The Puffer Forum

Hi All,

I just brought a 3.5 inch Spiny Box Puffer from my LFS and it's swimming in my tank.

After I left the LFS...I figured my tank might be too small and I would need to read up this fish online. They told me he would be find in a 30 gallon tank...

THEY LIED!

I currently have my Spiny Box Puffer swimming in a tank with a Dwarf Flame Angelfish and a Chocolate Chip Starfish, along with live rock.

What should I do. would I be able to keep him in my tank? I read it needs atleast 70 gallons to swim!

Also, what do I feed him? Does he eat krill everyday? Or should I get pellets for him to eat? I mean...he doesn't eat shimp 3 times a day for 7 days a week does he?


Any help would be great. My tank is fully cycled and my numbers are great. I just worried I might have brought a fish that won't be happy in my tank...



Thanks everyone!

Also...he keeps puffing up...

He starts to puff up slightly and then he calms down...any advice?

This is why you need to educate yourself before buying...
He needs at least 120 gallons to himself to survive. And no, he doesn't eat 3 times a day. Once a day is just fine. There are no pellets or flakes to feed him with. They eat crustaceans and mollusks out in the wild, and they'll eat them in your tank. Please, relocate the puffer as soon as possible. The trauma is cutting his life short. The puffing up is normal.

Christemo is right, a 90 gallon tank would be best, and of course, the bigger the better. Spiny Box puffers are more sensitive than porcupine puffers and often have ips (internal parasites) and it would be best to deworm them as a preventative measure. They tend to be less aggressive than procupines, but with your current stocking, the flame angel shouldn't do any harm, and it might eat the starfish. Puffers are not invert safe.

As for diet, you can feed them once a day, or more often if you have the inkling, but they are prone to overfeeding because they beg and are pigs. So if you feed them more often, feed them small portions. You can feed them a variety of shellfish including shrimp, prawns, oysters and clams and mussels on the half shell, lobster and crab meat stuck to the shell, squid, octopus, and other things you may find from a fish market (but not fish). Krill is not a good food as they can get addicted to it and it doesn't have all the necessary vitamins they require to live long and healthy lives. Be sure to soak foods in vitamins if you are short on variety.

Thanks guys. I'll take him back first thing tomorrow morning!!! and get something else

Good call!

I'd stop purchasing from that LFS. As sad as it is, most LFS (in my experience) are very unethical/uneducated. I stick to online vendors.