well ever since i watched finding nemo ( i know its sad but ....) i wondered is a puffer fish a tropical fish or marine cos i saw some in the tropial section of my lfs

Theyre actually brackish I believe. Similar to cichlid type care although a little more difficult.

thanks

Some are some arent. The little tiny dwarf ones can be kept in freshwater but do better in brackish or so my research told me. I so wanted some of those but they can be fussy eaters and do need a little not a lot of salt.
Didn't research any of the other breeds.

Ive also heard that theyre quite aggressive?

I have read that they can be quite aggressive and also hard to feed, as in finding out what they will eat. Also that they do better by themselves. Is this all true????

nooppee of all places, usually has the best looking ones I have seen. I have always been tempted, but walk away without one because of what I have read.

Rick really wanted some but I too heard they do better alone. Maybe someday when we get a 7th tank!

7th tank, your soooo bad! I behave myself, I only have....6, oooops, I guess my next one will be #7!

I believe most or all types are either brackish or saltwater. All of them need special care. Their tankmates need to be selected carefully and the tank built around them, as they are harder to care for and sometimes aggressive. I don't understand why people keep brackish fish in freshwater. They obviously do much better in brackish and aren't as suseptible to disease..

I think puffers are awesome. I've got dwarves and green spotteds in the same brackish tank, with no other tankmates. They get along great. Much better than when I had just the 4 dwarves. Feeding isn't an issue - unless you run out of bloodworms. I've decorated my tank with lots of rock caves and plants, which helps to "obscure their line of sight" (or so I've read) which minimizes the aggression that would emerge if they saw each other all of the time. I guess it works haha. Also, they seem to sleep in the plants. And it's the CUTEST EFFING THING EVAR. I turn the light on in the morning and they're all nested in their respective plants. Look like little cabbage patch puffers haha.

I know there are some definite marine puffers, but I don't think they're nearly as cute as the freshwater/brackish ones.

Case in point: get puffers!

Most things I've read about dwarfs says they are ok in fresh water but do better in brackish as they get older.. but then I read something that was saying that the dwarfs actually do better in fresh water their whole lives. But then theres those that say they should be in brackish all their lives, so that really makes no difference, just to confuse you!

there are several varities of fresh water puffers. the most common to aquarists are dwarf puffers (there is a pic of a dwarf puffer in my signature). they are 100% freshwater. Not brackish or marine. they are on the aggresive side and they do prefer live black worms and small snails. they will take frozen blood worms if you have a slight current in your tank (so they appear live) but will not eat freeze dried or flake food. they are best kept in a species only tank. if you want more info check out dwarfpuffers.com

The fish in finding nemo is actually a porcupinefish the difference being the teeth (there teeth are fused together) and the spines on there body, i belieave all porcupinefish are marine only but wide spread and found in many different sea's

There are marine brackish and freshwater puffers and just to confuse some of these move from one to the other ie (born in fresh and move to brackish as they grow)
myself i am fond of Fahaka and Mbu puffers (Large freshwater) green spotted puffers (fresh to brackish to marine) and Stars & stripes puffers (large marine puffers)
Puffers do require a bit more looking after but you get a lot of personality from them, which includes sulking