Nitrite Levels and Puffer Fish  8/11/04hi
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Just recently I have stripped down my tropical tank and made it into
marine.  I brought all my equipment of a friend who was selling up. He kept all of the living rock and coral sand living with the fish.  The nitrites went high then went to zero now they are going back up again.  The fish I have are one regal tang one clown one green Chromis and one porcupine puffer. The tank is Rio 125L filters are the standard Rio filter with a 1000lph power head, fitted and an external filter of about 600lph turnover. I also have a
SeaClone protein skimmer.  Should I worry about the levels of nitrite being produced because of the fish or will they be ok while my tank finishes its cycle, is there anything I can do to help this situation and the fish along?
<I never suggest cycling a tank with fish in it.  Ammonia & nitrItes are extremely toxic to fish.  Living in toxic water will compromise their immune systems & can cause permanent damage.  Porc puffers especially, are very susceptible to ich, brought on by a lowered immune system.  I highly suggest finding some SW Bio-Spira to finish cycling the tank immediately.  ~PP>.
              cheers Andy.

Puffer Room Mates
<Hi, MikeD here>
Hi.  I have a 40 gallon saltwater tank with 25 lbs. of live rock and a 1.5 inch stars and stripes puffer.<He will definitely outgrow this within a year or so>  I have the opportunity to add a sailfin tang, Scopas tang, and pacific blue tang all between .5 and 1 inch long.<Bad, bad, bad. First off, one tang per tank as tangs are famous for not liking each other, and since they are all packing weapons, that's doubly dangerous, with each tang having a switchblade at the base of its tail and usually a willingness to use it. Second, the smallest minimum recommended tank for a tang is 75 gal, usually 100 gal.>
Knowing that I will be upgrading to a larger tank in a couple of years<You won't have a couple of year with JUST your puffer, and even less if you add another fish. Stars & Stripes puffers commonly grow to at least 10" and can reach 1 1/2 feet>, is this a good combination of fish or are there other species that you recommend to go with my puffer.  And how large a tank should I eventually get?<I'd suggest a minimum of a 125 gal. tank, 72" long. A single tang would make a good friend, as well as possibly a wrasse and/or a hogfish. Squirrelfish also make good additions>  Thank you for your assistance<Good luck. I've got one myself that I've had just a few months and it's already doubled in size. By the way, shrimp from your supermarket would be a better basic food than anything from your LFS and will keep your tank and water quality better>
Pat

Porcupine Puffer pond snails?  7/11/-4
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I took your advice and inoculated my 90 gallon with Marine Bio-Spira and live rock.
<Great job!>
I acquired a small 2 1/2" Porc. puffer for the tank. Other than paying $240 for 4 rocks (5.99 lb) things look good.
<Those must be some rocks!>
What kind of clean up critters do I need for the tank? I have seen reference to common freshwater pond snails but don't know if they are for cleaning or food for the puffer?
<Pond snails may be ok for food, but if your puffer doesn't eat them right away, you must remove them or they will die & foul the water (they'll die soon after hitting the salt water).  Try: frozen/freeze-dried krill/plankton, gut-loaded ghost shrimp, glass worms, crickets, worms and small snails (the size of their eye). Snails are an essential food to a puffer’s diet, especially when small. Many serious puffer keepers breed their own snails. As your puffer gets larger, there are many more crunchy foods for them to eat. You can also try: puffers will eat cut-up pieces of scallops, shrimp, crab legs, whole mussels, clams, oysters, squid, lobster and crayfish. Mine love to chase live crayfish, fiddler crabs and gut-loaded ghost shrimp. I gut-load (pre-feed) my live food with algae wafers, so my puffers get their veggies. I buy most of these foods at the fish department of my grocery store, freeze and later thaw in warm vitamin water as needed. Smaller puffers (under 2") need to eat every day, skipping one feeding/week. Feed them until their bellies are slightly rounded. Medium sized puffers (2-4") should be fed every other day. Larger puffers (4-6) should be fed every 3-4 days. You may find this schedule difficult, as puffers are very adept at begging for food! Feeding puffers every time they beg will cause fat, lazy fish and eventually you will be killing them with kindness.  Buy the clams, etc that are closed, they are fresh.  I crack them open a bit, so the puffer can get at the meat.  Their teeth will scrape the shells as they are eating out of it.>
I have also heard Hermit Crabs work? What do you recommend?
<It all depends on your budget & how much you care about their live tank mates as becoming food.  It's a total crapshoot.  I kept a large red legged hermit crab for the past 6 months in with puffers & just noticed it "missing" this week.  I can't afford to try starfish or cleaner shrimp, but other folks have had success with them.  I have never had any luck with SW snails. It's totally up to the personality of the puffer.  You can't just keep feeding it, just so it won't eat it's "tank mates".>
I was also wondering how big a puffer needs to be before they can have a live clam in the shell from the grocery store? and is it the open or closed clams that are alive? Thanks a lot!!
<Enjoy your new puffer friend!  ~PP>

