Does anybody saw those freshwater puffers lately popping up in pet stores? I always liked their saltwater cousins, and saw quite a few freshwater puffers. They look so cute, like submarines.
I wonder if they are hard to keep, and how big they are gonna get? Like to eat smaller fish?

Js has those.......I know she can help with this one

Yay, dwarf puffers!! I fell in love with these cuties this summer when we got them in to our store. They are still very new to the trade and hard to come by. My friend (who saw my tank and decided to have some of his own) and I have been waiting a month or so for a shipment into our store. Get them while you can.

They most common variety found in the store are the dwarf Indian puffers (they go by several names). They are often sold as brackish but are really freshwater. They are all wild caught and are susceptible to disease. Out of the 11 I bought I lost 3 over the past 4 months. They only get to about an inch and a quarter long and can be aggressive. They wont really eat processed food; the only thing mine will eat are frozen bloodworms and live snails (their favorite!). They are native to Indian rivers and like the water warm and reasonably calm. I keep my tank at 80º. Mine live in a 30 gallon planted tank with badis badis, otos, cories, and a pleco. They pretty much keep to themselves. They are the most fascinating fish I have come across. You'll just fall in love with them. They have so much personality. They will move all over the tank but when they see me come in they all come rushing out of the plants and rocks to the front of the tank and get all wiggly and excited, just like the goldies. I think thats why I love them so much, they remind me of goldies! They'll also eat out of your hands. LOL Anyway I hope I answered your questions. Let me know if you have any more. I feel they would be compatible with any tropical fish without big fins that could get nibbled.

Here is a pic of my tank from a few months ago.

Here are a couple of sites that you might find interesting....the first will help with ID as there are several puffers that look similar but have different needs (BTW you have to scroll down a ways to get to the ones with photos)....

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebI...bracpuffers.htm

this next one is a forum devoted to puffers and their care....

http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi

They're cute little fish, I've wanted to have one for years but never had the tank to devote to them!



*had to edit to fix the link*

Thanks, Jen and Barbara!
From the links above I found, that the one I saw mostly is a Green puffer! Although the Figure 8 puffer looks just so stunning! They are around 2 inches in the store, and the lady there today was very helpful in explaining the nipping thing to me. NO LONGFINNED COMPANION with the puffer! And nothing too small for him to eat. She told me as long as she supplies enough bloodworms to the puffer, he left the other fish pretty much alone.
I think another trip to the store is in order next week!!....

The figure 8s/greens require a lot of space, I believe about 10 gallons apiece like goldies. The reason for that is the aggression. Also one other thing to note with the larger puffers is that they need something to keep their beaks worn down or else they'll get too long (like a hamster with nothing to chew on). Ive heard different things about what you can do to wear the beaks down. Giving them hard, pelleted food should do it, but puffers are wild caught and Ive never been able to get mine to eat pellets/flakes. You could also throw some snails in there for them, because chewing on the shells should wear them down, too, and also its a natural food source for them.

Are you planning on keeping them brackish? I believe both of those are true brackish, where others (like mine) are freshwater. Sometimes people convert them to fresh but they never do as well. One other thing on brackish is that they are used to the salinity levels constantly fluctuating like with the natural tides, so varying the salinity a little is a good idea too. Good luck with these guys, I think theyre just adorable fish!!