The Puffer Forum

Hey guys new to the forum.
Here are my tank specs:

65gal
Eheim 2217 canister filter
Excalibur protein skimmer
Maxjet 1200 power head and heater
100lbs of live rock
50lbs of "live" sand/crushed coral
Levels are all where they should be and salinity is just right I did a water change before putting in the puffer.

Just got my first porcupine puffer yesterday, he's pretty awesome so far.

I have a quick question about his behavior though, I haven't yet been able to feed him, and he just seems to be bumping his head into the left glass panel moving in every direction against it, when I came to see him this morning he was hiding in the live rock, which I assume is a pretty normal thing to do, but when I try to feed him he keeps "window surfing" and either hasn't seen or ignores the food, I've tried frozen krill and live molly young to see if it has to be moving. I've yet to pick up any of the suggestions from the grocery store and should probably do that tonight or at the latest tomorrow to see if that works but I'm thinking he has to get adjusted to the tank and stop window surfing before he's ready to eat.

I should add that I also have a young volitan lion fish in there with him, they seem to get along just fine and he also appeared to do the same behaviour with the glass on the tank. Is this just a fish's way of sizing up the tank and getting used to the boundaries, is the puffer going to stop conducting this behavior eventually?

Thanks.

I've seen lionfish & puffer combos ending very badly, with the puffer getting severely stung by the lion's fins. Not a mix I'd recommend. Never mind that the tank is too small for either, as adults (well, maybe just the lion).

Also, krill is the absolute worst thing to feed a porc:
http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic72164-10-1.aspx

Here is some reading for you:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=192
library/puffers-in-focus/big-marine-pufferfish-care/
library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/

Guess he was just adjusting.

He seems to be behaving normally, exploring the tank, still getting along just fine with the lion (hope that lasts), watched him eat today.

He ate brine shrimp and krill, just temporary now, I'm really having a hard time deciding what to feed him, I explored my local grocery stores, pet shops and fish stores to see what kind of food I could buy.

He ate a guppy from my feeder tank too, I realize its not wise to feed him live fish.

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I have one question about a product in my local grocer called seafood medley, comes frozen and says it contains raw squid, octopus and cuttlefish and cooked shrimp and mollusk. Its about 6 dollars for a dece size bag, will the puffer eat the food from this (excluding perhaps the cooked stuff), is it safe?

Thanks for your help guys.

As far as tank size, both the puffer and the lion are babies (2.5 inch puff, 3 inch lion), I could swap out the tank with a 90 gal or bigger in the future.

Heres apic of the tank:


Heres the lion


I'll post a pic of the puffer up soon.

Both lionfish & puffers like a refuge to hang out in. I suggest separating that rock pile you have there & make some caves for them. Neither will feel safe, nor will they feel like they're in a natural environment.

I've been experimenting with different arrangements, the puffer likes this one cove on the left side and the lion sticks to the right side of the tank in a similar cave near the filter.

Heres a pic of the puffer:


He's eating quite well, identifies the tongs I've been using as food time, and seems to play in the powerhead current which is pretty neat. I hand fed him twice already so I think he is comfortable with my presence.

The lion fish and puffer seem to be at peace with one another so far, the lion today did seem defensive when the puffer swam up from behind surprising him, just kinda standing his ground I guess, or spooked. Worst case scenario if they do start to fight I'll have to separate them but I'm hoping they become comfortable with each other (they are both still very young).

Are you worried about black spots on his face?

They were like that when I bought him, and those little spots are all over his body, they seem normal, like on this random pic from google: http://www.paulandtres.com/albums/album05/rosie1.jpg

Or am I missing something?

I am worried about your porc winding up stung like that puffer in the link. Again I will stress... YOU HAVE A REALLY BAD COMBO THERE! Please do your best to separate them.