Tank Size For Porcupine And Lionfish?
<Hi Pufferpunk here, answering the puffer portion of your question.><and Mike D here on the lionfish>
Is 90 gallons sufficient for a fully grown Porcupine puffer (being the ONLY fish in the tank) with adequate filtration, skimming, etc?
<It depends on what kind of porc puff you have.  If it is the Diodon holacanthus, they grow to 18", so you need a tank at least that wide.  If it is the Diodon hystrix , I've seen them as large as 3" in the wild.  Not for your average aquarist!  See: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/diodontpuffers.htm  ~PP>
Also wondering Tenecor 150gal (72"x24"x20") is sufficient for 2-3 adult Volitans
Lionfish?<My first impulse is to say "NO", so I will.  While they MAY not get as large as they do in the wild, there's a very strong chance that they will.  I currently have 2 P. russellii and one P. Volitans in a 72" 125, where they've grown from the 3" size, with now all about 8"-9", and it's getting hazardous to maintain. In the very near future, all three will be going in the 300, which is much more appropriate.>  Thanks!!!!

Tank materials for puffers
<Ananda here with an addendum...a couple of quotes from the earlier email: >
I also noticed that there are smaller (than copepods) white worm-like critters stuck on the sides of the acrylic with the copepods, ...
About the tank, we do have a larger tank planned, as the fish grow over time. We have been looking at 300+ gallon tanks. We have seen some large puffers!
<I was looking at your email again, and realized you mentioned an acrylic tank. Puffers often have a tendency to "cruise the glass" when bored. They swim up and down repeatedly -- teeth up against the tank wall. When that tank wall is acrylic, you get *tons* of scratches. Kelly Jedlicki, aka "Kelly the Puffer Queen", spoke at a local marine aquarium club a while back. She brought slides. One of them showed her only acrylic tank when it was empty. It was so heavily scratched that you could barely see through the acrylic. Granted, she had several puffers in there, but she said it was the first and last acrylic tank she would ever get. I realize it will weigh a ton and require a dozen people to move the thing, but do look into getting a glass or "Starphire" tank when you upsize. --Ananda>

Tank materials for puffers II
Ananda-
<Yep, I'm here :-) >
Thanks for the input. We had been looking specifically at acrylic tanks. When Molly was feeling good, it was very much like her to cruise the sides of the tank, just as described.
<Many types of puffers do this.>
We do have scratches, & I noticed that the small "white things" tend to concentrate themselves on the scratches. Thanks so very much for all your help.
<You're quite welcome. It would be awful to know you spent the big bucks on a giant acrylic tank, only to have you unhappy with your puffer when she scratches the heck out of it...! --Ananda> 

