Spiny Box Puffer

evilss

Member
I would like to know if anyone here has had one or has kept one. Im getting mixed opinions on them everywhere I research. Some places say there ich magnets. Some say there just like porcupine puffers and are great additions. I have seen one at a lfs store covered in ich. Looked very bad. I also seen another one at another store and it looked great. Should I stay away from the spiny box and just go with a porcupine or should I consider the spiny box. Any idea would be helpful.
Thanks
 

fishnerd

Member
Spiny's aka Burrfish are roughly the same to care for as Porcs.
Yes they are prone to ich, as are porcs, but a little quarantine will help with that.
 

fishieness

Active Member
ooo!! i always wanted a porkey, but i dont have enough water for one seeing how they get realy big. Im setting up a 40 gallon breeder for my eel, and was maybe thinking of the snowflake, a small lion like a fuzzy dawrf or a fu manchu, and maybe an angler.... Would a spiny box fit in there? With those fish? I would probably have to sacrafice one though wouldnt i?
 

evilss

Member
i heard they were ich magnets. i have never had a porcupine that had an ich problem. knock on wood. and i have kept a few. i really dont know what to do. i need a uv sterlizer on my setup then i wouldnt worry about it as much.
 

jay knows

Member
Just got my first Proky Puffer and he is so awesome, he is like Mr personality in the tank and comes right up to the front when anyone goes near the tank..
So far so good, will let you know about the Ick.
J
 

evilss

Member
i have never had a porcupine with ich. so i hope you dont have a problem with it. anyone ever kept a spiny box/ burfush??
 

shoimen

Member
IMO, I would stick with Porky Puffers. I had one for a very long time and it was the coolest fish I have owned. I am currently waiting to upgrade my tank size to add one with my Niger.
When I had my porky, I made the mistake of adding a Spiny Box. It was quickly attacked by the Porky and did not survive.

I also had the same happen with a Valentini that we added with the Pork. He was not very accepting of most other fish. He got along GREAT with our snowflake eel tho. The Pork would actually lay on the eel when it was curled up.
 

evilss

Member
thanks for the info. im more than likely gonna go with the porcupine puffer. i have had alot of sucess with them also.
 

unleashed

Active Member
i have a spiny box and have found him to be quite tough he has a lot of history be hind him ...he came into my lfs with no water in his bag they thought he was dead but recovered he was sold and came back almost dead not sure why but came back to life again i bought him almost a year ago .. and hes been great eats right out of your hand comes right up for food and splashes .even when i did get iche in my tank he didnt get it .every now and again he gets a air bubble and we have to burp him but other then that best fish i think we have had and we have had quit a few lol
 

dragonzim

Active Member
I've had a striped burrfish for about 6 months now. He's a great fish and is an eating macihine. He's almost doubled in size in that time and is beginning to outgrow my tank. They do get big. I never had a problem with ich. (knocking on wood)
 

leftyblite

Member
Definetely go with the porc puffer. I just added a yellow tang a couple of weks ago and the 2 of them are best buddies now. They follow each other and rest in the same cave right next to each other. The puffer now has the tang coming to the front to beg for food whenever someone walks by(even if they have just been fed)
 

unleashed

Active Member
Originally Posted by leftyblite
Definetely go with the porc puffer. I just added a yellow tang a couple of weks ago and the 2 of them are best buddies now. They follow each other and rest in the same cave right next to each other. The puffer now has the tang coming to the front to beg for food whenever someone walks by(even if they have just been fed)

if you havent purchased your puffer yet think about how large porce do really get in comparison to the spiney boxfish puffer are you prepaired to upgrade your tank in the future for a 2+ft puffer?most people that buy the porces dont realize how big they do get.concider this before you go out and by one just my 2 cents worth.
 

reffer

New Member
Originally Posted by unleashed
i have a spiny box and have found him to be quite tough he has a lot of history be hind him ...he came into my lfs with no water in his bag they thought he was dead but recovered he was sold and came back almost dead not sure why but came back to life again i bought him almost a year ago .. and hes been great eats right out of your hand comes right up for food and splashes .even when i did get iche in my tank he didnt get it .every now and again he gets a air bubble and we have to burp him but other then that best fish i think we have had and we have had quit a few lol

just curious, but when it gets an air bubble, how do you burp it?
 

unleashed

Active Member
Originally Posted by reffer
just curious, but when it gets an air bubble, how do you burp it?
its accually an easy proccess i catch him in the net keeping him under water turn his body mouth up small air bubbles are released this does tick him off so he puffs up to be freed once he puffs I release him as he deflates all excess trapped air is releived and all done. you can normally tell when hey have air trapped they either swim butt up or cannot sink.if trapped air is not releaved the fish will stress and can cause early death in some cases.this goes for all puffer fish
 
J

jaybird101

Guest
Originally Posted by burpuffer
i have had him for about 2 weeks now he is a slow starter when it comes to eating
Is this a picture of your Spiny Box Puffer? I have seen you referance it as a "Bur Puffer"
I bought one at my LFS but he did not have a name on him.
How big will he get?
I tried to feed him live feeder fish but he didn't like them.
The LFS told me to feed him cooked shrimp from the grocery store.
He likes them alot.
What do you feed yours?
 

unleashed

Active Member
Originally Posted by jaybird101
Is this a picture of your Spiny Box Puffer? I have seen you referance it as a "Bur Puffer"
I bought one at my LFS but he did not have a name on him.
How big will he get?
I tried to feed him live feeder fish but he didn't like them.
The LFS told me to feed him cooked shrimp from the grocery store.
He likes them alot.
What do you feed yours?
never feed your fish cooked seafoods always serve raw.they are accually very peaceful fish and unless starving most likely wont eat feeders.be sure to feed a good variety of raw (sw species only) shrimp,krill,squid,silverslides,crab legs(natural not imitation) boneless fish fellets(cut into small chunks.frozen mysis. be sure to soak all foods in fw for thawing then rinse well before feeding(this will kill any internal paresites that may be present in the flesh itself(such as tapewapms ect ) freezing does not kill them all and can be transmitted to your fish .after thawing I soak all foods in garlic extreme and seln for 5 min with a bit of water then feed.i alternate day for the types of food i feed.
heres a pic of spike hes about 6-7 inches long
 
Top