Puffers

[ssssoma]

I know puffers are notorious eaters of invertebrates, but has anyone had any luck keeping a smaller species of puffer (canthigaster) in their reef tank? I had a friend a few years back that was able to keep a Valentini in his with no problems. You think it was just luck?

 

[kanicky]

I have two Dwarf Puffers: A Fiji and a Valentini. They both like to nibble on hermits and snails, but I think they've calmed down in the past couple months or so (I've had them for almost a year.) They can pull a hermit out of its shell and they like to nibble at the soft underside of a snail, if they're able to catch one in that position.
No puffer is entirely reef-safe. Some are a ton better than others.
Neither one of my "babies" messes with our Coral-Banded Shrimp, but then again, I wouldn't either!

 

[ssssoma]

Originally Posted by Kanicky
I have two Dwarf Puffers: A Fiji and a Valentini. They both like to nibble on hermits and snails, but I think they've calmed down in the past couple months or so (I've had them for almost a year.) They can pull a hermit out of its shell and they like to nibble at the soft underside of a snail, if they're able to catch one in that position.
No puffer is entirely reef-safe. Some are a ton better than others.
Neither one of my "babies" messes with our Coral-Banded Shrimp, but then again, I wouldn't either!

Thanks for the input. I really would like to do a valentini once the tank is established.

 

[shrimpi]

I bought a puffer once and put it in my reef...
heh..
he bit through the bag on the way home.. yah, luckily it wasnt far.. I was holding the bag all sideways so the water would stop pouring out...
then he immediately started eating my favorite palys that I had just paid over a hundred bucks for- just biting them one by one, and then....
proceded to eat each member of my CUC he could while i tried to catch him
Never again will I think that I am that special to get one of the few puffers that "works in a reef tank"
Jess