hawain blue puffer

[skorte09]

how large of a tank does a hwaain blue puffer need?

 

[ryan]

He should be fine in a 30 or larger.

 

[mbrands]

I've got mine in my 55, but he might be getting his own tank soon. I surprisingly talked my wife into a lighting upgrade, which means I can keep corals, which means Diddy needs a new home.

 

[loopy]

Mine is in a 55. He doesn't 'puff' though. Never. I have even not intentionally scared the poo poo outa him, but no puff...hmm, maybe he's broken.
Don't puffers chomp on corals? maybe not, but I'd check.

 

[mbrands]

They are not reef safe . . . thats why I've got to get a new home for Diddy.
The toby puffers don't really puff much, if at all. Also you don't want them to puff. They only do this if severely stressed and think they are being threatened. This would weaken their immune system.

 

[texasex]

30 gallons is pushing it, unless you expect him to die soon. A 55 gallon would probably give him enough room, I would ask someone who actually has one. I have heard they can get pretty big.

 

[mbrands]

They only get up to 5". Following the 1"/5 gallons I should be fine, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ophiura]

The 1" for 5 gallons is really a rough estimate...and when dealing with fish like puffers (or otherwise aggressive, territorial, messy, active) fish, it really doesn't apply well. Maybe if it is the only fish in there...
And I agree, definitely don't want puffers to puff...regardless of their name!

 

[mbrands]

ophiura,
I realize that puffers are messy fish and need more room than others might, but I definitely appreciate your feedback. I'd much rather have someone tell me something I already know of than learn myself the hard way!
I do plan to put him in his own tank and he'd likely be the only fish. He has left my snails and hermits alone, so I'd probably put a few in the new tanks as a cleaner crew.
I also stopped by my LFS today to see what corals they had and price shop their lights. One of the employees said they'd be interested in taking the puffer for store credit. I'm just not sure I want to give him up.
Thanks again!!