Mary - 2012-01-20 I have a 10 gallon tank along with 5 goldfish, I've got hiding spots and decor and fake plants. I was at Walmart and saw the litter spotted green puffer. The lady in the fish department gave me very little info on him. She said he eats just flakes, and use the aquarium salt. I bought him and the Jungle aquarium salt. Thankfully I still have a can of blood worms to hold him over besides the flakes until I go buy some other foods/snails for him. Little did I know what I was getting into. What kind of snails would I buy to feed him? I'm going to go buy some real plants for him to nibble on too. Do you think my little guy will survive in my tank?
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Editor's Note - 2012-01-20 Spotted Puffers (Tetraodon nigroviridis) from Walmart are typically brackish water and will not survive, sadly in your tank. Puffers are referred to as 'aqua dogs' due to their personality, and the fact that they chew on whatever they can. Keep your wires out of reach. They will grow up to 5' and they are semi-aggressive. They really need their own tank and brackish water is not too hard to keep, sort of between salt and fresh. As little juveniles, like many fish, they are found in fresh water, then migrate to estuaries, or brackish water. If it is still young enough to deal with the fresh water, it will go after your goldfish.
I would suggest buying another tank for your puffer if you are in love with it, and look up a little more information and your puffer will reward you with years of companionship. They do need to be entertained too! If you don't want to do all of this, then I would say to return the puffer to the store.
If you want a TRUE FRESHWATER puffer, they are out there, just do the research before buying, and even then, do not put in with goldfish. Hope that helps and have fun with your spotted aqua dog!
Mary - 2012-01-20 They are not gold fish but *GLOfish* their little neon tetra sort of fish and I've been keeping a eye on them and they seem to be getting along. I do plan on getting him a 20gal tank tomorrow just for him. He is quite adorable and I do want to keep him, Hoping he lives and heals because his fins are severely chewed up. I read they are omnivorious and need alot of meat like live crustaceans and freezed bloodworms or shrimp and snails to keep there teeth in check. He's only a inch big right now, would anyone recommend what to feed him till he gets bigger?
Jay - 2012-01-26 Mary, those glow fish will be a meal soon. The amazon puffer is a brackish water fish when young then requires full marine conditions when fully grown. Despite what you read online most puffers are salt water fish. In the long run your glow fish will be eaten or killed and the puffer will die from living in the wrong environment. This is what happens when you buy fish from the know nothings at walmart.
Scott Emberly - 2012-01-31 Hey I just did a bit of homework after purchasing probably the same freshwater puffer. I already have salt as well as brakish water but they need snails clams and other hard shelled live food to trim there teeth or they will grow to long to eat an die or if you are brave enough you might have to trim the teeth they also like brine shrimp as a treat as well as frozen blood worms
kyle - 2014-03-08 Please help I just got 2.
RJ - 2017-07-11 South American puffers, aka Amazon puffers, are fully FW fish. Spotted Green puffers (the common T. nigorividis) start fresh, but quickly need fairly heavy brackish conditions.
Zoe - 2018-08-18 Hi. South American Puffers or Bumble Bee Puffers aren’t fully fresh water, they live in and tolerate quite well, brackish conditions up to 1.005 throughout different periods of their lives. 😊
Norma - 2014-07-23 I live in Simcoe Ontario. I need help trimming my amazon bee puffer's teeth. Can anyone help me? I tried it myself but had no success.
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Norma - 2014-10-15 Just to let everyone know, i did successfully trim my Amazon Puffer's teeth. It's funny, they were shy of me before i did it and now they are always at the front of the tank when i look at them. It's like we've bonded lol
Nettie Colvin - 2018-05-16 Hello. If you add live purple rock they will trim their teeth by chewing on live rock. Hope this helps.
Parag Dixit - 2017-05-14 Puffers are very aggressive to fish smaller than them.Only minutes after I released it into my tank it tore my baby red tail catfish to pieces.I had never expected that.
