[Twan013]

hey guys, i was in the LFS today, buying the last of my liverock (i now have at least 80 pounds, so i'm finished with that part), and i've been watching the guy's dogface puffer... at first, i thought it was a nice fish, this particular one was very curious and energetic, and that's all i noticed about him... but today, he seemed sick.. he was just kind of floating close to the top, with his top fin folded over, and barely breathing (the openings that resemble gills were barely moving)... but anyway, this is all beside the point.. my question is this : how hard would it be to have one of these fella's in a 55-gallon? i like them because you can tell what kind of mood they're in better than any other fish... like today, i realized that this is the only fish i've ever seen that can or will close its eyes... and that's just a small reason i want one... ever since the first time i saw it, i was like "if i only have 1 fish, it will be one of these, or a mandarin" but anyway, i was just wondering about them..

[zero186]

well i hear they are is a venomous fish, the flesh is poisonous so i dont know if that will cause to many prolems and a min tank size is around 60 but 55 if not packed with alot of fish could work. and they eat Carnivorous foods Feed a diet of small fish, chopped seafood, crustacean flesh, mysid shrimp, and frozen carnivore preparations. well good luck with your tank

[volitan_fa]

Puffers are awesome! They're one of my favorite fish too, for the same reasons. Be aware though, if you keep puffers you can't keep any inverts in your tank at all. This means snails, crabs (maybe with caution), or anything of the sort. They eat them and they're aggressive. The can only be kept with other fish that can hold their own, at least in my experience. I've never heard of them being poisonous at all.

So once you take that all into consideration, then decide. Just remember, if you go that route you will have a 55 gallon FOWLR.

[zero186]

well they are not let vary harmful poisonous to us its their slime on their bodys pretty much just keeping them from getting eatin

[volitan_fa]

Oh ok, I know what you're talking about. No that's not usually an issue. I had a Hawaiian Blue Puffer in a 12 gallon for a while and there wasn't any problem with poisoning my tank or inhabitants....there was a problem with him eating snails however (when I was more of a newbie).

[Twan013]

i don't know about about the dogface puffer specifically, but i assumed that it was fine until it dies.... and when it starts decomposing or whatever it releases deadly toxins that can destroy the tank... thats what i heard about those cowfish things...something about a cow and boxfish... the ones with 2 spikes up front, like a bull's horns, and two more in the back towards the bottom

[Twan013]

oh, by the way, i won't be getting one anyway, so it don't matter...unless i do some major re-arranging with the LR, i won't have room for anything but the smallest fish... its stacked up about 2/3's high in the aquarium, and i can't go anymore front or back... i might be able to move one or two pieces, but still, i won't have room for very many or very big fish...aesthesically, i'd be pleased with half of what i've got.. then i'd be able to do a better job at making caves, shelves, etc... but from what i've been told about the berlin filtration system, 80 is the majic number for my 55 gallon... i still just don't see how... i sort of regret using this tank for a SW, just because its not wide enough... i should have gone wide and shallow...

[D_Bo]

Puffers can be aggressive towards corals and need to eat hard shelled inverts to keep their teeth cut down.