Puffer Injured by Powerhead 5/4/04
Please help!  
<Hi Jill, Leslie at your service this evening. That's what I am here for and I will do my best!>
I have a porcupine puffer. <Love them!!>
Yesterday I found him stuck to the bottom of the power head.  
<Utto,  I can relate. I made that mistake once. That must have been scary for both of you.  It's hard to believe that these big tough looking fish can actually get stuck to an intake, but they do>
Actually his eye/head was stuck.  
<Awwwww poor little guy I'm so sorry>
As soon as I found him I unplugged the power head <Perfect> and he swam off. <That's a good sign>
Where his head was stuck was swollen but appears to have gone down.>
<OK that's good news>
His eye is another story.  It has a bubble on it now.  His eye looks normal under the bubble though.  I don't think he can see out of the one eye.  
Hmmmmm, he might not be able to.  If it was actually the eye itself that was involved rather than the surrounding tissue that is a good possibility. Hopefully the eye itself was not injured. This will be easier to assess once the swelling resolves a bit more. If it was just the surrounding tissue once the swelling goes down his eye and vision may be fine. >
He was pretty stressed (as you can imagine) <Yes,  I bet he was>  and wouldn't eat last night. < Understandably so> (He usually eats everything) <I can relate and I bet he does>   
He seems to be swimming normally today and he will eat.  
<This is a good sign>
I am wondering if there is anything I should be doing for him.
We called the LFS and they said that there was nothing we could do except wait and see.  They said there was nothing we could do for him and to leave him alone.  Is this correct?  
< Hmmmmm I guess that would be a matter of opinion. I am not so sure I agree with that.  I like to take the pro active approach. There are several interventions you can take to minimize the risk of infection and maximize the healing process:
1) For starters keep a very close eye on his eye and the surrounding tissue for any signs of secondary infection..... increased swelling, pink or reddened tissue.   
2) Keep his tank very CLEAN. I like to do daily water changes when I have an injured fish and I am trying to prevent an infection.
3) Do what ever you can to keep his environment stress free.
4) Dim the lights or use ambient light only, maybe some sunglasses:).  
5) You can certainly add some vitamins to his food. An easy way to do this is to pierce the food and soak it in a multi vitamin solution for about 15 min prior to feeding. Selcon and VitaChem are a good combo or a few drops of baby vitamins daily to food or directly to the water once a week.
6) Be sure to feeding nutritious foods
7) It maybe a good idea to have an broad spectrum antibiotic on hand should the eye or surrounding tissue begin to appear infected. Dr. Edward J. Noga in his book Fish Disease and Treatment recommends aggressively treating ophthalmic wounds to avert blindness.  Once the swelling has gone down a bit get a better look at that eye.  If the integrity of eye itself has been compromised then  I would be in favor of treating.  National Fish Pharmaceuticals  http://www.fishyfarmacy.com is an excellent source for aquarium medications as well as information.
8) Last but not least .....Puffer proof all powerheads and intakes with strainers at least or sponges. These will need to be rinsed clean frequently. >
He made it through the night so I am hopeful.  
<I'm glad to hear that good news. They are pretty tough resilient fish>
This is my favorite fish <They are pretty special and quite endearing! > and I really want him to be ok. <Of course you do>
Any advice would be helpful.  Thank you so much!  Jill
<Your most welcome best of luck with your Puffer, Leslie>

