Dwarf Puffer Fish!

JohnyLee

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Have you heard about these little playful creatures like Dwarf Puffer Fish?

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I have 4 these babies! Love them! They are very playful and always searching snails in the fish tank.
Now Im trying to breed them, because I think there is 2 females and 2 males, so it will be interesting to do this project soon!
 

KevinGG

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I love these guys. Never got them because I could only ever find them wild caught and I try to only purchase CB animals. Would love to get some one day.
 

JohnyLee

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These are freshwater (because its dwarf puffer fish), and Im happy because they bred by my local pet shop!
 

ZEROPILOT

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These are freshwater (because its dwarf puffer fish), and Im happy because they bred by my local pet shop!
Well, technically they are salt/brackish water fishes that CAN live in fresh water.
You'll see them perk up if you make the water slightly brackish. (instant ocean mix)
My puffer and Molly can live in pure saltwater, but I keep it less saline because of the Pleco. They are salt sensitive and I need him for algae control on the glass.
If you are interested,you can learn more about dwarf puffers on another forum that I frequent @MONSTERFISHKEEPERS.COM
 

Cowboy_Ken

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I have 4 these babies! Love them! They are very playful and always searching snails in the fish tank.
Now Im trying to breed them, because I think there is 2 females and 2 males, so it will be interesting to do this project soon!
ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1497927435.578243.jpg
Here's a fun little study I came across regarding puffer fish teeth/beak and human teeth and genes…

Pufferfish and humans share the same genes for teeth
16 May 2017, 06:12 AM

Puffer fish. (© Andrea Izzotti / Fotolia)
Human teeth evolved from the same genes that make the bizarre beaked teeth of the pufferfish, according to new research by an international team of scientists.

The study, led by Dr Gareth Fraser from the University of Sheffield's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, has revealed that the pufferfish has a remarkably similar tooth-making programme to other vertebrates, including humans.

Published in the journal PNAS, the research has found that all vertebrates have some form of dental regeneration potential. However the pufferfish use the same stem cells for tooth regeneration as humans do but only replace some teeth with elongated bands that form their characteristic beak.

The study's authors, which include researchers from the Natural History Museum London and the University of Tokyo, believe the research can now be used to address questions of tooth loss in humans.

"Our study questioned how pufferfish make a beak and now we've discovered the stem cells responsible and the genes that govern this process of continuous regeneration. These are also involved in general vertebrate tooth regeneration, including in humans," Dr Fraser said.

He added: "The fact that all vertebrates regenerate their teeth in the same way with a set of conserved stem cells means that we can use these studies in more obscure fishes to provide clues to how we can address questions of tooth loss in humans."

The unique pufferfish beak is one of the most extraordinary forms of evolutionary novelty. This bizarre structure has evolved through the modification of dental replacement.

The beak is composed of four elongated 'tooth bands' which are replaced again and again. However, instead of losing teeth when they are replaced, the pufferfish fuses multiple generations of teeth together, which gives rise to the beak, enabling them to crush incredibly hard prey.

Students at Sheffield have access to the latest innovations in animal and plant sciences -- giving them an opportunity to deepen human understanding of organisms, ecosystems and the interdependencies of life to build a sustainable future.

Alex Thiery, a PhD student at the University of Sheffield who contributed to the study said: "We are interested in the developmental origin of the pufferfish beak as it presents a special opportunity to understand how evolutionary novelty can arise in vertebrates more generally.

"Vertebrates are extraordinarily diverse, however this doesn't mean that they are dissimilar in the way in which they develop. Our work on the pufferfish beak demonstrates the dramatic effect that small changes in development can have."

Common origins for hair, feathers and shark skin teeth

In an additional study published in the journal EvoDevo, Dr Gareth Fraser and his team from the University of Sheffield have also found that shark skin teeth (tooth-like scales called denticles) have the same developmental origins as reptile scales, bird feathers and human hair.

Previous studies have revealed that human hair, reptile scales and bird feathers evolved from a single ancestor -- a reptile that lived 300 million years ago -- but this new study from the Fraser Lab at Sheffield has found that the skin teeth found on sharks also developed from the same genes.