LCPDTF - 2016-12-26 I own a business that both buys and sells them the breeding is very difficult which is why I keep plenty of them. They are very calm when not mating but when they are mating they can be highly aggressive so you should be careful if you get multiple of them
Megan Jennifer Pinero - 2015-12-26 Would 1 be okay in a tank with a large freshwater clam? Mine is currently 1.5in but will grow to 3in same as the puffer so I'm guessing due to it's size the puffer will likely over look it as possible food, as no way is any part of it fitting in it's mouth, though I fear it pecking at the clam may crack the shell over time. My experience will pufers is juvenile green spotted puffers and that thing would peck shrimps, fish, etc 3 times it's size to death. However, the Amazon puffer is 'peaceful' and 'community safe.' I have no problem breeding snails along with the freshwater amphipods and daphina magna I already breed, so I can offer approriate sized snails regularly for it along with the other mentioned live food. Frozen bloodworms are a common offering to my aquaria too and I'm considering freeze dried black worm cubes too. Also what about a bamboo shrimp? I can get 2.5-3in full grown ones? The care just says can be aggressive towards shrimps and other inverts in a tank and usually the general rule is if the animal in question is bigger or equal in size to the 'can be aggressive' animal there is usually no problem. The rest of my tank stock consists or will consist of Rummy Nose Tetras (seen these puffers kept with neons), pictus catfish, discus (see them kept with this type of puffer), long finned zebra danios (should be too fast to catch plus they stay mostly towards the top of the tank), 1 hillsteam loach (a baby currently but will grow to around 3in and usually puffers you find aren't full grow when you buy them), ram cichlids, and perhaps a freshwater pipefish (grow to 6in long but a slender fish). I'm really going for the freshwater reef look with my tank all the way to exotic fish you typically only think of as marine species. I have various sizes of caves as well as a few plant though all but the Jungel Vale isn't very large yet. Considering adding a few more plants such as a floating variety like watersprite, some moss to help with nitrates, and some foreground grassy type plants. Don't want to hinder the swimming space for the larger fish too much. Please comment ASAP somebody so I have a plan going forward with my stocking.
Alexis Gonzalez - 2015-02-07 I'd like to buy two amazon puffers.
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BGabriellaN - 2015-02-10 Check out Arizona Aquatic Gardens. They raise them and they are hardy. The price is not bad either. They are on sale right now.
Clarice Brough - 2015-02-14 I've purchased plants from them, and they were great. So I would definitely consider them for fish too.
The Amazon Puffer, with its bright colors and a beautiful pattern, is one of the most sought after members of the puffer fish family!
I have a 10 gallon tank along with 5 goldfish, I've got hiding spots and decor and fake plants. I was at Walmart and saw the litter spotted green puffer. The lady in the fish department gave me very little info on him. She said he eats just flakes, and use the aquarium salt. I bought him and the Jungle aquarium salt. Thankfully I still have a can of blood worms to hold him over besides the flakes until I go buy some other foods/snails for him. Little did I know what I was getting into. What kind of snails would I buy to feed him? I'm going to go buy some real plants for him to nibble on too. Do you think my little guy will survive in my tank?
Spotted Puffers (Tetraodon nigroviridis) from Walmart are typically brackish water and will not survive, sadly in your tank. Puffers are referred to as 'aqua dogs' due to their personality, and the fact that they chew on whatever they can. Keep your wires out of reach. They will grow up to 5' and they are semi-aggressive. They really need their own tank and brackish water is not too hard to keep, sort of between salt and fresh. As little juveniles, like many fish, they are found in fresh water, then migrate to estuaries, or brackish water. If it is still young enough to deal with the fresh water, it will go after your goldfish.
I would suggest buying another tank for your puffer if you are in love with it, and look up a little more information and your puffer will reward you with years of companionship. They do need to be entertained too! If you don't want to do all of this, then I would say to return the puffer to the store.
If you want a TRUE FRESHWATER puffer, they are out there, just do the research before buying, and even then, do not put in with goldfish. Hope that helps and have fun with your spotted aqua dog!
They are not gold fish but *GLOfish* their little neon tetra sort of fish and I've been keeping a eye on them and they seem to be getting along. I do plan on getting him a 20gal tank tomorrow just for him. He is quite adorable and I do want to keep him, Hoping he lives and heals because his fins are severely chewed up. I read they are omnivorious and need alot of meat like live crustaceans and freezed bloodworms or shrimp and snails to keep there teeth in check. He's only a inch big right now, would anyone recommend what to feed him till he gets bigger?
