The Puffer Forum

Okay so my GSP (puff daddy) is quite lonely in his 44 gal. tank so as of now I am looking for a tank mate for my loveable creature.
I have considered doing a nano reef rather than a tank mate, the main reason im wanting to add something is so that the tank doesnt look so empty with just one 1.5" fish.
The problem is that nano reefs just seem much to expensive even though i already have my GSP in full marine. i have no live rock (100$) plus the coral/ ameoba (30-80$) and then the cost of their food too (although im not sure what they eat... live rock?) Plus i would have to get live sand (which im hoping to do anyway)
So this is what ive been thinking...

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... catid=2419

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... catid=1719

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... catid=2878

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pcatid=131

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pcatid=755

And by far one of my favorites....

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... catid=1435



Or any other suggestions are welcome

maybe another GSP?

and how much do you think it would cost me to start a nano reef?

Shopping list porfa vor?

Thanks guys
you all helped alot when i first started with an uncycled tank, puff daddy is alive and well!

A 'Nano' reef will cost anywhere from $250-600 at startup, depending entirely on what you want to keep.

And don't get a tank mate for a GSP unless it's another GSP and you're willing to upgrade to a 65g tank down the road. GSPs are notorious fin nippers.

The clown fish is the best fish on the list. Don't ever get a seahorse and put it in the tank with a gsp! The snowflake eels i hear turn into fish eaters and also that tank seems a but small for him. Its a gamle with the other fish. However i would just go with a few damselfish.

What kind of nano reef are you talking about? LPS, SPS, clam tank? You might want to look into these kind of things. It can drastically affect your price range.

well i was thinking 40 lbs of live rock and some soft corals and a couple inverts. im not really sure specifically.

So im thinking either a gsp or a clown fish right? Which one do you think is better?

I just hate having to see my tank looking so empty.

BTW any other suggestions are welcome.

or does anybody know anything about keeping the octopus or angler with a GSP?

Oh and also my puff doesnt seem to like snails at all. ive tried feeding them to him several times but he loses interest after they fall to the bottom.
Ive heard cheap feeder fish are a good alternative to keeping their teeth down. yes?

Really bad combo--folks feed octomeat to their GSPs. Puffers are notorious fin-nippers, so no poisnonus spines for them to munch on. They will pick on any slow-moving fish, so anglers are out. I tried perc clowns with my 2 6" adult GSPs & one was gone the 1st night. I also wouldn't trust GSPs with any corals & if you are planning on keeping corals, expect to stock your tank with 40-60lbs of live rock & make wure it's totally cured before you add it. Your tank is too small for an adult snowfflake eel nor for 2 adult GSPs. I think the best bet is a trio of damselfish, like the very pretty, yellow-tailed blue ones.

Your tank may seem understocked now but after your puffer grows to a 6" Nerf ball,k it won't loom so.

Well that all makes alot of since =] thank you

do you think if i introduced a medium sized clown (2-2.5") now while puff daddy is only about 1.5"?
just want some clarification ;]

otherwise though, three damselfish?

I like them alot too but will puff daddy eat them?

any other suggestions? i like them but if theres anyway i could get like 1 or 2 of them and another kind of fish that would be cool too

Start out with damsels and see where that goes.

Damsels are schooling fish, so 3 would be best. I can't tell how aggressive your puffer will become as it gets older but I think maybe if he grows up with them, it might help (not always...).