can I put a small puffer in my tank?

[starkissed]

I have a 46 gallon bow with a maroon clown and a 3 strip damsal... I plan to add a coral beauty .... and a pink spotted shrimp goby..... can I add a small puffer too? I don't have much for corals... some mushrooms and I plan on getting some zoo's ... tell me what you think

 

[rbrockm1]

from what ive learned puffers are not reef safe at all. you could only put a saddle valentini puffer in your tnak, all the others need a bigger tank. not sure about compatiblity with other fish tho.

 

[miamishrip]

i heard puffers belong in tanks at least 90 gallons. Not positive though - but they are so d*mn cute and dog-like.

 

[gnorman]

i think for the smaller puffers it could be done. and some people do have lucky with the smaller puffers being reef safe

 

[starkissed]

Yeah I was thinking the Valentini puffer (not my fav of all puffers, but seems to be the only one that is sutable for my tank size. Does anyone have any experiacne keeping one of these with mushrooms and zoos

 

[stanlalee]

any toby aka sharpnose aka Canthigaster puffers can be done. the tank is big enough for any of them and there is a small chance they will nip at certain corals but I'd go for it. they usually are sold at only around 2" or so and only get to be 4-5" max.
valentini, saddle (which looks just like the valentini just a little prettier) hawaiian spotted and hawaiian blue spotted are the most common toby puffers. valentini probably the most drap looking and common of them all. I like the hawaiian blue myself.

 

[lazarus]

would this fish go after a CBS? site says "monitor with shrimp"
my DT is 125 g and i have a huge CBS. if i get the toby puffer i am expecting the two would never meet....espec since the puffer is small.
am i right?

 

[teresaq]

I have a hawiian saddle back and the only problem i have is he eats my Nassarius Obsoletus snails. He hasnt bothered the shrimp or my corals but he does love those little snails. I had a valintini (jumped during a move) and it never bothered anything. it was very small when we first got it. The new one was much larger.

 

[lazarus]

thanks...am considering hawaiin blue puffer....great color on that fish! i do have snails but they will be tough for him to catch...they mostly burrow in the sand. my CBS is huge and hopefully would not be in any danger. other than this i have some soft corals.
any other users with 'small puffer' experience and i would love to get more positive feedback, or negative, before i make a purchase!
thx

 

[garnet13aj]

I'm looking into getting a toby puffer too, for a 55 gallon and I was wondering the difference in personalities between them. I like the hawaiian bluespot but don't know if they are more aggressive than the valentini or not.
anyone know?

 

[ledzep fan]

Puffers are carnivores therefore they do not eat corals. Their only interest is inverts like shrimp, crabs, snails, etc,. So in my opinion you could have a puffer. At least thats what I think.

 

[scubaguy]

Originally Posted by LAZARUS
would this fish go after a CBS? site says "monitor with shrimp"
my DT is 125 g and i have a huge CBS. if i get the toby puffer i am expecting the two would never meet....espec since the puffer is small.
am i right?

I have a CBS and a Saddle Puffer and they do not bother each other.

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by garnet13aj
I'm looking into getting a toby puffer too, for a 55 gallon and I was wondering the difference in personalities between them. I like the hawaiian bluespot but don't know if they are more aggressive than the valentini or not.
anyone know?
the biggest difference is the coloring. otherwise there arent any distinquishable personality traits. No more than you'd expect from fish to fish of the same species. Supposedly a few people thing the valentini is more reef safer than the rest (which is probably due to the fact it usually doesn't grow quite as big as the others).

 

[garnet13aj]

Thanks!