Texas City Puffer (1 Viewer)

[Niko5]

We cought several puffers down at Texas City on the collection trip and I took one home he seems to be doing good he ate some C.E. and niped at some flakes.. anyone have any tips on keeping him?

 

[boudster]

puffer

Mine seems to be doing fine too. I have in down in my fuge. Also, the other 2 little fish I caught are doing well. I probably have about 100 ghost shrimp and 25 porcelain crabs that I caught....I have only seen 1 dead so far....and I think he got eaten by the little rock crab that I put in my agressive tank. That was a cool trip...can't wait for the next one.

 

[Guest]

I have been reading into this board for the last week or so trying to learn what I could about saltwater tanks before I got my tank going. I'm not doing anythng fancy, just a 30 gallon hexagon tank to put native fish in. I make it down to Galveston atleast every other weekend to go fishing, but have caught several pretty interesting fish in cast nets so decided to try and keep some. How and where do yall catch the puffer fish? I am planning on getting some of the anenomes off the jettys and peirs too. Any other tips or hints would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[HolyBanana]

my puffer didnt last long. He got sucked into the Skimmer and that was it for him.

 

[Niko5]

HolyBanana, sorry about your puffer

maxpower, We got ours on the Texas City dike using a sane net (spelling). Iv caught small 2 or 3" puffers in the Bay right off Eagle Point

 

[Guest]

just fyi, they are either smooth puffers or least puffers. You can tell them apart because least puffers like to sit on the bottom a lot and sometimes partially bury themselves. Also, smooth's are mainly silver colored.

 

[Cakepro]

How big do they get and what is their favorite food? These were kind of silvery ~ very tiny and cute.

~ Sherri

 

[FireEater]

Mine is doing great also. As little as he is he is eating 4 to 5 brine shrimp plus some flake food twice a day.

He stays at the top of the tank and swims in the current.

If anyone else wants to get one just let me know and we can arrange a weekend to go to the dike and siene again.

FishinAggie03, these are the smooth puffers. They have the silver bodies. They also have real blue eyes.

Mark

 

[Guest]

Actually, from the picture that looks like a least puffer. The smooths are mainly silver with a little bit of black on their fins and dorsal side. Smooths can get over 1foot. Leasts dont get near that big, I have never seen one more than 3-4".

Here is some info on least puffers http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Sphoeroides&speciesname=parvus (picture - http://www.samford.edu/schools/artsci/biology/photo54.html ) and smooth puffers http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Lagocephalus&speciesname=laevigatus

 

[Guest]

I am planning on getting some of the anenomes off the jettys and peirs too.

Be careful with those anemones they have a tendency to eat anything they can, which includes fish, shrimp of all kinds, and flake food.

 

[Guest]

I went down to Galveston yesterday and threw the cast net a while and drug a dip net through grass in the bay. I didn't get anything very interesting though. I did manage to get several anenomes from the jettys and they really make the differene in my tank. Since none of the fish are colorful, the anenomes are the only thing making the tank look like a saltwater one. And yes, they really love to eat. They are snatching shrimp and small minnows left and right. I've got the tank going now, so I'm just going to try and catch afew random fish every fishing trip I make to teh coast. I read that yall are having some sort of collecting trip towards the end of may, so I may try and tag along and get a few tips.

One thing I forgot. I read that the anenome sting, but I could keep from touching them several times while trying to find some on small rocks in the jettys. I never felt anything, so I just figured it was real weak and only really bothered small fish.

thanks,

chris

 

[Guest]

I never felt anything, so I just figured it was real weak and only really bothered small fish.

Correct.

 

[Guest]

Galveston anemones

Maxpower,

What color are the anemones? Can you post a pic?
I did not know we had colorful anemones in Galveston.

 

[FireEater]

Here are some I have collected.

http://local1259iaff.org/rockanemone2mouth.jpg

http://local1259iaff.org/rockanemone2mouth-2.jpg

http://local1259iaff.org/rockanemonenew.jpg

http://local1259iaff.org/rockanemoneblue.jpg

None of them are any bigger round than a quarter.

FE

 

[Guest]

Wow, now I want to have a texas coastal tank too. Those are very pretty!
Cyn

 

[Guest]

Thanks for posting the pics.

I agree with cyn.

Too cool. I want a Texas Tank too!

 

[Guest]

I tried taking some pics of mine, but the tank is still a bit cloudy from adding everything so they didn't come out so well. Those pics posted look real good. Mine are pretty much just like them. I have some that are mostly red, some mostly blue, and some that are mostly white. They all have a little irridescense to them though. Most of the ones I got are pretty large (in comparison to others I saw there). The largest 3 are just over 2 inches across, while I've got several others ranging down to smaller than a dime.

Any suggestions on getting my 30 gallon hex to clear up? It's been about 5 days since I put them in and it is still pretty cloudy. I have an over the side filter that pumps 200 gph and a small pump(no filter) behind all the rocks circulating water. I don't overfeed either, most food is eatin before it hits bottom, and what does make it down the small shrimp pick out of the crushed coral.


I decided to give it a try and post one of the pics. This is the biggest one, about 4 inches tall, and about 3 wide(opening). It is a pretty bad picture, but this one is a really nice irridescent blue. There is also a white one to the right of it.

http://www.teamsouthbound.com/pictureprocessor/galleries/viewlargephoto.asp?uid=14040&gallery=250