Mary, those glow fish will be a meal soon. The amazon puffer is a brackish water fish when young then requires full marine conditions when fully grown. Despite what you read online most puffers are salt water fish. In the long run your glow fish will be eaten or killed and the puffer will die from living in the wrong environment. This is what happens when you buy fish from the know nothings at walmart.
Hey I just did a bit of homework after purchasing probably the same freshwater puffer. I already have salt as well as brakish water but they need snails clams and other hard shelled live food to trim there teeth or they will grow to long to eat an die or if you are brave enough you might have to trim the teeth they also like brine shrimp as a treat as well as frozen blood worms
Please help I just got 2.
South American puffers, aka Amazon puffers, are fully FW fish. Spotted Green puffers (the common T. nigorividis) start fresh, but quickly need fairly heavy brackish conditions.
Hi. South American Puffers or Bumble Bee Puffers aren’t fully fresh water, they live in and tolerate quite well, brackish conditions up to 1.005 throughout different periods of their lives. 😊
I live in Simcoe Ontario. I need help trimming my amazon bee puffer's teeth. Can anyone help me? I tried it myself but had no success.
Just to let everyone know, i did successfully trim my Amazon Puffer's teeth. It's funny, they were shy of me before i did it and now they are always at the front of the tank when i look at them. It's like we've bonded lol
Hello. If you add live purple rock they will trim their teeth by chewing on live rock. Hope this helps.
Looking to purchase up to 6-8 amazon puffers.
I would like to purchase 2-3 amazon puffers
We have these amazon puffer for sell on ebay: ID fish-paradise
Puffers are very aggressive to fish smaller than them.Only minutes after I released it into my tank it tore my baby red tail catfish to pieces.I had never expected that.
I own a business that both buys and sells them the breeding is very difficult which is why I keep plenty of them. They are very calm when not mating but when they are mating they can be highly aggressive so you should be careful if you get multiple of them
How can you say that a fish that likes to migrate is suitable for a nano tank?
Would 1 be okay in a tank with a large freshwater clam? Mine is currently 1.5in but will grow to 3in same as the puffer so I'm guessing due to it's size the puffer will likely over look it as possible food, as no way is any part of it fitting in it's mouth, though I fear it pecking at the clam may crack the shell over time. My experience will pufers is juvenile green spotted puffers and that thing would peck shrimps, fish, etc 3 times it's size to death. However, the Amazon puffer is 'peaceful' and 'community safe.' I have no problem breeding snails along with the freshwater amphipods and daphina magna I already breed, so I can offer approriate sized snails regularly for it along with the other mentioned live food. Frozen bloodworms are a common offering to my aquaria too and I'm considering freeze dried black worm cubes too. Also what about a bamboo shrimp? I can get 2.5-3in full grown ones? The care just says can be aggressive towards shrimps and other inverts in a tank and usually the general rule is if the animal in question is bigger or equal in size to the 'can be aggressive' animal there is usually no problem. The rest of my tank stock consists or will consist of Rummy Nose Tetras (seen these puffers kept with neons), pictus catfish, discus (see them kept with this type of puffer), long finned zebra danios (should be too fast to catch plus they stay mostly towards the top of the tank), 1 hillsteam loach (a baby currently but will grow to around 3in and usually puffers you find aren't full grow when you buy them), ram cichlids, and perhaps a freshwater pipefish (grow to 6in long but a slender fish). I'm really going for the freshwater reef look with my tank all the way to exotic fish you typically only think of as marine species. I have various sizes of caves as well as a few plant though all but the Jungel Vale isn't very large yet. Considering adding a few more plants such as a floating variety like watersprite, some moss to help with nitrates, and some foreground grassy type plants. Don't want to hinder the swimming space for the larger fish too much. Please comment ASAP somebody so I have a plan going forward with my stocking.
I would like to purchase 4-6 blue or red heckel discus. E-mail address-ach1n2@aol.com-phone# 502_239_4732.Thanks!
I'd like to buy two amazon puffers.
Check out Arizona Aquatic Gardens. They raise them and they are hardy. The price is not bad either. They are on sale right now.
I've purchased plants from them, and they were great. So I would definitely consider them for fish too.