Puffer Fish and Cleanup Crews

[Natterjak]

Hi, I'm totally new to saltwater, and have just started up our 70 gallon tank. I'm trying to look ahead to what fish we want to add once our tank finishes cycling, and I really want to get some sort of Puffer fish. The question I have is, I know that puffers eat invertebrates, so I assume that means I can't have a cleanup crew? If not, what should I do (I do plan on getting a skimmer) to make sure I don't have a whole bunch of unwanted growth/gunk?

Also, are there any suggestions for a certain type of puffer fish for beginners?

Thanks!

 

[reefrunner69]

If not, what should I do (I do plan on getting a skimmer) to make sure I don't have a whole bunch of unwanted growth/gunk?

Frequent waterchanges and vacuuming of the substrate will help as well as aggressive skimming.

The dogface puffer is one of the more common and easier ones. Most are hardy, but prone to ick, quarantine and hyposalinity are a must with this fish.

 

[Natterjak]

Thanks for the advice. I looked around my LFS when I went to go buy live rock, but only saw a bunch of stars and stripes puffers. I'll have to keep an eye out for the dog face puffers.

Also, are there any suggestions as to what a good group of fish would be for a 70 gallon tank with a puffer? I'm thinking of starting off with a pair of ocellaris clown fish, and maybe ending with a blue tang since I read they eat algae.

 

[TriggerHappy]

I have a stars and stripes puffer in my tank along with a huma trigger and a panther grouper, they get along fine. No inverts, moved them to a 10 gal setup after a few came up missing (missing legs, that is). The puffer is a cool fish to have IMO but is a big eater for sure.

 

[ogden10]

This is certainly not the norm but I have a porcupine puffer that has been living in my reef tank for about 5 weeks now and has yet to bother a thing. Leaves all my snails and crabs alone as well as anemones. I dont have any shrimp although. In the long term I will move him to my 125gl but so far he is happy as can be in the 55. I vac my CC at least twice a month and have a lawnmower blenny for algea control. I absolutely love my porc, he has so much personality, he recognizes when I walk in the room and will eat right from my hand. Welcome to the hobby and enjoy.

 

[packfan2204]

we have a porcupine puffer at the store that likes to be petted, and will also eat right from ur hand. I have to say its the most personality i've ever seen in a fish

 

[Peeley]

i had some big thinstripe hermits that got along with a huma huma, a dogface puffer, and some others and they turned sand over like nobodys business. sand was brown with diatoms without them. enthusiastic scavengers too. i also had a big snail that lived under the sand. so in my opinion, theres no need to cancel the cleanup crew, just scale them up!

 

[Natterjak]

That's good to hear, thanks! I guess maybe we can try a few hermit crabs in there to see how they do. What kind of lighting do they need? We just have the light that came with our tank, I'm not even sure what kind of bulb it is. Not sure if it would be sufficient to keep crabs or shrimp.

 

[ogden10]

Crabs and shrimp really need no special lighting to the best of my knowledge. If you think about it they don't feed through photosynthesis so why would the lighting make a difference. As far as shrimp go I would be careful as they can be expensive and more apt to be eaten.

 

[Natterjak]

Another question about the puffer - we haven't yet gotten a protein skimmer, and I was hoping to wait another few weeks before I got one (to keep our monthly expense down). I'm planning on getting a small puffer - will it be okay for a few weeks without a skimmer? Or will even a small puffer produce too much waste?

 

[scuba_steve]

imo your fine !! before i started my reef and got into keeping harder fish i had a puffer in a 55 gallon for over 5 years with out any skimmer !! they are tuff fish !! if ya kill one ya might want to try a gold fish for a bit j/k

 

[ogden10]

Natterjak,
I would be surprised if you get much result from your skimming at this early stage in your tank anyway. One of the things to remember about puffers is that they have no scales so they are very susceptible to ick and parasite issues. I have battled ick with mine twice. Both times he came through it fine, but I would say have a sick tank, and take one that has been at the LFS for a while. Ask them to feed it for you while you are there to make sure it is eating. Finally about wastes just don't overfeed... When I feed mine I do it one at a time and pick up the scraps that he spits out (which they almost always do). IMO I would say you should be fine for sure for a few weeks as long as your tank is cycled and parameters are ok.

Hope that helps

 

[scuba_steve]

they might be susceptible to ick but when a the tank is rid ick its gone !! the only way for the puffer to get it again is gonna be from another fish ya added !! why ya want to qt all new fish to keep the ick out !! in the 5 pluss years ive owned mine he has only got it 2x due to my fault !! like i said they are some tuff animals ! my little puffer has been stuck in the over flow which made him inhale air which i had to manually burp the air out of him sad but true but pulled thru with out any issues besides he looks like he had a stoke(side of mouth droops a bit hehe) which is its name now !! fun fish to own hope ya enjoy the comics they can be !! watch out for airline tubbing/power cords they love to bite that stuff in half

 

[Natterjak]

Thanks for all the help, guys. We just picked up a small porcupine puffer yesterday, he's about 3" long right now. He seems to be doing well, eats like a pig. He's still a little shy though, puffed up a bit when he saw the dog and then puffed up a bit when he saw us. So we're trying to leave him alone so he doesn't kill himself puffing up!

 

[HoopsGuru]

The 70g tank is not large enough for this fish long-term, I hope you have additional plans for the future as they will get to be about the size of a football. I would expect at 3" though that you will have probably 2 years or so before it starts to get cramped a bit. Final tank should be 100+ gallons.

While small, they tend to leave inverts alone in my experience. But as they get older, you will hear them snapping up snails during the night which is when they do the majority of their hunting.

In the event ick occurs, hyposalinity appears to be a very safe and effective way to treat them. Quarantine, as mentioned, should be a RULE for preparing this (and all fish) to enter the display tank.

Vary their diet, and be sure to provide some hard shelled food to keep their teeth thrimmed. This is a necessity, as otherwise they will grow and block the both resulting in the slow starvation of the fish.

 

[Natterjak]

The hope is to upgrade to a larger tank in a couple years, so we can accomodate him when he gets too large.

 

[HoopsGuru]

Yep, you'll know when the right time is. Enjoy this fish, the are truly unique!