The Puffer Forum

Hey guys.. I have had my two gsp for a little over a year now. I started 1 of them (P-Diddy) in a 10 gallon tank when he was a baby.. With time I felt the P-diddy was a bit lonely so I half heartedly took the risk of buying a second gsp (Dorie). I say half-heartedly because i was real nervous about the possibility that they may not get along.. Anyhow, the risk I took paid off and within days P-Diddy and Dorie were best of friends and have remained so until this day....

During the time that I had them I slowly raised the salinity in the tank from fresh water to brackish and then to full marine conditions.. I eventually upgraded to a 24 gallon SW tank with two clowns and a hippo tang (all small fish of course). I had that tank for a few months and everyone in the tank got along great... As the fish grew I realized they needed more space so I ended up upgrading to a 34 gallon tank where I have had the puffers, the two clowns, the small hippo and two small sleeper gobies.. Again, everyone has done excellent together, with very minimal aggression, if any... I should mention that in my 34 gallon tank I have an anemone where the clowns sleep, some green star polyps, some mushrooms and what used to be a feather duster (the featherduster is the only thing the puffers have eaten up - along with possibly some hermit crabs, and nassarious snails that dissappeared slowly). The puffers seem to do fine with the small corals I have put in the tank so far (aside from occassionally getting stung by the anemone).

Now due to a baby on the way I am forced to consolidate my 34 gallon tank with my 75 gallon reef tank. And this is where my question comes into play... Will my puffers be likely to get along with the fish I have in my 75 gallon reef, and if so, what are the chances that they will leave most of my corals alone? Here is my stock list for my 75 gallon tank with the BOLD fish being the ones I am most worried about:
1) 1 - 3.5" hippo tang
2) 1 - 3" yellow tang
3) 1 - 6 line wrasse
4) 2 - clown fish
5) 2 - black clown fish
6) 1 - Midas blenny
7) 2 - Cleaner Shrimp
1 - Borbonias anthias

As far as corals go I have a ton of mushrooms, some more feather dusters, some zoas, 3 or 4 anemones, some torches, frogspawns, etc..

Anyone ever keep GSP puffers in reef tanks? What was your experience like? Any suggestions by anyone after having read my post? I would really like to keep my puffers because they were my first fish and I've grown very attached to them.. Any ideas or prior experiences that you could share would greatly be appreciated.. Thanks and sorry for the long winded post..

Your tank will soon be overstocked. Tangs require 90g ea. Have you seen how large an adult can get? Then, the puffers require 60g for both. I also highly suggest keeping 2 types of clown species together.

What corals do you have in the reef? If there are any SPS or anything else you really like, I definately wouldn't chance the puffers nipping them.

Pufferpunk wrote:I also highly suggest keeping 2 types of clown species together.

Is that a typo...?

Oops! I also highly suggest against keeping 2 types of clown species together.

Hey pufferpunk, thanks for the reply. As you can see I am very consciencious when it comes to providing space for the fish.. I am constantly upgrading.. one of my main reasons for consolidating the tank is to provide the puffers with a little more space since they are getting bigger. The tangs are fine so far in the 75. They aren't super fast growing tangs, like a naso, or clown tang, etc. The clown fish are getting along so far, but I can sense a little aggression between them deveoping and if it continues i'll soon have to rehome 1 pair.

As far as corals go, its not much more than what I mentioned.. I don't have anything super expensive.. my main concern I guess is the safety of the puffers with the other fish. If some corals get nipped on I will not be terribly upset... thanks..

No one else with any input?

My guess is that we're all going to agree with Pufferpunk... I do...

Really--get those puffers their own larger tank. Not only are they aggressive fish (don't play well with others) but they produce a lot of bioload. I added 2 Perc clownfish to my GSP's tank & one was gone the next day. I can see that poor Midas getting picked on quickly, being they are not fast moving & hang out a lot.

I 100% agree with what has been said. The tangs get massive and the GSP are still juveniles. Once they age a few more years the aggression switch will come on and they will start to eat your tank. If you consolidate those tanks you are looking at a 150 gallon plus to keep all the fish.