porcupine and a mappa puffer acting strange

[olivazo77]

I was wondering if you guys could help me. I have a 125 gallon tank Ive had a porcupine puffer for over a year now he is about 5 inches. about 3 weeks ago I purchase a mappa puffer about 6 inches beautiful. Everything has been fine no
aggression from both of them but since yesterday my porcupine puffer will not leave my mappa puffer alone it follows it everywhere and want to be on top of it. I read the article of how purcupine puffers try to mate and he seems to be doing the exact thing I know its strange but idk this been happening for 2 days now any suggestions.? thank you here is a pic and a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KDdGKM ... ata_player

[Terrance]

Cool pics. They look like good buddies, but I am not familiar about fish behavior. Tank looks packed with 2 puffers, a colorful fish, and a eel.

[Pufferpunk]

It is highly suggested NOT to combine puffer species. Do you know how large a Mappa puffer gets?

[olivazo77]

Yes I'm aware how big they get I will be upgrading to a 500 gallon tank in a year

[Corvus]

Any chance for a better picture of the dogface?

Does not look like a A. mappa, but rather a A. stellatus...

[Pufferpunk]

Oooohhh... good eye! Better make that a 2,000g tank!

[olivazo77]

here is a better one

[olivazo77]

i think he is not a mappa puffer surlaW. u may be right it is a stellatus pufferfish.

[Corvus]

Yes, A. stellatus.

Said to get 4 feet, the longest actually measured around 3 feet (if I remember correctly). May sound ridiculous at first, but the marine puffer book recommends around 4.000 gallons. If you see an adult at a public aquarium or in the sea, it's not ridiculous any more.

[Pufferpunk]

Can you return it? Along with a warning of eventual size & tank requirements? THESE FISH DO NOT BELONG IN THE HOBBY!

[olivazo77]

well thanks for the advise i spoke to my LPS and i will be trading it for a clown trigger. thanks for the advise on my puffer it is beautiful fish but it scares me to think what if he gets that big and what would i do

[Pufferpunk]

Clown triggers can be quite aggressive. This can make for a very unhappy puffer. Instead of listening to a shop that sold you a fish that can grow to 4', why not do some of your own research on the fish you want, BEFORE you purchase them?

[Nuclear_Glitter]

You should see if you can actually donate that puffer to your local aquarium before returning him. He will only have a bad life if he's stuck in this hobby. That's if you haven't already returned him. Also, you should just keep your puffer alone. They often do best without tankmates.

[Arny]

Just out of curiosity how much did you pay for your Mappa/Starry puffer?

[Robd97]

Just out of curiosity how much did you pay for your Mappa/Starry puffer?

I have a starry and a mappable lined up for my 200 gallon picking them up tomorrow. They are both 2 or 3 inches. Also have a 10,000 gallon tank lined up at a lfs for them when I get them to about 12 inches. Paid 300 for the pair, I'll post pics soon.