puffer question

[saltym3]

i have been trying to find some information of puffers by searching the threads but have not found entirely what i am looking for. I was curious as to what they eat, and if live rock is a must. I have crushed coral in my tank right now so i dont have any live rock in it. I have a tomato clown and a bangii cardinal as of now and wanted to know if i could get a valentini puffer. It seems they are the smallest ones and figured thats all that would fit in my 25. I will be upgrading soon hopefully to a 75, so maybe it is best i wait. Would a valentini work in my current setup?

 

[joez]

BTW, you might want a skimmer for their waste....prob not a necessity, but with meaty eaters I've learned its never a bad idea.

 

[jumpfrog]

First off, welcome to the board!
That valentini should do fine. I bought one at 1.5" 8 months ago and he's only about 2" now. They like meat so make sure you feed it appropriately. Keep in mind that most all other inverts are no longer an option once you go down the puffer road. They'll become lunch.
Valentini's are great fish!
Good Luck!

 

[saltym3]

thanks for all the comments. I hope that I will be able to find a tank that fits my needs in my area soon enough.

 

[bobo]

star and stripe puffer will get much bigger than a valentini, and they eat a lot too. puffers are pigs, they eat everything. mine wags its tail and rolls over for food. its good to give them a variety of food though, all kinds of meaty seafood...shrimps, crabs, fishes, shellfishes, lobsters, whatever. doesn't have to be live if they take frozen food, but make sure its varied and don't overfeed. you can give them something hard (such as small crab with its shell still on) so they keep their teeth sharp. if i were you i put the smallest valentini you can find until you can upgrade, then don't put anymore live stock in it.

 

[joez]

7i

 

[joez]

798

 

[seaslug0305]

i have a porcupine puffer, and we feed him frozen krill and frozen bloodworms. he will eat just about anything meaty, but he does not like the freeze-dried krill. he does eat freeze dried bloodworms and brine shrimp though. they do make a LOT of waste though!