The Puffer Forum

I always thought it was 125 or so. I was looking n the net though at some of the places which usually give great advice and I kept seeing 75G. This seemed way off!

Puffer Queen recommends a 6ft tank for a porc, preferably a 120 or larger. Never kept one myself but I've seen full grown ones and agree with her.

In the Marine Book I got it says 80 Gallons. They grow quite big so I reckon if you have an 80G tank u wouldn't have much room for anything else!

Yeah. I am not asking for me, I am not looking to buy a porc but some guy at a fish shop was telling people 75G was fine. I was really mad because I think he really wanted to get rid of it!!! I also had noticed that a lot of sites were saying 75, which seems way too small! My brother has his full grown one by itself in a 180G and that seems about right!

Word. I like how 180g sounds. I have two 2.5" modestus puffers in a 55 gallon tank, and that's only a temporary home until I can build/buy a 125g or larger tank.

Sounds great! I have a "big" tank in my parents basement, ready for big puffers one day but I live in an apartment where I cannot keep a tank that size!

Would like to have a porc, too. Probably will have to wait a few years (or forever) for the possibility to have a really big tank.

A German site I like (meerwasser-lexikon) recommends > 300 gallons, here it is about 120 and on other sites, as already mentioned, about 80.

Anyway, our local lfs has one in a 750 gallon community tank and I can watch him, whenever I am there.

Yeah porcs get slightly larger than stars and stripes from what I hear. I have a 125 and the only fish I have in it is a 10 inch stars and stripes. I am not going to put anymore fish with him there is not enough room. He takes up the entire aquarium himself!

The local sushi place has an 18" porc in probably a 125 or 150(it's a custom arcylic, can't be positive) and I am hypnotized by him when eating... He has a bit of trouble turning he's so big, and it's a huge tank.

I fell in love with a porc the first time I saw one. I'm starting with GSP and a Figure 8 to make sure I can care for them properly. In a year or so I'll graduate to a porc, if all goes well.

The lfs told me a 90 gallon would be large enough for a proc. Is this not true?

MinPin Mom

Since it gets to be a little over foot and a half long, I'd say that there's no way a 75 or 90 is sufficient. A standard 180 is about the smallest tank with an appropriate footprint for it to be able to turn freely and have room to swim.

Nick wrote:The local sushi place has an 18" porc in probably a 125 or 150(it's a custom arcylic, can't be positive) and I am hypnotized by him when eating... He has a bit of trouble turning he's so big, and it's a huge tank.

Hopefully they don't plan on adding him to the menu once he's fattened up.

Actually, I asked this question for PufferQueen, who knows a lot about porcs and her answer was interesting. She told me that there are a few different types of puffers often called porcupine, most of which reach no more than 10 inches in the wild. She said that on all her dives, her and her friends had never seen one bigger than 10 inches. So it depends on the type I guess. I forget all the scientific names but I know that the Diodon hystrix gets huge, so you would want to stay away from that one.

I also know a guy who works at my LFS, who has had a porc in a 100G for about 7 years now and it looks amazing. Im not saying that you should do that but if you research and find the right one, a 125G might work.

A 4x2x2 120G might work well, thats what Im using for my new S&S until he outgrows it. Its very deep and makes it easy for them to turn...

'Porcs' are a family (Diodontidae) closely related to the puffers with I think 22 species. Small species like Cyclichthys hardenbergi get about 25 cm (9"), others may reach almost 1 m (about 35").

In trade (at least in Europe) I almost exclusively saw Diodon holocanthus (gets 50 cm, 20").

So, as with puffers, it is important to know which species you have. I'd rather get tanks >200 gallons, since I see they are very active in zoos etc.