Reef Builders - The Source for Reef Keeping Information

i2i · #1 (**permalink**) 12-20-2006, 05:01 AM

Puffer fishes or porcupine fishes are interesting creatures. They suck in water to enlarge or blow-up themselves. It must be interesting to raise in an aquarium.

kdknwoody · #2 (**permalink**) 02-04-2007, 10:34 AM

Be carefull with procupine fish. Mine ate my Sally light foot, Royal Gramma and i think may have gotten two of my green chromis.

They are fun fish and actually seem to interact with you. But they aren't good for a community tank.

c-c · #3 (**permalink**) 02-27-2007, 09:52 AM

My son had a puffer fish in a freshwater tank. A 15 gal. one species only tank. We put some guppies in there to keep him company.l He was so-o-o-o-o cute. He came up to the top every day like he enjoyed company. We started him out with fresh brine, and he would chase them around snatching them up in his little beak. They nip the fins of other fish so observe closely if housing with other fish. Recommened with larger tankmates. They say you can adapt them from fresh to salt water by adding a little marine salt at a time. Eventually we put him in a community tank, and he did not do well.He got stressed, attacked and inflicted with an open wound which he died from.

I recommend not getting a porcupine fish, unless you are keeping him alone as he will nip at bottom dwelling fish, slow-moving, and long-finned fish.
c-c

DoLceNBeLLa · #4 (**permalink**) 07-19-2007, 12:37 PM

Mine used to come to the edge of the tank closest to the TV while I was watching shows or movies. Every now and then he'd blow himself up real big...who knows, maybe he was thinking that HE should be one TV.

The valentino guys are adorable. You have to be reaallly careful about powerheads though. They're so slow moving that they can't get away from the current. When we first introduced the fella he got sucked up in one of the heads, freaked out and started puffing up really big. Luckily it was probably about 3 seconds worth of drama because my mom and I were watching him the whole time and turned off the powerhead (with a lot of screaming and shrieking until the puffer swam away).

I don't think they can deal with fast water though because after a few months he died. I think they're more like the seahorses in the way that they do much better with slower water