How do you make a puffer fish puff?

[Anonymous]

Indeed. I'm eagerly awaiting his post in the "For Sale" forums.

Obtuse is actually the word that comes to my mind.

And, FWIW, I have handled fishes that I would indeed go so far as to say actually enjoyed their interactions with me or other humans. I mean, come on, when they hold still for their scritches, when they come back for more, when they pace the tank, and if they were just about any other animal, why is it so preposterous to draw such a conclusion?

 

[Len]

Obtuse is actually the word that comes to my mind.

I don't think reciprical condescension serves any useful purpose (apologies if I'm reading you wrong).

 

[Anonymous]

Why does it happen to ME??? (I need a "waahh" emoticon here.) :|

 

[Len]

Only because I love you most of all. (i need a "heart" emoticon)

 

[Reef_Monkey]

ReefMonkey, I wasn't saying that you, specifically, were "buying first and asking later", I was saying that this ubiquitous practice is exceedingly common, and kills and TORTURES far more animals than anything else being discussed or debated here. So far, no one else really wants to address it, but I do appreciate your joke. You will find that, along with the shrimp (in shell), squid, clam, and octopus your puffy might like, expect it to want a sample of your crunchy FINGER.

I know, and I'm glad you know I was just kiddin' with you. I am gonna try some of that other food. I just seem to me the other night that he didn't wanna eat. But lastnight he ate a lot...Maybe he just wasn't hungry! :wink:

I see your point Brian and it seems valid to me. Everyone has a chance to put their thoughts into motion in this particular thread, and I think this will turn out to be a very informative work-up. All sides of the coin other than the standard two are included in these 11 pages (!) and I can guarantee any newcomer who wonders about puffer puffing will get an incredibly educated notion from reading everyone's POV.

Brandon M.

Your absolutly right...This thread has been very educational to me...Thanks again!!

Its good to see that people care but odd to see that this puffer thread has garnered 3,000 posts in such a short time. Thats equal to all the threads on the Industry behind the hobby for the last week and a half!
Steve @ Cortez Marine

8O <---- RIGHT! That's what I've been sayin'!!

 

[Reef_Monkey]

Oh yeah,
Len, you rule :!: 8)

 

[JeremyR]

Dizzy:

Our red sea panda puffer gulped in air a couple of times when moving him (even one time when I did it in a container, the little bugger). To get the air out, I held him under water with his mouth pointed up and rubbed the bubble out. He couldn't get it out himself because it made him float back end up, you could see the air bubble inside him. At first he tried to blow up again when I held him under, but he deflates when he figures out you aren't going to kill him, and then you can get the air out.

I don't think making puffers puff is a great thing personally, and I find it pretty lame that a topic like this goes to 13 pages, but that's just me. It's an inflamatory topic, which both sides will never agree on. Sortof like religion, politics, etc. Yer all wasting your breath on each other.

 

[Anonymous]

It's an inflamatory topic, which both sides will never agree on. Sortof like religion, politics, etc. Yer all wasting your breath on each other.

I disagree completely.

I also don't think the goal is/should be to change each others minds or to agree with each other. I think it is more interesting if we hear and understand each other while leaving room to respect different opinions.

 

[Reef_Monkey]

I don't think making puffers puff is a great thing personally, and I find it pretty lame that a topic like this goes to 13 pages, but that's just me. It's an inflamatory topic, which both sides will never agree on. Sortof like religion, politics, etc. Yer all wasting your breath on each other.

If we're wasting out breathe why did you even bother to post a reply? :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Cheeky Monkey, I'm dying to know...WHAT WERE THE PURPLE BERRIES???

 

[Supergenius74]

I'm still kinda new to this place, and im getting the feeling that some people just like to argue, why argue it solves nothing. If you have nothing to bring to the table besides an arguement then why come? people are going to do and say whatever they want, its a free country, Did anything in this 13 page thread ever get solved or discovered or corrected? nope, people are still gonne mess with their puffers if they want to and people are still going to get mad and argue that they shouldn't. IMO, the only way to stop people from doing things to their fish is to ban fishkeeping, so who is with me? lets hear it!.......I didn't think so.

