the color black dogface puffer

Question
I would like to know if you know any info on keeping the color black dogface puffer and are they as hardy as the regular dogface puffer.they are kind of hard to get but every time i order one they look as if their stomachs are sunken in and they die of bacterial infections and fungus without warning and with them being scaleless fish it is a battle to treat them without killing them anyways.I still would like to have one in my aquariums but I want to obtain one that is healthy from the beginning and no one just carries this as  a abundant fish and its always mail ordered  how can i get the best specimen for the money through mail ordered specimens when you cant know for sure if they are healthy when you order them online.

Answer
Hi Alaica. The problem here is just as you stated. You can't know for sure if a fish is healthy or not when ordering online. One way to try to get the best fish for your money is to order the largest one you can find. Often larger specimens are a little less sensitive. The other problem here is the whole shipping process. Fish are generally not fed a day or two prior to shipping so they do not dirty up their bags as much. Get a fish that has been recently shipped from where it was collected and then shipped to a distributor and then shipped to you and you will have one very underfed and stressed out fish. Have you ever tried going to your local fish dealer and asking them if they can special order one for you? I order all the fish we have in the store I work in and always special order fish that we do not normally carry. If my distributor doesn't have what I am looking for on their list then sometimes they will put in a special order for me, to special order it for a customer. At most places where they stock fish to be distributed to pet stores the fish will go through a quarantine period and be fed and brought up to health before they are sold to the pet store. You can try to ask several fish dealers in your area if this is possible. Most people will go above and beyond to get you what you are looking for(or at least they should).