Puffer Problem, New Cleaner Wrasse 5/4/04
Hi,
your site is great and a big help to us fish keepers.
<Good Evening Leslie here with you tonight. Thank you; it is a pleasure to help!>
I have a little problem with my dog faced puffer, <Utto> last week I added a cleaner wrasse and ever since he has changed to a darker color and spends most of his time sat in the corner.
<I suspect your Puffer is trying to be inconspicuous.... by blending into the rock and sand. Cleaner wrasses and gobies are not recommended tankmates for Puffers. The incessant pecking is often stressful and to much for their sensitive hides.
The Labroides is doing his job very well and my puffer seems to pose for him as do the rest of the fish, the only problem is that every so often the wrasse picks a little too hard and the fish chase him a bit but always go back for more. As a marine biologist myself this suggests that the wrasse is just hungry and the fish are 'too clean' so I have made sure there is plenty of food in the tank.
<These fish do not fare well in captivity and are better left in the ocean for many reasons. Please have a look at this article Cleaner Wrasses in the Genus Labroides here.....http://www.wetwebmedia.com/labroide.htm
Is there anything you could suggest as of why my puffer seems down?
<My guess is he does not like being picked at>
My nitrate is also a little high, about 15-30, I'm doing plenty of water changes but struggling to keep it down.
If you do not already have a protein skimmer I would strongly suggest one. Some other interventions include adding some additional live rock and some macroalgae for nutrient export.  >
Also what would you say to a porcupine puffer as a little tank mate?
<Little? Not for long. This would really depend on just how big ....big enough is. Definitely not until you have a handle on those nitrates. These endearing fish are hard to resist. I know they are one of my favorites. They are quite messy eaters and big waste producers. You are already having trouble keeping your Nitrates below 30. If you add another Puffer it will unfortunately only get worse. >
The tank is big enough and is fish only.
<Big enough? I have seen and heard some interesting assessments of big enough over the years. I guess this would depend on just how big your tank is and what other fish are already present.  A general stocking rule for Puffers is 10g of water to each inch of fish.  Each of those fish will eventually be a foot or more depending on the species you are keeping. So unless the tank is 200+ gallons or the Puffers are small and you plan on a bigger tank in the near future this would not be recommended. >
Thanks for your time. Phil.
<You are most welcome! Leslie>

Tank Size for Porcupine Puffer  5/3/04
Hello,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I have a 3 month old 80 gallon saltwater tank with an Emperor 400 filter and an undergravel filter with two power heads.  The substrate is about 2 inches of coral gravel.  There are two large volcanic rocks and two coral skeletons.  The livestock consist of one 5 inch Porcupine Puffer (just got him three days ago and he is doing fine so far) and two small 1 inch yellow tail blue damsels (they have lived in the tank for 2 and a half months.  They were the guinea pigs.)
For the most part, the damsels have learned to live together...one lives in the middle of the tank and the other lives on the right.  The Porcupine Puffer has tried to eat one damsel but the damsel is quick and hides immediately.  I am sure the puffer has tried more than once to eat the damsels but I was a witness to this attack only once.
My questions are:
1) Do I have room for more fish?  I want about two more fish. That's it.  If so, what type of fish would you recommend to be compatible with the puffer?  I am interested in getting a Naso Tang, a Blue Regal Tang or a Yellow Tang.
<An 80g tank would be the very minimum for an adult porcupine puffer.  I usually like to see them in at least a 100g.  As you have already observed, your puffer is aggressive, even at a young age.  It won't get any better.  You could try some other small, quick fish, like more damselfish, that can get out of the way fast & hide.  I also suggest a more heavily decorated tank.  The bioload that your puffer will produce in a "small" tank as a 12" adult, will be enough to deal with.>  
2) Should I get a protein skimmer and if so, which one?
<Yes, you definitely need a protein skimmer!  Actually, on my 55g puffer tank, I have a HOB filter, a canister filter & a skimmer.  Look through the FAQs at WWM on skimmers.  Puffers are messy eaters and high waste producers. Extra filtration is necessary for these dirty fish. Immaculate aquarium upkeep is a must.>
3) What should I feed my puffer in addition to the krill I already feed it and how frequently should it be fed?  I have been told by my aquarium shop to feed the puffer 2 to 3 krill every three days.  He seems to be too hungry and seems to be  happy to be fed at least once per day, 2 shrimp each time.
<One of the most difficult aspects of keeping these special fish is their diet. All puffers are predatory fish and need hard-shelled, meaty foods to keep their teeth trimmed. Like rabbits, their teeth grow constantly and can overgrow enough to cause starvation in the fish. Puffers eat crustaceans in the wild. Foods for smaller puffers are frozen/freeze-dried krill/plankton, gut-loaded ghost shrimp, glass worms, crickets, worms and small snails (the size of their eye). Snails are an essential food to a puffer’s diet, especially when small. Many serious puffer keepers breed their own snails. As your puffer gets larger, there are many more crunchy foods for them to eat. Larger puffers will eat cut-up pieces of scallops, shrimp, crab legs, whole mussels, clams, oysters, squid, lobster and crayfish. Mine love to chase live crayfish, fiddler crabs and gut-loaded ghost shrimp. I gut-load (pre-feed) my live food with algae wafers, so my puffers get their veggies. I buy most of these foods at the fish department of my grocery store, freeze and later thaw in warm vitamin water as needed. Smaller puffers (under 2") need to eat every day, skipping one feeding/week. Feed them until their bellies are slightly rounded. Medium sized puffers (2-4") should be fed every other day. Larger puffers (4-6+") should be fed well every 3-4 days, with 1 smaller feeding in between. You may find this schedule difficult, as puffers are very adept at begging for food! Feeding puffers every time they beg will cause fat, lazy fish and eventually you will be killing them with kindness.>
Thanks for any help and advice you can give me.  Irene
<You're welcome!  Enjoy your puffer friend!  ~PP>

