Puffer Suggestions?

[carsona246]

Hey everyone, I tried checking out pufferpedia but it's not working for me for some reason. I'm trying to decide whether to stock a 150 gallon tall tank with a puffer or a scorpion fish. I'd like a puffer that would typically fit in a 40 breeder to make sure it has plenty of space(this tank is really tall) and wiggle room for me on water parameters as this is my 1st saltwater tank I'm setting up(don't worry I've researched a ton, and am well acquainted with freshwater).
I have plenty of time seeing as the tank isn't even setup yet, however I will be borrowing used biomedia from the other up and running saltwater tank, so it should be cycled fairly quickly. I'm hoping to stock the tank in the next month or so.
Anyone have any good suggestions? I previously wanted a porcupine puffer fish, but I'm afraid the dimensions of the tank are not ideal for almost any type of large fish, so I've decided to scale down on the size in order to avoid any possibility of feeling guilty in the future.
If no suggestions on types of puffers I'd be glad to here any pro's/cons you see in keeping a puffer in a 150 tall college display tank. I'm still in the researching phase, and while I have full confidence that there should be no problems with taking care of a puffer in this tank I have no experience with keeping saltwater puffers(Have kept dwarf puffers). For instance I'm a little worried about beak growth, and people possibly trying to provoke the puffer to inflate. This is a college campus so I'm assuming everyone's mature enough to not bother a pufferfish, but I'd like to hear any opinions.

[xrayjeeper83]

what are the measurements?

A great SW puffer that will fit in a 40breeder imo would be a GSP. Very very active/personable

As for beak growth, snails and other hard shelled foods will keep that down

[bertie 83]

Glad you are researching first good on you! How about a pair of gsp? What are the tanks dimensions?

[carsona246]

I really need to get a jump on that, I'll run by the tanks today and get the dimensions in a few hours. But it's really tall.
Was strongly considering GSP's, but here's the problem. While the tank isn't "set up" it is half full with live rock inside, and a few other small critters(snails/hermit crabs all expendable) in the tank, so I have reason to believe the tank is already somewhat cycled. I have yet to test anything yet, I'm only just now getting access to the tanks on the weekend/keys to the fish tank room.

From what I've understood about GSP's is you need to slowly acclimate them to saltwater, here's a little confusion I have that maybe someone can clear up. is the acclimation only due to the desire to keep the cycle going, or is it solely for the puffer? For instance lets say I go out to walmart and get some GSP's(rest assured I won't get them from walmart) and try to acclimate them to a saltwater tank immediately. I'm assuming they will not acclimate to the salt content. if this is the case i could always quarantine them in a 20 gallon tank that I have, and slowly acclimate them to saltwater, but this might be a bother, and I don't have an extra filter laying around save for a sponge filter.

[bertie 83]

You could drip acclimatise gsp ove about 8 hrs i believe

[jus85411]

a slow(couple hour) drip acclimation from FW to marine would probably work ok. you will just have to keep an eye on the holding container to make sure it doesnt overflow lol. a cycled tank you want the water parameters to be like this: ammonia: 0 ppm, nitrite: 0 ppm and nitrate: 5-10. nitrate you want to keep as close to 0 as you can. so run your tests and if you see parameters as i listed then it is cycled. but if your showing 0>0>0 then you will have to either start cycling or get a good "bacteria in a bottle" type product. i forget which is recommended for marine, hopefully someone will chime in. its either "dr tims" or another product i cant think of the name

[I.Puff.Too]

+1- 8 hours is plenty of time. It's the bacteria that can"t handle the quick jumps in salinity. It could really be safely done in around four hours. HTH

[xrayjeeper83]

I recently took my GSP from fw to sw with drip acclimating, took me about 9 hours in all.

Jus with SW it is possible to have all 0's.

But if that tank has been up and running with LR and some life in it, I would say its a safe bet that its cycled. But I still would only add 1 GSP a week just to be safe

[carsona246]

This is perfect. I'm not adding any new additions until this tank is fully cycled. The tank is fully equipped with a skimmer/sump, and I'm adding a refugium area soon, so hopefully nitrates will not be a problem. In the up and running tank there is a black clownfish, and a red tang, and have apparently been in the tank for over 5 months with no waterchanges. Tested the water yesterday and there were 0 nitrates, so I'm hoping a combination of the skimmer and a refugium will make nitrate accumulation a non-issue.

[sevenyearnight]

What about a Canthigaster puffer? Like a valentini, or blue spotted?
You wouldn't have to spend 4 - 8 hours drip acclimating them.
I love GSP's too, but this is another smaller puffer option.
GSP's kept in multiples may fight, just something to consider.
However, buying a GSP from freshwater, then drip acclimating him, does eliminate the risk of him/her introducing crypt to the tank. And if it has ich, the change in salinity will wipe that out once it reaches the free floating stage.

[carsona246]

definitely still in the researching stage, so any and all suggestions are definitely appreciated. Going to have to go do some research on those. I think I'll probably keep whatever puffer I get solo, it'll keep the nitrates down, and I don't want to worry about fighting.
Oh got those dimensions. It's 48 long, 35 tall, and 20 inches wide. It's got a bit more length/width then I had previously thought. But I'd still like to stick to a smaller species, there is nothing more annoying to me than getting a fish, and realizing it looks cramped in the tank. That being said, I also don't want the puffer to completely disappear in the tank.
Anyone know when pufferpedia is going to be up and running again?
Oh and thanks for all the help!

[xrayjeeper83]

Thats one thing about puffers, they tend to either stay small or get really freaking big lol

Dadof4 is working to try and fix all the mess ups from the problem earlier in the week

[I.Puff.Too]

I'd go three GSP's. There's plenty of swimming room and water volume, especially with the sump/fuge. Three instead of two to help keep one fish from being constantly bullied.

[Terrance]

How about a dog face puffer for the 150g display tank? I think they are more peaceful with other fishes. They look very unusual for the students to enjoy. Those college kids better not tap/bang on the glass of the tank! Sure most will be very mature, but many are still stupid.

1 gsp would be fun in a 40b.

[sevenyearnight]

It's not really the best foot print for a dog faced puffer.