus Carinotetraodon and no GSP. Does not mean they were Dwarf Puffers, other Carinotetraodon spp. have been bred, too. I do not say it is impossible to breed GSP, but some details of this specific story (black line, size of the fish) make it sound unlikely GSP were bred here.> I know this will be quite lengthy, but I'm hoping to convey to you my interest and efforts and the out-n-out headaches I've experienced. I also hope that others MAY learn from my mistakes. All of this was a HUGE learning experience for me. I'm growing and learning and really TRYING to do the right things. <Sounds good so far.> Okay, about a year ago, I bought the cutest little fish I'd ever seen. This was before researching (have I learned a LOT in the last year). My GSP was put in a freshwater community tank. I eventually moved him out and put him into a 30 gallon tank of his own and stared raising the SG with Instant Ocean. I used SeaFlor shell substrate (looks like a bunch of small coral chunks and hermit shells), lots of plastic plants and reef "bone" to build tunnels. Once the SG hit 1.018, I went to a pet store and struck up a conversation with an employee there. Even though I was researching like mad, I didn't feel prepared or knowledgeable enough to make the conversion to full marine on my own. I knew basically nothing and I trusted this guy. I paid him to come to my house, remove the substrate and replace it with live sand (Fiji pink), he also brought lots of live rock and some Tonga branch. He constructed a beautifully scaped setup that is quite unique. I was convinced to upgrade EVERYTHING mechanical for my tank (basic Eclipse setup that was eventually "gutted" in order to incorporate a Fluval 405 and a Red Sea skimmer while maintaining the look of the Eclipse hood). So, now I had this "condo on the beach" for Pete (the puffer) and Pete had his own personal trainer, lol (the tank man). All went well with the conversion, so I hired this guy to come weekly for water changes. He continually brought things for my tank that I didn't ask for, never expressed a desire for, but was ASSURED they would be great compatible additions for my tank. I kept researching but felt very pressured to buy the things he brought. <Here is were the problems began. If you do not want something he is bringing along, you have to say so clearly. When someone is trying to sell you something and you feel pressured leave him alone or send him away.> Eventually, the 30 gallon held Pete, a mated pair of true Percula's (charged $100.00 for), <Tank is too small for them and the GSP, not only because of water quality, but territoriality. Prices are pretty high, even if I convert $ into some hard currency.> 3 Firefish (charged $75.00 for), <Tank is too small for them, the clowns and the GSP.> 2 blood shrimp (charged $75.00 for), 2 anemones that died immediately (of course, I was charged for these, too), 2 Hawaiian Feather Dusters ($30), 2 Florida Fighting Conchs (don't remember the price), a Flame Scallop ($?), Ricordea mushrooms ($50.00), yellow polyps ($45) and that's all I can remember at the moment. <Again: high prices for this small world.> With each new addition, I researched and travelled to neighbouring cities to provide the specialized food needed (DT's Phytoplankton for scallop and feather dusters). My freezer is full of frozen fish food as well as human food I've bought for the fish. I eventually tore down the tank and removed all of the fish except for 1 Firefish I couldn't catch and Pete and the two clowns and a Scooter Blenny I purchased myself (which I add purchased Tigger-Pods and other copepods on a regular basis). My tank is teeming with Mysis shrimp, amphipods, and the Coralline has taken off (I upgraded lights and started added calcium supplements while watching my pH). My tank currently houses the Blenny, a Firefish, the two Fire shrimp (which reproduce, AMAZING to see the little critters swimming around), <Good to hear of this success.> 2 conchs, 2 Nassarius snails, 2 Mexican turbo snails, 1 Margarita snail, various mushrooms, a torch coral that the clowns have started hosting, 2 sea stars (1 brittle, 1 serpent), the polyps and some star polyps. I also have a nasty hitchhiker crab I haven't been able to catch along with some very large bristleworms. Pete, though, ended up being unhappy. <This is not a reef species. They can be kept at marine conditions, some zoological gardens and many hobbyists do that, but GSP most commonly occur in coastal mangrove areas, estuaries and frequently enter rivers. Although some of these environments may have full strength seawater salinity, none of their natural habitats is comparable to a reef tank. The main reason to keep a GSP at marine salinity is that due to skimmers and live rock it is easier to keep the water quality permanently high.> GO FIGURE. He was pacing all the time, and losing weight though eating regularly (he's fed snails occasionally, squid, Selcon and phytoplankton loaded live brine, Mysis shrimp, dried plankton (reconstituted with Selcon, Zoe marine, Marine C, and Garlic Extreme). <The diet sounds good, maybe feed more bivalves and snails as the main staple.> In conjunction with his weight loss and pacing, I noticed a large chunk taken out of the female clown's pectoral fin (I suspect that her aggression increased once she and the male started hosting the torch. I think she "attacked" Pete one too many times and he bit back). <Some GSP are quite aggressive, a few do not accept tankmates at all.