Porcupine Puffer  5/3//04
Thank you for your great and quick response.  I am the person who asked you about the one puffer with the two blue damsels in an 80 gal tank.  I will do my best to take care of my puffer, Spike.  I guess I won't be getting more fish.  My tank is too small.  I want to take care of Spike the best I can and don't want to worry about so many other things.  I don't want more damsels.  I do have more decor in the tank.  I just didn't want to list them all.  I will get a protein skimmer today as well as a water cooler.  The weather
has been very warm here in CA and the water temp is now 81!  I unplugged the heater two days ago after I had already turned it down.
<I really don't think a cooler is necessary.  Temps of 78-82, or even a little higher for a few days is fine.  The only harm that could come to your fish is if it was kept at high temps for years, this would quicken it's metabolism & shorten it's lifespan.>  
Do puffers jump out of tanks?
<Definitely!  They are also excellent spitters.  Check out this cute site: http://www.puffers.org/.  ~PP>
Irene

Cuban Yellow Boxfish
<Hi Bryan, just want to apologize somehow I overlooked this email. I'm very sorry for the delay in response.> 
Hey guys I just got a Cuban yellow boxfish 2 days ago. Everything was fine until I got up from watching the NCAA games to find the boxfish stuck to the side of my filter. 
<This happens quite frequently with box fish. They can't swim very quickly and often get caught in the intakes. Place a sponge around the intake and it will take away the risk of it getting stuck on there.> 
I turned off and the filter and freed the fish, but I am worried that the stress may have caused him to poison the tank. 
<It's a viable concern, but it doesn't happen as frequently as you read about.> 
I have taken him out of the tank and put him in a quarantine, but how long will it take before I will know if he poisoned the tank? 
<within 12 hours you will see lethargy in the other tankmates. Doing a large water change will help dissipate the toxin should there be any in the water.> 
Obviously I'll know if the other fish are dead in the morning, but any there any other signs. I have already done a water change on the main tank and have my carbon running as well. 
<That would be the best course of action. Hopefully it all worked out well. Another thing you might want to consider is having a skimmer on hand just in case. If you do feel that he might have spread toxic material in the water, I have read reports of how skimming the water and doing water changes have greatly reduced toxin-kills.> 
Sincerely, 
Bryan Mortlock 
<Best of luck, and like I had said before, sorry for the oversight. I do hope it all turned out okay. Add a sponge cover to the filter and it will take away the danger of that happening again. -Magnus.>

