Spiny Box Puffer

crypt keeper

Active Member
in my 150 with my ninja clowns emp angle biColor angel kole tang and picasso trigger?
Any issues? They are neat as hell looking. Are they durable like the other puffers?
 

john harlan

Member
i have a spiny box puffer i dont see any issues with any of the fish but it always depends but it just aint durable like other puffers
 

john harlan

Member
they just get ick fairly easily but its usully goes away qickly with proper medications i dont know about other peoples though and i know its not the water cause i check every week and i fed lots of diffent stuff
 

crypt keeper

Active Member
did you serve a clam on the half shell with garlic or just drop the clam in or was it frozen cubes? I will pick one up see how it goes. They are neat as hell. How is aggression?
 

john harlan

Member
i just feed it to him frozen and on the half shell they look really mean but there about as mean as a blue throat trigger but it always depends on the individual fish
 

aquaknight

Active Member
Definitely take it easy on feeding krill. Long term feeding heavy amount of krill is sketch at best, especially if it's not frozen, but freeze-dried (canned) krill. Plently of better foods to feed, shrimp, clams, scallops, squid, silversides, etc.
If/when you get him, I can almost guarantee you'll need to treat for internal parasites. Treating the water with Prazi Pro and soaking foods in Prazi. Also the disease resistance, or there lack of is pretty big. Even if you treat him in QT, if your display is not 100% free, very high chance of breaking out.
One thing to watch is with the angels, watch they don't nip at the spikes. My white tailed dwarf was terrible with the puffer, and even nipped off his antenna above the eyes.
That should be a clue about the aggression, they are near the bottom. Mine gets bossed around by everyone. Very surreal to watch a 2" Rock Beauty tail whip a 8" Spiny Box puffer that could swallow him whole.
The last thing is body weight, he's going to eat a ton, especially when larger. Typical day's meal for mine is 20 or so large NLS pellets, some nori, 2 whole jumbo shrimp, and 2 silversides. The other days he gets squid, scallops, and some octopus. His body should be flat along the bottom/stomach area. If he looks like an upside down bean, with the stomach pinched in, he needs more food.
Did you see my thread in Aggressives?
 

crypt keeper

Active Member
my display is 100% golden. How long did you qt yours aqua or are you still? My emp is very laid back. Doesnt bother anybody. I even have an urchin and starfish.
 

aquaknight

Active Member
Tough to say. I've had mine since Mother's Day 2008, where we caught him the size of a small pea. I think growth of 8" in 16 months is some type of record
.
I've tried numerous times to add him to a display, but it's always failed. Most if his life, he's been in a partially divided 90gal, that was running copper. It's always he stresses out and breaks out in Ich, I've probably treated him at least 5 times. I tried in my 125gal, too much flow, in a 60gal reef, too much flow, and in a 90gal, but the angel picked on him, so I had to divide the tank.
He's suppose to go into the 240gal, but I am really thinking leaving him in the 60 he's in, and adding a fish or two.
 
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