> I haven't lost any of the snails or shrimps to the puffer (except for the baby Blood's that he, and the rest of my fish, ate). I knew this impossible situation wouldn't work and I was disheartened because of all of the energy, effort, and money spent over the last year (I'm approaching about $5,000 at the moment on a 30 GALLON TANK). <Yikes does this tank maintaining person have a wooden leg, an eye patch and a hook instead of a hand? You wanted a tank for a GSP and not a high end reef tank, did you?.> The original tank was started for PETE, and I felt like my ignorance (even though researching voraciously in all of my spare moments....there's a whole WORLD of information about marine tanks. While I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent (if not too gullible) I simply couldn't absorb all the information I needed to know while I allowed the inertia of the tank to snowball out of control). <Start with some books, e.g. Bobs book, and sites like WWM instead of paying 1000s of dollars for questionable advice. Not all LFS employees and owners are pirates, but without researching much by yourself, you will have a hard time to evaluate whose advice is good and who will make you pay for thing you do not want or need. Reading is the easiest way to achieve enough knowledge to make your own experiences and reasonable decisions. Without reading you are likely to fail or become a treasure chest. Advanced fellow hobbyists re usually a more reliable source of information, local clubs are good places to get into contact with them.> My willingness to trust someone whom I believed sensed my desperation to "act" for my fish and willingness to open my pocketbook for my hobby saw an easy way to make money. I'm truly not trying to come off like a victim...I let Pete's Personal trainer after he came to my house and installed an EcoAqualizer ( I told him 3 times not to do it) and charged me $250 for this contraption and for and cleaning the 30 gallon tank. He never left my house for less than $90 and that was for simply cleaning the 30 gallon. <Hope you can return the hardware you do not want and get your money back. Possibly talk to the boss of this person.> Alas, one of my friends gave me a 28 gallon tank. I added the water from a LFS's main display tank, added Fiji pink sand, a bubble wand (Pete loves these), plastic plants and a huge chunk of live rock. I added the LFS's tank water because we have to go out of town and I wouldn't be here if any cycling went on while we were gone. I have a Whisper filter running on it along with a submersible Fluval filter. No ammonia, no nitrites, and nitrates below 20. I look to upgrade the filtration and lighting within the next two months (Christmas is coming). <OK. A skimmer would be a good addition, it could remove nitrogenous waste before it is turned into nitrates by the filters. Since you have a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) tank you do not need the Whisper and the Fluval for anything, but some current. Ideally the live rock should do all the biological filtration. In case you remove them or replace them by a small powerhead, do not remove both at the same time to avoid a minicycle.> Several months ago I started a 3 gallon Eclipse tank for breeding snails. There are a few large Ramshorn snails in the tank that lay eggs regularly, but I'm not seeing many babies grow. The eggs hatch, I see a large amount of dots (baby snails) and then I don't see them any more. I have a chunk of cuttlefish bone to harden the water, I use no heater, the filtration is the simple Eclipse filtration and there is a huge wad of java moss. I feed regularly with algae tablets (that don't contain any kind of copper), bloodworms, and Betta pellets. I don't change the water that often. I read somewhere that most success comes from using water change water from another tank. There is no substrate. On to my questions: 1) Today I accidentally fed Pete a Malaysian Trumpet Snail (it was mixed in with my Ramshorn snails). He ate the whole snail, shell and all. Will this hurt him? It was small enough that he could swallow the whole thing. <Some puffer keepers report that the shells of these snails are hard enough to break the teeth of a puffer. As long as this did not happen he will likely be fine.> 2) Should I add a sponge over the intake on the 3 gallon Eclipse snail breeder tank? Do you think that is where the baby snails are disappearing to (getting sucked up the intake and ending up on the filter pad)? <Possible, have a look a that pad to confirm. You could try adding a sponge.> Should I add a small heater (I just bought one). <A heater can accelerate the snail breeding, but be careful not to over heat this small volume of water.> 3) Is it okay to use fresh RO/DI water for the snail tank? <No. It has no hardness the snails need to build up their shells, the cuttlefish bone alone will not be sufficient.> Should I use treated tap water? <Yes, thats better.> I've read the few articles online about rearing snails, but I'm at an impasse. <Have a look at www.thepufferforum.com. Youll find more information there.> 3) With diligent water changes and eyes on water parameters, will Lulu's fin heal (the female Clown whose pectoral fin was bitten)? I think Pete bit her into the "meat" of the fin, although I don't see any sores or anything alarming (besides the chunk missing). <Will likely heal. If the bases of some fin rays have been removed, they will not grow back again but Lulu will probably get well, again. Anyway, watch the wound for possible infections.