I have a 125 gallon saltwater tank with two clown fish, a Picasso trigger, and a six line wrasse. I would like to add a puffer fish. I'm leaning towards a porcupine puffer, but my local fish store said they can be difficult to care for. Does anyone here have any recommendations? My trigger is small and fairly docile, so I think adding a larger puffer would be okay.
07-06-2013, 02:38 PM, (This post was last modified: 07-06-2013, 02:39 PM by Ram.)
Sorry, I have never had a puffer fish so I am not familiar with them. The only ones I have heard about I believe were freshwater puffer rather than saltwater.
On the other hand, it's nice to finally have someone here with a large saltwater aquarium. I'd like to see some photos and videos of it. Would you please share them with us? I look forward to it.
I'm also not sure what kind of puffer fish would be best, I would make sure it's one that won't eat your other fish and one that is easy to take care of. Do some research first and ask around at other pet stores to see what they think, do you have more pet stores in your area or in another town that you could ask? Personally I haven't seen one in any of our pet stores that have fish, they usually don't have the neat salt water exotic fishes, think it might be time for a trip to pet co and see what they have there. I love aquariums so I hope you can share yours with us once you get it completed with your fish! Good luck and hope you find the information you are seeking out.
Here's some information that might be of help. I have a friend who keeps them in his marine aquarium and here are some of our observations.
Stars and stripes puffers as well porcupine puffers are quite territorial (but not excessively so) and will enjoy living in larger tanks. They are not suited to a reef aquarium because they will eat snails, corals and other sessile organisms. They may require a lot of care and might not be suitable for a beginner.
The Fiji Blue Dot, on the other hand is much more friendly and are slightly hardier than the first two mentioned above. There should only be one per tank and they adapt well in smaller tanks as well. Since yours is 125 gallons, that should not be a problem. They are one of the most commonly available species.
The Saddle Valentini and Spotted Puffer will do well in fish-only aquariums and need experienced care as well.
Tеtrаоdоn biосеllаtus is сеrtаinly аn аttrасtivе fish. It is grееnish-brоwn with а сrеаm-соlоrеd bеlly, аnd thе uрреr hаlf оf thе bоdy is соvеrеd in yеllоw squigglеs аnd sроts. Thеrе аrе usuаlly twо lаrgе yеllоw сirсlеs оn thе tор, аnd it is frоm thеsе thаt thе fish gеts its соmmоn nаmе, thе figurе-еight рuffеr. Аs thе fish mаturеs, thе mаrkings bесоmе mоrе соmрlеx, with аdditiоnаl sроts аnd squigglеs арреаring until thе fish lооks аlmоst lеораrd-likе in thе соmрlеxity оf its соlоrаtiоn.
The best kind of puffer fish to get is figure 8. They are entertaining and full of personality. They look like young green spotted puffers with unusual patterns. Their requirements are less and are easier to rear and only need a small space of 15 gallons. They are hardy and can be kept in low brackish water throughout their lives. They live in harmony especially if they are raised together from a young age.