Sharks belong to a more basal group of vertebrates and their scales have been observed in the fossil record over the course of 450 million years of evolution, so the Sheffield researchers believe this indicates that all vertebrates, whether they live on land or in the sea, share the same developmental programme for skin, teeth and hair that has remained relatively unchanged throughout vertebrate evolution.

"Our study suggests the same genes are instrumental in the early development of all skin appendages from feathers and hair to shark skin teeth. Even though the final structures are very different this paper reveals that the developmental origins of all these structures are similar. Evolution has therefore used these common underpinnings as a foundation that can be modified over time to produce the vast diversity of skin structures seen in vertebrates," Dr Fraser added.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Sheffield, University of. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal References:

Alexandre P. Thiery, Takanori Shono, Daisuke Kurokawa, Ralf Britz, Zerina Johanson, Gareth J. Fraser. Spatially restricted dental regeneration drives pufferfish beak development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017; 201702909 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702909114

Rory L. Cooper, Kyle J. Martin, Liam J. Rasch, Gareth J. Fraser. Developing an ancient epithelial appendage: FGF signalling regulates early tail denticle formation in sharks. EvoDevo, 2017; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s13227-017-0071-0
 

wellington

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Actually if this is a dwarf puffer they are fresh water and the smallest of the many puffers. Many of the other puffers, are brackish other then of course the marine/salt water puffers.
The most common and most available fresh/brackish is the green spot puffer.
 

wellington

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Well, technically they are salt/brackish water fishes that CAN live in fresh water.
You'll see them perk up if you make the water slightly brackish. (instant ocean mix)
My puffer and Molly can live in pure saltwater, but I keep it less saline because of the Pleco. They are salt sensitive and I need him for algae control on the glass.
If you are interested,you can learn more about dwarf puffers on another forum that I frequent @MONSTERFISHKEEPERS.COM
The actual dwarf puffer is listed as freshwater. The more common green spot puffer is brackish. Along with many others.
However, I have learned from keeping many types of aquariums and fish and working in an aquarium store for many years, it all depends on who one gets their information from and how much they actually know and how honest they will be. I work for the store I used to buy from. He was the only one that was honest and would not sell you a fish if he knew it was only going to die.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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The actual dwarf puffer is listed as freshwater. The more common green spot puffer is brackish. Along with many others.
However, I have learned from keeping many types of aquariums and fish and working in an aquarium store for many years, it all depends on who one gets their information from and how much they actually know and how honest they will be. I work for the store I used to buy from. He was the only one that was honest and would not sell you a fish if he knew it was only going to die.
Kinda reminds me of tortoise information given out by many "pet stores".
 

Tom

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This is the problem with common names. What is the scientific name of these "dwarf puffers".

The picture on my little screen isn't clear, but if I had to guess, I would call the ones in the picture spotted puffers, Tetraodon nigroviridis, which are brackish, but can survive in fresh or full saltwater.

Or are we talking about Carinotetraodon travancoricus? The bumble bee puffer? I'm not as familiar with this one, but what I've read says they come from inland India and are strictly freshwater.

@JohnyLee can we get a closer picture of your super cool new babies?
 

ZEROPILOT

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I think the OP and my wifes puffer are the same green spotted dwarfs.
Hers was sold in a tank with Monos and some Mollies.
We have a "green" strain of wild Molly here in south Florida and they can be found in brackish as well as fresh water.
This is a horrible photo of the fish.
He's about 6 years old.
The water is brackish, but lightly so, because my plecostemus doesn't deal with salt too well and we don't want to stress him out.
I guess the question is...IF a Green Spotted IS a brackish dwelling species....Does it NEED the salt?
And if it is not a brackish water species, will sea salt harm it?
 

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wellington

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I think the OP and my wifes puffer are the same green spotted dwarfs.
Hers was sold in a tank with Monos and some Mollies.
We have a "green" strain of wild Molly here in south Florida and they can be found in brackish as well as fresh water.
This is a horrible photo of the fish.
He's about 6 years old.
The water is brackish, but lightly so, because my plecostemus doesn't deal with salt too well and we don't want to stress him out.
I guess the question is...IF a Green Spotted IS a brackish dwelling species....Does it NEED the salt?
And if it is not a brackish water species, will sea salt harm it?
A little salt will not harm any, well almost any fish. True brackish water on the other hand would. Sounds like you have less then brackish and possibly wouldn't register.
 

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