> I know this was long and I thank you if you've read thus far. <No problem. Only the part about your puffer trainer was horrible and hopefully will warn some people not always to believe everything they are told.> This past year has been an increasingly stressful experience for me (and my livestock, no less). I was trying to do the right things, which, many of them, ended up being the most wrong things to do. <I hope you are on the right track now and still able to enjoy this mostly wonderful hobby. Read on, learn and the mistakes of the past will not be in vain.> Thank you for any and all help, Corinthian. <I hope I helped. Cheers and good luck. Marco.>

Re: Green Spotted Puffer, clown, snails..... 11/20/2007 Marco~ Thanks for your response! <Welcome.> I really liked the way you explained the genus differences between the puffers. I really tried to "pin down" more information from the girl at the LFS, but she seemed to be wishy-washy using a lot of "I don't remember" to my questions. The size of the fish, as SHE described them, matched the size of GSP's. I thought I was going to stumble on some kind of new "break-thru" information regarding GSP sexing and breeding. Silly me. Lol <<I dont think this was silly. There are several people claiming GSP were bred, but so far hard evidence is missing.>> <Here is were the problems began. If you do not want something he is bringing along, you have to say so clearly. When someone is trying to sell you something and you feel pressured leave him alone or send him away.> I hear ya, Marco. The way he handled things was very slick and I'm not nearly as naive as I used to be. As I've said, I really learned a lot. <<Thats great to hear. The more knowledge, the less trouble, the more fun.>> <This is not a reef species. They can be kept at marine conditions, some zoological gardens and many hobbyists do that, but GSP most commonly occur in coastal mangrove areas, estuaries and frequently enter rivers. Although some of these environments may have full strength seawater salinity, none of their natural habitats is comparable to a reef tank. The main reason to keep a GSP at marine salinity is that due to skimmers and live rock it is easier to keep the water quality permanently high.> No wonder he was so unhappy. His current tank is only 28 gallons, but is what I could pull together on the spur of the moment. I know he'll be much happier in it. <<I wish him (and you) a long and happy life.>> <The diet sounds good, maybe feed more bivalves and snails as the main staple.> He won't touch clams or oysters...even when soaked in Selcon & Garlic Extreme. <<Did you open them? Smaller puffers are often unable to crush too large bivalves. It is true their teeth need abrasion, but bivalves are also good food, because of their nutritional value. So, it is ok to open them for the puffer. The GSPs I know eat almost everything (plants, flakes, wood, fingernails), your specimen seems to be more picky.>> There were some small bivalves that hitchhiked in with the live rock. He never touched them. Maybe in his new tank, where he is the only fish in it, he will become more "territorial" and more willing to "investigate" resulting in him eating more clams and oysters. Hhhhmmm....maybe he was "over stimulated" or on "overload" in the other tank and that's why he didn't bother anything in it. <<Possibly stressed by all the unknown life and Cnidarians in there.>> My snails just aren't living to sizes large enough to feed him right now, but I do supplement them with fish store nuisances when I can. <Yikes does this tank maintaining person have a wooden leg, an eye patch and a hook instead of a hand? You wanted a tank for a GSP and not a high end reef tank, did you?> Yes, the tank was for the GSP. I said I wanted something very simple. But, then I "needed" this or "needed" that and with the additions that showed up....they were so pretty, and I'm sure you know how things like that often go. I would have never bought those things myself (file clam, tube anemone that I had to get rid of, etc. etc.), but when they were brought to my house and I was assured by someone "in the know" that they would be great in my tank....well, now I have a tank for THOSE things and a new one for the GSP. Boy was I stupid. My future plans are to have a 90-120 gallon tank. I really want a Dog Face Puffer. <<Great fish, too.>> <Start with some books, e.g. Bobs book, and sites like WWM instead of paying 1000s of dollars for questionable advice. Not all LFS employees and owners are pirates, but without researching much by yourself, you will have a hard time to evaluate whose advice is good and who will make you pay for thing you do not want or need. Reading is the easiest way to achieve enough knowledge to make your own experiences and reasonable decisions. Without reading you are likely to fail or become a treasure chest. Advanced fellow hobbyists re usually a more reliable source of information, local clubs are good places to get into contact with them.> I have TCMA by Mr. Fenner as well as Bornemann's book. I just bought Wilkerson's book on clownfish (now I'm in love with my clowns). I read all of these voraciously when I'm NOT reading WetWebMedia. <<Sounds like you are well prepared now.