The Puffer Forum

Hi im freddie me and my GF have just bought a Porcupine pufferfish, and we were setting up the tank: putting marine salt in water etc.. Now we approximated the amount of salt needed as we dont have something to measure the Salinity yet. Then to see if we got the salinity right, we both dipped a finger in the tank to taste the the saltiness of the water and Then we dipped our fingers in the Bag of Water that contains the porcupine puffer to taste how salty his water is!!!
Now we only dipped 1 finger each into the puffers water and tasted it without spitting the water back out at first!

What I need to know is are pufferfish only poisonous when you eat their flesh IE Fugu or do they release their Poison into the Water too??
If so are we at risk. reply ASAP please TYVM for reading this? we are Puffer Noobs as you can see!

Calm down. The poison is all internal - unless the fish had open wounds, you're fine. And even if they had open wounds, you'd still probably be fine.

LilGreenPuffer wrote:Calm down. The poison is all internal - unless the fish had open wounds, you're fine. And even if they had open wounds, you'd still probably be fine.

Are Mate Im so relieved i get real paranoid like that! The other problem we having right now is we Bought a small Porcupine puffer and a DogFace Puffer, now the fish shop said its ok for them to go in together? But it seems like the Porcupine Puffer keeps trying to attack the Dog face Puffer! How can we climatize them, to not attack each other??

& I'd be dead long ago - the amount of tank water I've accidently swallowed, whilst starting the syphon off!! Although you should get a refractometer asap (a little more reliable than taste!!)

Yeah, you're going to be perfectly fine.

Are you sure you really are gonna be fit to care for a porcupine puffer when you don't even have a hydrometer/refractometer to measure the salinity? They are intelligent and sensitive animals and deserve to go to well-prepared homes. Please make sure you know you are providing at least the minimal requirements for them.

It sounds like you have not cycled the tank for at least 2 months, which almost certainly will lead to puffer death.

Oh and also a dogface puffer. May I ask how big the tank is? If one of them is showing aggression already, it REALLY is important that you separate them by 1) returning one or both to the store, 2) use a tank separator until you find another tank for the other one, or 3) get a much bigger tank so they have their own territories.

Their maximum lifespans are around 15 years if the best care is being provided, and please try to do everything you can to make sure they don't get stunted or have premature deaths. I'm not trying to discourage you because I too, fell in love with puffers while I was misled by the store about a ton of information. I brought them home and realized I should have been more well-informed before I jumped to the deep end.

Please read these articles in the puffer library:
library/puffers-in-focus/big-marine-pufferfish-care/
library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/
library/puffer-care/alone-but-not-lonel ... fers-solo/
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Marine/A_Nigropunctatus/
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Marine/D_Holocanthus/

recombinantrider wrote:Yeah, you're going to be perfectly fine.

Are you sure you really are gonna be fit to care for a porcupine puffer when you don't even have a hydrometer/refractometer to measure the salinity? They are intelligent and sensitive animals and deserve to go to well-prepared homes. Please make sure you know you are providing at least the minimal requirements for them.

It sounds like you have not cycled the tank for at least 2 months, which almost certainly will lead to puffer death.

We Bought a R.O Pump i.e. Reverse Osmosis Water Purifier Pump Connected to Our Mains Supply! that removes NH4, NO3, NO2 plus all other crap from normal tap water as we were told you cannot change marine water like in Freshwater Tanks. This R.O Purifier cost us £89.00. So the water we put in the Marine Tank is Pure. As for the Water Being Cycled the BIO Filter we have has estabilished Bacteria Colonies that have been giving Months to develop. As it was previous to this a BIO-Filter for a Well Estabilished Tropical Aquarium. So no we have not Cycled the tank for 2 Months but YEss the Water is Pure and Bio Filter can take the Organic Load from waste material!

But tell me can you climatize a Dog face Puffer (5 Inches long) with a Porcupine Puffer (2.5 Inches Long) of which the Dogface seems to fear the Pocupine!??????

