Tetraodon Turgidus

[Miles]

Just picked up a 'brown' puffer the other day.. Felt bad for him, was black and stressed out.. LFS had him in Brackish water, because he was a 'red-eye puffer'..

Got him eating krill already, but I have to hand-feed it to him..

Purchased him just to save him and identify him.. Now that I have done that and found out they are very in-active, I'm a bit disappointed..

I was wondering who else has Turgidus puffers and if they have any interesting stories or tips to share?

 

[Pufferpunk]

Mine just hid in his cave all day. More of a nocturnal species. Begged pretty hard for food though!

 

[Miles]

Yours (was?) is so full-bodied and looks full of life. Mine looks like a lil hump-back turd.

I think mine is a bit stressed, and I have to coax him into eating.. I am hoping he will become a beggar so he is more active. He is going to live in a 30g hex by himself.. Sand substrate, lightly planted.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Sand isn't necessary, as they do not burrow. Up to you but puffers are messy eaters & the substrate needs good cleaning weekly. With 9 tanks, I have a minimum amount of room & needed to upgrade another puffer, so the turgidus had to be rehomed. A Mod on TPF has him & she loves him.

 

[Miles]

The sand substrate wasn't specifically for the puffer, but more for the aesthetics.. Going to do Java Fern and Java Moss with some driftwood and a cave for it.

I have this old custom hex tank that I haven't found a good fish for yet, but I think I've found it.

I've been currently housing some platies with the puffer, which it has ignored.. They have done a good job of cleaning up the krill scraps. I have been doing W/C's every 2-3 days..

Was also wondering about Pimafix or Melafix for puffers? His dorsal is still curled and looks off-color, I am afraid he has a fungal issue or something.. Looks better, but nothing like yours.

 

[Pufferpunk]

LOL, I have been teased often about my puffer's waistlines. I mean, see my avatar! I'd try Melafix for his fins.

As far as sand, don't make it much deeper than 1/2"-1", as anerobic pockets wil develop & it's a PITA to stir with all the decor in there. The more heavily it's decorated, the safer the puffer will feel & may show itself more often. Then again... maybe not. It seems the gal I sold mine too, likes him much better than I did. You should check out Myaj's posts about him. You might be able to do a search for "Beetlejuice", that was his name.

 

[Miles]

Its not a super-fine sand that will cause compaction..

Rather, its a very fine gravel.. water can flow through it still.

His personality is starting to show, but when I turn the light on he goes down under his cave.