The Puffer Forum

Hows it going guys names justin only just got my 1st puffer today its a porcupine puffer fish iv got frozen prawns witch it loves to eat tank size is 100gallons and i also have a mated pair of clown fish (Percula) and there that scared of him they hide behind my filter witch isnt good what should i do iv only just got the puffer and the clown fish and i put them both in the tank together and the puffer didnt do anything to them .do you reakon they will come down to the live rock or should i take them back (as im keepin the puffer its so cool and its kinda dumb the way it thinks haha.

they're all probably just gettign used to the new home and coping with the stress from buying them. fish go under alot of stress before they finally get to your tank, so give everyone time to settle in. they might intimidated by him just because of how big he is compared to them (just an assumption the puffer is bigger) and don't know he's harmless yet. give them time. do you have alot of hiding places? it will make everyone feel safer if you have alot of places to hide so they can get away for a while while they calm down from the move and everything. welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy yourself here and have fun with your new puffer friend. please post some pics so we can see him!

Hi,

Welcome to the puffer forum and congratulations on your puffer!

Please read the info in the link ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Marine/D_Holocanthus/ as there is some info on Porcupine puffers there.

cheers for the quick posts guys im all the way from aus haha the puffer is bigger but hes not huge like 8-10cm long the clown fish seem to like the safe place of behind the filter atm as they know the puffer wont fit there but i really need em to come out from there or i wont be able to feed em ect will they move towards the rocks when they get hungry or will they just dye lol puffer loves the tank and he even eats out of my hand lol

There is an excellent article on SW puffs stickied here & another one on giant SW puffer species in our Library (under the Learn tab above). Both great reads for you.

Be sure you vary your puffer's diet. Another article on feeding your puff in our Library.

Tell us more about your tank:
How long has it been set up?
How much Live rock?
Protein skimmer?

When your tank is better established, you might be able to put a bubbletip anemone in there for the clowns. There is also a good chance the puffer may eat them.

tanks a 7 foot x 2foot tank - like 30-40kg of live rock -(heaps of hiding spaces - filter marisys 240 sumper - filter - and skimmer all built in 1 - tanks been up and running for like 3 weeks cycle was good to go for fish - puffer food atm is frozen raw peeled prawns - i have afew snails in there but he doesnt seem very interested in them yet - also have 2 power heads for current and he seems to love it - clown fish are stickin to the top of the water and wont even come down to the rocks so my mr's is going to see if she can setup a tank for them or ill take em back in hope of some store credit then i might even get 1 more puffer, so the 1 i have now as a little friend .also with feedin a puffer how many times a week should i feed him as he looks atad skinny



and a photo of the tank befor any thing went in

I would add more rock & make some caves for the puffer.

If the clowns are that frightened, I would return them. The stress could make them sick & they could make the puffer sick. Be careful adding another puffer. Many do not get along.

Leave the shell on the prawn, it's better for your puffer's teeth. Soak his food in a good liquid vitamin & Selcon. See the feeding article in our Library for more ideas for a varied diet for your puffer.

Could you please fill out your location in your profile? Thanks!

im not 100% sure why the clown fish arnt swiming around the rocks ect like they are stayin close to the corner of the glass then they will swim out then dash back , (its a mated pair) i might get 1 of them fake anemones 2 see if that helps at all might might em feel abit safer lol as for my puffer he loves the tank and hasnt shown any sign of wanting to eat the clowns haha

I have a burrfish (similar to a porc) and a marroon clownfish, and the clown does nothing but hide all the time. She's quite aggressive but she's not stupid, she knows the puffer could bite her in half if it wanted to (which, usually, it doesn't not want to, but it has tried a few times).

I would take the clowns back, as they aren't going to come out and be dinner anytime soon

im going to keep the clowns as they are getting along with the puffer abit to well like swiming around him and yeah haha he doesnt care there around him as my tanks got aheap of snails ect + i feed him frozen food and he loves the live rocks lol

Be sure to defrost the frozen foods in good fish vits like Selcon & Vitachem & drain, before feeding to your puffer.