Update/Advice sought

[SxS316x]

Hey all.. so as some may know my two F8s developed ich.

Using puffpuggirls method of water heating I successflly healed Cupid (my larger F8), however Octopoof (my smaller) didn't make it.

But thats because he was quite badly infected.. so it was only a matter of time.

Cupid is THRIVING right now.. he comes up to greet me every time I enter my room, or sit at my computer and just stares at me haha.

My girlfriend, fell in love with him/her, so I actually set up a tank for her at home, and recently gave her Cupid .

Since then about a day ago I bought a GSP, thats about 1.5 - 2inches.

I was able to score on a 24g Aquapod via Craigslist... and might I say a very very good deal, ($40).

The pod had a leak, but I fixed it with some sealer, and now its good to go!

I know eventually Ill need a larger tank, but by that time I should be financially able to give the new puffy a proper home when it is fully grown.

Anyway, I've really grown fond of full marine for the GSP, with live rock and coral .

As far as coral goes,
can any one tell me specifically which corals I can get for my puffer? I remeber reading somewhere, I think on here: mushrooms, leathers..?

Next.. which type of live rock should I try to get? this new LFS i found is great and has a HUUUUUGE selection of corals, and some types of live rock.. they house EVERYTHING properly.. F8s are in brackish, GSPs are in brackish, Porcupines in marine.. etc.

I saw they had Fiji Live rock.. is that a good type of live rock to get?
Is there any bright type colored live rock? I also heard that live rock is beneficial to SW tanks, can anyone explain in which way?

I know this may seem like a stupid question, but I'm obviously a newb.. hehe
But could anyone give me tips on the actual physical arrangement of the live rock and coral?

Also, could anyone direct me to a good reef keeping site?

This is my LFS site, not bad considering its not a chain. http://www.fishtown-usa.com/index2.php


Sorry for all the questions, but I really appreciate all the help I can get! I don't want to be making any dumb decisions, having coral die, or god forbid my puffer. And on top of that having $$ wasted.

Thanks a bunch!

-Stanley

[J-P]

I have been advised that corals and puffers don't mix ... you're feeding them a very expensive food!

[SxS316x]

Oh and would it be possible to house ONE other fish, something like a clown or something? Or a triggerfish?

[LilGreenPuffer]

I also heard that live rock is beneficial to SW tanks, can anyone explain in which way?

It does a couple things. First and foremost, it has nitrifying bacteria. It eliminates the need for a filter. Add a good skimmer and you're much better off. Second, it contains many beneficial organisms. Third, it buffers pH. There are probably some other reasons, too... I just don't know them all!

I think that reading these articles will help you a LOT! Read all of them, not just the ones on live rock.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

I would not add another fish until you have a much larger tank. Remember, puffers are often quite territorial!

About corals, I think I remember that julianchan kept his GSP with green star polyps pretty successfully...

[ittybittyfishy]

To my knowledge, triggerfish can get pretty big. I wouldn't do it. 24g is enough for just the puffer - you're thinking bioload (amount of waste they produce) as well as swimming space. I have heard that clownfish do well with GSP. Though it should be noted the tank was bigger than your current one. I would wait for that tank upgrade (consider 40g+) to add neighbors, and introduce them at the same time. Even then it might not be successful, as LGP said they are territorial.

Hopefully someone can come in and give you advice about the corals. Mushrooms tend to sprout off of the live rock all by themselves sometimes!

[Little_grey_puffer]

Puffer fish will eat pretty much all types of coral (but some i have been able to keep with coral and had no trouble at all. A law unto themselves are puffers), except those with potentialy nasty protective toxins or powerful stings (Fire coral). But these corals may also sting you and they are hard to come across anyway. However you could perhapes grow types of coral that grow very quickly (star polyps and pulse corals) in another tank, and then transfer them over to your puffer tank routienly. (Sounds like a bit of messing around but i do have a customer that does this.) It is best to do a fish only system with puffer fish really, as they are messy eaters and corals are not keen on having water with anything other than ultra low nutrient content, so they dont match up as good tank mates anyway. As for putting Triggers in with your puffer i dont advise it for two reasons. One the trigger will get big and perhapes nippy with your puffer. Two the Trigger is an extremly fast type of fish and will eat the puffers food before the puffer. Its fast movement seems to upset any puffers i have ever put in with Triggers in the past, so now i place them in different tanks. Puffers preffer tank mates who are more on the docile side and do very well with fish such as lions, wrasses, tangs. But most of these grow a bit big for your tank, but somthing to think about in the future i suppose.
Hope this helps you.

[Myaj]

Well, she's not a GSP, but paris will eat any corals I put in the tank that are pink or purple. Greens and blues she leaves alone. Anything that "waves" or "pulses" she tears apart. So I have some green star polyps and a variety of mushrooms, some zoas. That's about it, but it was plenty for me

The other problem with corals and puffers is that corals simply NEED very clean water. Puffers tend to be sloppy eaters and put out a lot of waste. The two don't mix very easily, and you'll have to do larger water changes and understock, fish wise.