The Puffer Forum

Long story short.
I live in Hawaii,I had a 24 gallon reef in Oregon(soft coral,Clowns Etc)
and I currently have a 7 gallon cube with LR,Soft Coral(growing well),Macro Algae and 2 small herbivorous Zebra Blennys.
A sibling of mine caught me a grape sized spotted marine puffer(not easy),along with 8 or so
transparent shrimp(she saw a large puffer eating them,if that helps) that are around the grape sized puffer's size.
So I know that he will eventually get too big,but currently can I keep him sustained on Live shrimp,small crabs and
small Nerite snails in a 7 gallon reef that is 2 months old ?
My water params,if this helps.
PH 8.2
Nitrites 0
Nitrate 5-10
Ammounia 0
SG 1.026 Refractrometer
Clean Ocean water.
78F
Aquaclear 50 with carbon may turn into fuge.
So is this not a good idea,or can I keep him for a few months,
provided that I do water changes and do the standard Nano Reef treatment ?
I have no problem returning him back t0 the ocean,I don't want to kill a fish from my ignorance and will wait to get my dream 120 gallon setup.
Thanks for the help.
Josh

Does it look like this?

No,this one
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pcatid=260
I'm primarily worried about him eating.
I do have live shrimp,so I can cut one in half for him,
but I've had bad experience about marine fish in general not eating(Coral seems easier).
(i did read the forums articles about marine puffers)
I'm curious if I'll be providing the proper food for this particular species,so
if he doesn't eat I have closure(no I won't let him starve,he'll be back in the ocean.)
that I provided what he needed.

Is that the exact puffer species? Check our Pufferpedia to be sure, because if it is, that fellow eats corals & is not reef safe. Which tank is he in?

I checked the pufferpedia I can't find him in their.
I'm pretty much sure that is him.
Currently he is in a 7 gallon tank with around 13X flow,
that has 2 small blennys,nerite snail(if he eats him I'll add more),a hermit,good LR,LS
perfect parameters and availability of coral,small shrimp and macro algae.
I don't care very much about the coral,if he eats my few softy frags that's good for him
No I'm not rich,I'm just near a few reefs and figure if he eat them in the wild why not in captivity.

Well he is picking at my LR,probably eating algae,macro and sponges...
He had some interest in a shrimp but I think he is still getting over what glass is.
Tomorrow I'll see if he goes for the shrimp,or if he starts eating substantial amounts of food.

Here's the profile, its on the second page of the marine section:
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Marine/C_Solandri/

Not a ton of info I'm afraid, but its something.

I saw that one but he doesn't have the lines around the eyes,but otherwise it matches up.
I have perfect parameters and he is swimming around happily with his nice coloration.

Well I'm going to cutup a live shrimp and see if he wants it..
if he gets eating I'll be really happy,if not he is going back today.

He is eating!
After my dumb endemic Zebra Blenny was eating,he swam in and he is picking at the 1 minute dead shrimp. Well time to catch more shrimp,get a tank for the shrimp,get marine snails and buy frozen food while keeping my parameters perfect..
When I feel like he will be fine,like more situated(and i stop worrying)
I'm definitely going to take pics of him in my reef,his coloration is just awesome

If you can't catch them along with the snails, another good place to get snails is at an Asian grocery store.

I have access to thousands of them from the beach.
So when he eats them,he picks the flesh from the shell.
Does he accidentally pick at the shell to promote his teeth wearing?
(i know older puffers crush their prey)
Just wondering since since this guy is so small he can't crack snails,
In the wild what do they do when they are small for their teeth?
So far this guy hasn't eaten my coral,and doesn't bother my blenny.
And he comes up to the glass when I'm there,like he is begging
But his belly is full looking so I know he being fed well,I'm hoping not too much.