Puffer is a slob

ogre

Member
Just got a Porcupine Puffer and he's doing great. One day and he eats and swims all the time. Problem is that he is one messy eater. I have had to take my 2 lg hermits out so he won't eat them. The little ones are his for the taking, so what do I do for a clean-up crew?
 

unleashed

Active Member
lol yes they are messy buggers...as for clean up crew i suggest housing with fish that can do some picking up after him... I have mine in a less aggressive tank.. housed with a foxface. a clown.midis blenny.. although i do keep snails and crabs.. which are dwindling down quickly.. but looking for a silver scat to add as a cleaner .. sold as brackish fish they do great in sw .. as they are venomous they can be housed with just about any species of fish( but harder to find)
 

ogre

Member
Thanks for the response. I though that would be the only answer. Just curious though, How fast is he going through the snails and crabs? Silver scat?
 

bioneck47

Member
Originally Posted by ogre
http:///forum/post/2948893
Thanks for the response. I though that would be the only answer. Just curious though, How fast is he going through the snails and crabs? Silver scat?
Depends, how big is he? Smaller puffers probably won't even touch them. My old porky ate hermit crabs like sunflower seeds when he got big, but he was also close to a foot long. When he was smaller, he rarely messed with them.
 

unleashed

Active Member
Originally Posted by ogre
http:///forum/post/2948893
Thanks for the response. I though that would be the only answer. Just curious though, How fast is he going through the snails and crabs? Silver scat?
well i purchased about 20 crabs and snails my porc is about 3 inches if that...he doesnt seam to get the crabs as easily .. however just perfect timing i looked at my tank and noticed i still had a nas snail and noy a second later the porc rushed over to it and snatched it right off the glass
.. as for the silver scat these fish are normally sold small aprox 2 inches hey are excellent scavengers these fish not only eat axtra foods but algaes and aiptasia..also fish waste of other fish(hense the name scat).. this fish grows to the size of a dinner plate.. but does not seam to outgrow a tank very quickly in the long run hes still smaller than a porc can get...very docile species sold as brackish can be easily acclimated to full sw a member of the bass family..this one pictured below was 9 inches i had him for 6 yrs in my 125 he was my clean up crew
 

bioneck47

Member
Originally Posted by unleashed
http:///forum/post/2949269
well i purchased about 20 crabs and snails my porc is about 3 inches if that...he doesnt seam to get the crabs as easily .. however just perfect timing i looked at my tank and noticed i still had a nas snail and noy a second later the porc rushed over to it and snatched it right off the glass
.. as for the silver scat these fish are normally sold small aprox 2 inches hey are excellent scavengers these fish not only eat axtra foods but algaes and aiptasia..also fish waste of other fish(hense the name scat).. this fish grows to the size of a dinner plate.. but does not seam to outgrow a tank very quickly in the long run hes still smaller than a porc can get...very docile species sold as brackish can be easily acclimated to full sw a member of the bass family..this one pictured below was 9 inches i had him for 6 yrs in my 125 he was my clean up crew
cool, I didn't know that there were fish out there that actually eats fish poop! sounds like a perfect scavenger to me.
 

unleashed

Active Member
just ordered 4 silver scats today from LFS cost was 10 bucks..each i wont have them for a week or 2 due to acclimation time at store from shipping .. but if interested in getting one or more(they will school) call local fish store and ask if they can get you one.. you will most likely have to convert it yourself which takes about a month to fully acclimate to full sw
 
Top