The Puffer Forum

Hello everyone! Advice needed:

I have a drilled 40g tall and an 11g sump for my new reef setup. My reef is currently being housed (kinda crowded) in a 12g NC. What I'd REALLY love to do is buy a porcupine puffer I've had my eyes on (currently about 5" long), but I'd like to have my reef in the same tank.

Now before everyone jumps on me, I KNOW that puffers aren't reef compatible, due to their tendency for munching inverts. I also know how BIG porcupine puffers get, and tank space will be upgraded as he grows. HOWEVER... losing hermit crabs isn't going to hurt my feelings much (they are replaceable), and I doubt the puffer will be able to catch my peppermint shrimp. If he does, I'll be suprised, but I will buy more peppermint shrimp. Is there anything ELSE that would make a reef/porcupine puffer tank a definite no-go? Will a PP nibble on pulsing Xenia? The rest of my corals are zoos, polyps, mushrooms, etc. so I'm not worried about them. The only other invert I have is a brittle star- he never comes out, but if he does, he might make a puffer lunch.

Any advice would be VERY MUCH appreciated!

I really, really would not risk it. Besides the fact that you would have to upgrade your tank pretty much as soon as you get him, I'm pretty sure that porcs are not reef-comptatible at all. You really would be surprised at how good puffers are at catching shrimp and crabs and such. There is a reason that those are the natural diet for these guys. It's what they eat in the wild, so that's what they will catch in your aquarium. I'm not sure whether or not a porc would nibble corals, but I wouldn't be surprised. I'll let someone else answer for sure, though.

I think you already know the answer if you say you know how big they get and that puffers are not reef-compatible. These guys need a minimum of 120 gallons, so do him a favor and wait until you have that tank to get him. It's always better to stock for the tank you have, not for the one that you will have one day. Things happen, and you might not be able to get that 120+ gallon tank for him when you need to, which would be pretty quickly.

They also like to munch on corals too. Seems to keep their teeth trimmed.

Sounds like good advice. It's too bad they get so darned BIG! I'm not sure what other puffer species I could keep, although my hubby is very enamored of dogfaces. I think that the ones I like are too big and I know now (after purusing the Library/pedia) none are reef compatible.

Thanks for the info everyone! Much appreciated!

What about a valentini? They need about 30g and are (usually) reef-safe.