>> This has been my "home" since I found this site when searching for GSP information. AND, I was reading this site, but as I said in my previous post, I couldn't read enough fast enough and I was letting things get out of control. By the time I was learning what I needed to know about Zoanthids and Ricordea, I was having to learn about tube anemones....see what I'm saying? I don't know why it was so difficult for me to just put my foot down, but it was. A mistake I won't make again. <<We live to learn.>> I live in the FL panhandle and I can't find any local clubs (even when searching on the net). <<You could ask at http://www.swfmas.com/ if they are aware of clubs in NW Florida. Also check MASNA: Marine Aquarium Societies of North America (If you want to start a club it may be worth talking to them anyway). Id be surprised if there was no club in the entire area, especially in cities like Pensacola, Tallahassee.>> I have a girlfriend who just got into the hobby not too long ago. We've talked about starting some sort of society, but I don't even know where to begin....but I'd LOVE to do it! Just in the last 2 months, my friend's 120 gallon tank broke on the bottom and flooded her house. She was able to salvage her live rock and a couple of fish and a bit of sand (her tank had just finished cycling). Another friend treated his 90 gallon reef tank with antibiotics and it killed EVERYTHING in his tank. He was devastated. Had I known he was GOING to do that, I would have done what I could to stop him. So, we NEED some type of society here where we can all get together and share information and frags and create friendships with others who love this hobby. If you can lead me in the right direction, I'll be glad to follow up with it. <<One way to get in touch with new fellow hobbyists to meet, share information and swap items and animals, possibly on a regular basis, are the different LFSs. Depends on how outgoing you are and if you like talking to strangers. Second way to find people is to look for local ads in newspapers and the net, especially people already selling or swapping frags. When you have found a small group of friendly reefers/fish keepers you could try to find a place and date to meet, have a drink and share aquarium stories. Thats how it usually starts. Sometimes it stays at this informal level, sometimes a club is formed. Also consider thepufferforum.com as you are interested in puffers. It is a great place for experience exchange, too.>> I've duly noted your advice regarding my specific questions. <<Hope it helped.>> Marco, I think I'm on the right track now. This website provides a plethora of information. I just read and absorb everything I can and I just LOVE this place. Thank you and to all who offer such immeasurable information and support. Corinthian <<You are welcome and I wish you good luck with your future endeavours. Marco.>>

Topaz puffers not eating 11/06/2007 Hi, <Hello.> I bought 2 Topaz Puffers 4 days ago and they will not eat anything. I have tried feeding them live bloodworm, frozen daphnia and flakes but they don't seem interested. The shop sold them to me as FW fish as they have been bred in FW <I hesitate to believe that. There is not one report on the breeding of Tetraodon fluviatilis aka Ceylon puffer aka Topaz puffer. This is a brackish water species sometimes venturing into fresh water rivers, where it is caught and shipped. For aquarium care you will inevitably need brackish (or marine) water.> and they are 3-4 inches long. The shop fed them live bloodworm on the day I bought them. Their bellies are black the majority of the time and they tend to swim around the same area. Do you think that they are still adjusting to the tank or do you think they may be ill? Thanks. <Puffers need some time to settle in. In addition it is important to provide a good water quality and a tank of sufficient size. See http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i1/green_spotted_puppies.htm. Care for your puffers is the same, although they'll get slightly larger than their green spotted cousins. Cheers, Marco.>

Interesting information on GSP sexing/breeding. Misidentification of Puffers 9/26/07 Hello! <Hi, Pufferpunk here> A couple of days ago I spoke with a young woman who works at the local pet store (national chain). I told her I had a Green Spotted Puffer and she told me she had one as well. We both have a GSP tank as well as a dwarf puffer tank. She was apparently as excited as I was to impart information she'd learned from speaking with others or reading info on the internet. Through the course of our conversation, she insisted that she could VISUALLY tell the difference between male and female Green Spotted Puffers. I found this very hard to believe considering that I've found NO information on the net supporting this claim. What I've read here at WWW, as well as at other sites, insists quite differently....that there is no sexual dimorphism in GSP. Here is her criteria for visually determining the difference between males and females: 1) Male GSP's have wrinkles behind their eyes as they get a little "older." The wrinkles are hard to see, but she swears they are there. 