I am wondering if the filter with the established bacterial colonies you have came from a fresh water aquarium. By tropical, I really can't be sure if you meant FW or SW. If it's from SW, it is good news, but if it's FW, then the bacteria will die due to the drastic salinity change from 1.000 to 1.020 or above.

As for the bioload in a marine aquarium set up, to my understanding (please correct me if I am wrong), is best managed with:
1) frequent water changes;
2) live rocks (1 lb per gallon of water);
3) A good protein skimmer
but of course a filter could be a nice addition to host the bacteria and move the water around.

Puffers have very different personalities, even within the same species. While some would be the best friends in the same tank, some would be restless in the other one's presence and would do anything to get rid of the roommate. I think you're one of the unlucky ones with incompatible puffers. But keep in mind that even if you somehow manage to keep them together, you may still find one being nipped to death one day, because they do change their minds sometimes, as I've heard stories quite a bit on the forum. They are best kept in their own tanks.

Walrus Head wrote:We Bought a R.O Pump i.e. Reverse Osmosis Water Purifier Pump Connected to Our Mains Supply! that removes NH4, NO3, NO2 plus all other crap from normal tap water as we were told you cannot change marine water like in Freshwater Tanks.

RO units would remove this stuff, but the problem is that ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are produced by the fish. Also, you can change the water. You will actually have to change a bit more than in the average FW tank unless you have live rock. A skimmer cuts back on this even more.

recombinantrider wrote:I am wondering if the filter with the established bacterial colonies you have came from a fresh water aquarium. By tropical, I really can't be sure if you meant FW or SW. If it's from SW, it is good news, but if it's FW, then the bacteria will die due to the drastic salinity change from 1.000 to 1.020 or above.

As for the bioload in a marine aquarium set up, to my understanding (please correct me if I am wrong), is best managed with:
1) frequent water changes;
2) live rocks (1 lb per gallon of water);
3) A good protein skimmer
but of course a filter could be a nice addition to host the bacteria and move the water around.

Puffers have very different personalities, even within the same species. While some would be the best friends in the same tank, some would be restless in the other one's presence and would do anything to get rid of the roommate. I think you're one of the unlucky ones with incompatible puffers. But keep in mind that even if you somehow manage to keep them together, you may still find one being nipped to death one day, because they do change their minds sometimes, as I've heard stories quite a bit on the forum. They are best kept in their own tanks.

Double fu*k well doggy is gonna have to go back 2 moro, plus that bio filter was FW!

So which fish can be climatized with porcupine??? we already have a lionfish in their tank and he his not attacked at all!!

For now i have put the dogface back in a 1 gallon plastic bag floting in tank to seperate them!!

I would suggest that you read this: http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&n ... page&pid=1 (Especially pages 7 and 8, but read all of it!)

It's always, always, always crucial to do your research before you bring your animals home.

Also, if the top of that bag is not open, your dogface probably will not last the night. Give him water changes while he's in there.

How big is your tank, and what animals are in there? You may prefer to return all the animals, cycle the tank properly, and then go back for your stock.

LilGreenPuffer wrote:Also, if the top of that bag is not open, your dogface probably will not last the night. Give him water changes while he's in there.

How big is your tank, and what animals are in there? You may prefer to return all the animals, cycle the tank properly, and then go back for your stock.

Nah im scared if i do that and get my money back, they might go sell them to someone else! yeh ill do changes in the bag left it open too.

Right now we have Doggy in a bag, and a lionfish with the Pocupine puffer (2.5" long)in the tank, Tank size is 200L.

We have a Fahaka in another tank with FW, thats has been Running for months hes 6" long and Happy as Hell!

That tank is way too small! Did you read the species profiles? Your fish will outgrow this tank fairly soon, and if you wait too long to upgrade, they'll be stunted. Remember, as it says in the links recomb gave you, the dogface will need *at least* 380l, the porc will need *at least* another 450, and then you'll need even more space for the lionfish. If you intend to keep the porc and lion, the best course might be to get some pre-cured live rock, or else some Bio-Spira.