 

[Len]

I know there is a number of people who find ethical/philosophical/political/religious debates completely futile and unproductive. And then there are those who find such debates not only interesting, but also enlightening. Personally, I've always enjoyed critical thinking. During the course of such discussions, I gain new perspectives. Even if I do not change another's mind or he/she does not change mine, at the very least I gain a new understanding of what others feel. To me, that's far from a waste of time.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[JeremyR]

Mainly just to tell dizzy how to get air out of a puffer's belly.

 

[brandon4291]

A group of type A brains will inevitably argue over science and personal opinion and IMO its very fun to watch. A friend of mine is a serious chemist and so are his two sons, he tells me that they get into serious arguments at the dinner table about why ants taste the way they do- phenolic vs. protein interactions and the like. Now tell me, would that not be a knee-slapper to be a part of if one could hang with the lingo? Most would write them off as nuttos, but not I. Its no different than a motorhead arguing with his constituents about the pros and cons of Chevys vs. Ford's design, who sucks, who doesnt and why, who's faster on the top-end etc.

I still think the science is purified in these lengthy debates and yes there is much emotion, but just leave that part out and make people account for their scientific viewpoints. I have to change my mindsets many times from things I was 'sure' of to something that is actually correct--if it weren't for people holding me to my words on RDO I would not mature in the areas of marine husbandry and for that let's continue!! (but maybe now is a time to start on a different subject...)

Type A people hashing it out---- AHhhhhhh the joys of verbal trading.

 

[Marrowbone]

Seamaiden, you gotta say the line in the voice of Ralph Wiggum

 

[John_Brandt]

I'm still kinda new to this place, and im getting the feeling that some people just like to argue, why argue it solves nothing. If you have nothing to bring to the table besides an arguement then why come? people are going to do and say whatever they want, its a free country, Did anything in this 13 page thread ever get solved or discovered or corrected? nope, people are still gonne mess with their puffers if they want to and people are still going to get mad and argue that they shouldn't. IMO, the only way to stop people from doing things to their fish is to ban fishkeeping, so who is with me? lets hear it!.......I didn't think so.

Well Super Genius I'll tell you what I think....

I'm glad that puffers won't be hurt as a result of this thread. If some puffers get a little pinch sometimes I know from direct factual experiences that it won't hurt them. The thread cannot solve anything. The title and the original question was "How do you make a puffer fish puff?" I answered that on Page 1. Everything else has been what humans beings do best...communicate to each other their ideas and points-of-view.

Nearly all conversations between humans lead nowhere in particular. Everyone brings something to the table. But it's the talking itself that makes this thread precious.

Like the credits at the end of many films and television programs declare, I can say:

No pufferfishes were harmed in the making of this thread.

 

[John_Brandt]

Cheeky Monkey, I'm dying to know...WHAT WERE THE PURPLE BERRIES???

They may have messed-up Ralph's stomach but they kept David Crosby alive on some island.



From Wooden Ships (1969):

Stephen Stills - "Say, can I have some of your purple berries?"

David Crosby - "Yes, I've been eating them for six or seven weeks now, haven't got sick once."

Stephen Stills - "Probably keep us both alive."

 

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine is a serious chemist and so are his two sons, he tells me that they get into serious arguments at the dinner table about why ants taste the way they do- phenolic vs. protein interactions and the like.

Brandon, are you sure it is phenolic acid and not formic acid? :wink:

 

[Supergenius74]

well argue all you guys want, I was just trying to point out the facts since the whole thread seems to have wandered off into left field somewhere, anyways If sitting in front of a computer arguing over something that will have no real-world effect on anything then go for it, who am i to contest these great minds?

 

[dizzy]

Cheeky Monkey, I'm dying to know...WHAT WERE THE PURPLE BERRIES???

They may have messed-up Ralph's stomach but they kept David Crosby alive on some island.



From Wooden Ships (1969):

Stephen Stills - "Say, can I have some of your purple berries?"

David Crosby - "Yes, I've been eating them for six or seven weeks now, haven't got sick once."

Stephen Stills - "Probably keep us both alive."

Hey John,
What was Graham Nash doing? I think that song was about survival after a nuclear war. No?