2) Male GSP's have a VERY faint line that runs the length of the center *underneath* side of the of the fish. Basically, there is a faint line running the length of the belly. She said you have to get down low underneath the fish and look up and look really closely because it's very faint. When she said this, I was sure she was mistakenly informing me of the dimorphism in DWARF puffers, since we did speak about them during the course of our conversation. When I asked her if she was SURE this was true for GSP's she said, "Oh, yes! I know it's true because that is how I chose my male and female to breed." I asked her HOW she came by this information and she said there is a fish *specialist* who visits the store and he is the one who gave her these tips. He said you could sex ANY puffer this way. Knowing what I've read (that it's very difficult to impossible to rear GSP fry), I asked her if they bred and she said they did and that she raised the fry (the store she works for does NOT sell GSP's...so I assumed she wasn't getting a kickback of any kind). I asked her what happened to the fry and she told me she gave them to friends. She said she fed the fry finely crushed flakes (and something else, I can't remember right now). I told her about your site with hopes she would post her experiences. Have you ever heard of anything like this? Does it sound likely to you? I'd love to know your take on all of this. I'm thinking of returning to the store to ask her more questions (although I'm not interested in breeding GSP's at this point) and try to get her to give me more information about this specialist and hopefully she will have contact information (or at a least a name) for him. Looking forward to your response, Corinthian <I guarantee you, without a single doubt in my mind, she is breeding dwarf puffers: http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/puffers-in-focus/sexing-Carinotetraodon-travancoricus-the-dwarf-puffer/ You are correct, there is no info on breeding GSPs anywhere, because it has never successfully been done, nor documented. ~PP>

Re: Interesting information on GSP sexing/breeding 9/29/07 PP/Jeni~ <Corinthian > "I guarantee you, without a single doubt in my mind, she is breeding dwarf puffers..." That is exactly what I thought, too. Being the skeptic that I am (after reading everything you've posted on GSP's, as well as any information I could get my hands on elsewhere), the idea was incredulous to me. I've also read everything I could find on dwarves. I have both dwarf puffers and a Green Spotted Puffer. I'm able to sex the dwarves. As I previously stated, I made sure that she knew we were NOT talking about dwarves....and she was VERY adamant that there is faint dimorphism in GSP's. Her exact words were, "The wrinkles and lines are very faint, but if you look closely enough, they are there." I asked her how big the GSP's needed to before the dimorphism showed...and she pointed to a zero on a store flyer that was considerably larger than any dwarf puffer (it looked to me to the be size of an adult GSP). <There ya go!> When I told her I was looking to buy earthworms, she asked me what they were for. I told her that I wanted to feed them to my Green Spotted Puffer. She spouted a list of appropriate foods for GSP's. She made sure I knew that GSP's needed to be in at the very least, brackish water made with marine salt (mine is full marine now). <Gosh, I hope she isn't keeping dwarf puffers in BW!> She knew what she was talking about in every other aspect of GSP's. I love a good debate and I will debate until the cows come home but I'm simply not trying to debate this. I really want to discern fact from fiction. The girl said she chose her GSP's based on this dimorphism and that she bred them and produced fry, which she eventually gave away. She also said that the male breeder eventually killed the female breeder. I'll pay another visit to the store (which does carry dwarf puffers, BTW) and hopefully she will be there. I want to see if I can get any kind of contact information for the fish "specialist" who gave her this information. I will keep you updated. <I'll be interested to hear what your investigations find. Many folks at LFS have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to puffers, especially FW/BW ones. ~PP> Corinthian

Puffers Dear Sir. I recently brought 4 Spotted Puffer Fish. Their just small things. First their in a 3 gallon aquarium . <dangerously small tank to keep them in> Would a 20 or a 30 be best for them? <much better> Will they live okay together ? <perhaps...but their is a lot of interspecific aggression with such species. Never to be sure> And most of important. How can I tell male from female? I would like to try to breed them. And on the aquarium size I won't have much other fish in with them. Pls mail me back sir. But the thing I am most curious about is about sexing and breeding them. And if you don't know is their a place or a book that can tell me? Thank u Sir very much <there's a lot of information in articles and FAQ's on our WWM site on this topic... do research the following pages and the 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, Anthony Calfo>

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 yolky?) <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>

Spotted Puffers <<Greetings, JasonC here...>> How does one tell the difference in sexes among green puffers and green spotted puffers??? <<Sexual differences in these are internal, no way to tell from the outside.>> I cant find breeding/sexing information on this breed of fish anywhere... perhaps you know or will know where to look. ~Thanx!! Alecia <<Cheers, J -- >>

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