can puffers be kept with corals?

[camillo]

i recently acquired a niger triggerfish and a saddled toby puffer fish from a friends old tank, i wasnt too sure about taking the puffer as i want to get corals in the future and i heard they eat them, but i couldnt refuse a free fish. im just wondering if i do want to get some corals, are there anythat are suitable for keeping with a sadled toby? my friend had kept the fish with plenty of corals and it never bothered them, also can it be kept with an anenome? i have one mushroom in their atm and he hasnt even gone near it.

 

[teresaq]

They are fine with corals, its snails you have to worry about. I had one and it never bothered mine.

 

[royal gang]

well it says that they are not reef safe

 

[nick76]

Originally Posted by ROYAL GANG
well it says that they are not reef safe

meaning they will eat your inverts.

 

[camillo]

well does anyone have any suggestion on what i can add to my tank to help keep it clean? if i cant have inverts what can i use as a cleanup crew?

 

[scsinet]

Urchins.
Get em small. The big ones will plow down anything in their path, toppling rocks, equipment, etc.

 

[emeralcrab]

I don't know, my long spiny black urchin eats all day long and doesn't seem to make a dent in the algae, plus wont the trigger eat the urchin? That is what they tell me anyway. I am thinking about getting rid of my urchin because of my corals, although he hasn't knocked any thing over yet.
I put a clam in with my huma huma the other day, what a riot, he was doing anything and everything to get the clam out of the shell.

 

[scsinet]

Yeah sorry, missed the trigger in the fish list. Yeah he'll take out that urchin.
Not a lot of options here... gotta realize that sometimes fish are labeled as "not reef safe" for other reasons that just eating coral. If he insists on keeping these fish, then his options run short.

 

[camillo]

ok so if its not my puffer that will cause problems to a clean up crew its gonna be my trigger, do you recomend i get rid of these fish or is a clean up crew not neccasary, i have pretty bad algae problems at the moment

 

[scsinet]

You've got it. That's the reason that both Triggers and Puffers are "non reef safe;" their predisposition towards consuming inverts.
If you have algae problems, the only natural means I can think of that you have at your disposal are tangs or blennies, but they won't clean it up as well as a good invert crew.
Yeah I'd say you need to drop one or both fish.

 

[stanlalee]

You can get toby puffers fairly small (well not like they grow big but like 2" small) and they may or may not eat hermits and snails depending on the size (of both puffer and inverts) and the demeanor of the toby. Shrimp dont stand much of a chance. Keeping them well fed would probably help but I think when you keep a reef with toby puffers and triggers you should just expect to sacrafice inverts rather than trying to go without a clean up crew. hermits and snails are cheap enough and a few will be clever and cautious enough to last a while.