Striped Puffer (Proper Tankmates)?
I am in the planning stages of setting up a 180 to 240 gallon tall FOWLR set up.  It will have a sump the ecosystem style with lots of macro algae, also Planning on using a EuroReef skimmer.
<sounds like it will be a good set up!  using Macro algae sumps have been proven to be very effective for keeping healthy marine tanks.  Having a skimmer will be good since puffers can be very messy fish.>
       The system will be set up around a baby striped puffer Arothron something,
<Striped puffer (Arothron manilensis) also called lined toadfish, are very impressive fish.  When full grown they get between 15-20 inches, and with the bright white colors, dark stripes and long tail they definitely stand out in a tank.>
from my understanding its not a fin nipper and a bit shy in nature I gathered that from a forum and one mans opinion sp.
<That might be the case with that one man's Manilensis, but not all are that way.  I have seen these be fin nippers in tanks, nipping at long finned slow moving fish. They are shy when small, but as they mature they become more outgoing.  they are not as intense of personality as the Porcupine puffers, but not as docile as some of the dogface puffer cousins.  These fish are easy to care for, and very hardy.  Other information you need to know about these fish.  They need to feed on meaty foods, especially some with crunchy shells so it can grind down their ever-growing teeth. We generally feed squid, shrimp (the same kind people eat), mussels, and all kinds of chopped up fish to our Striped puffer.   Live fish will also be taken but should not be fed exclusively.  there is a good article here: http://reefnut.com/Puffer%20Article.htm that talks about dog-faced puffers.  the info is very similar to the puffer you want to get, so it's something you should keep on hand.>
My wife has requested a Dwarf lion and moray...I'm thinking possibly a chain link moray.
<Dwarf Lion is out.  They are small, slow moving and with venomous long spins will be a temptation to nip by the puffer.  Also, with two large fish like a moray and puffer you will most likely never see the lion out of it's cave during the day.>
      What I would like to know is what would be some great tank mates for him, when it comes to non reef safe fish I'm at a loss...mostly familiar with reef keeping...
       Fish of interest to me would be an angle preferably a non dwarf likely a queen or blue face, or imperator...just one angel.. butterflies are of interest and tangs...I know its real general....but any ideas would be of great help...
<The trick with puffers is to keep fast, large, short finned fish with them.  Or have a fish that stays tight to the ground and isn't in his swimming space like blennies.  Also it's a good idea to have fish with it that are equal in their aggressiveness.  Balances out the scale, so neither really become dominant in the tank.  Queen Angles as well as blue Face have been with Common Dogface puffers in large tanks, the people who owned the tank said that there hadn't been any problems.  though, I have witnessed some puffers try to nip at the angels fins.  Like I said each puffer seems to have their own personality.  Larger tangs work well, because they are fast enough to get away from the puffer if he should decided to nip the fins. Some Triggers are too aggressive for Arothron puffers, such as Clown triggers and Picasso.  But, given enough rockwork, and caves systems some triggers can be kept. It should be able to have their own territories with little to no problem.>
thanks for taking your time to read and respond, and keep up the great work, sincerely Roy
<I'm glad I could help, I love these fish, mine is quite a big member of the family.  take good care if you get one.  Good luck.-Magnus.>

Wild Caught fish, Clown rashes
Hi,
<Hi there, Magnus here.  sorry for the delay in response.>
I have a 1" saddleback together with a puffer fish on a tank filled with sea water for two weeks now.  I've been maintaining self sustaining freshwater ponds way back in 1999 and decided to stop due to hectic sched.
<I know that exact feeling!>
Anyway, these two were given to me as a present by a friend who just arrived from a diving vacation.  This raised my desire to do fishkeeping again.
<You picked some great fish to get back into the hobby.  Puffers are extremely personable fish!>
These marines were originally transported in a 5-gallon container (a prison) filled with sea sand, a few corals and sea water (their natural
environment).  Quite a convincing present.
<quite an interesting gift! I wouldn't mind getting something like that for a present.>
Right now, I am preparing the main tank where I could house them.  It sounds odd that the fish came first before the aquarium is done.  
<Not typically the way to have it done, but as long as you work, it should go okay.>
I just added an under-gravel filter to their prison to make life a bit comfortable.  I changed water last week to fresh sea water taken from a nearby island where they came from.  I only measure the SG from time to time assuming that natural sea water needs no pH, ammo, trites and trates monitoring.
<you are right, Sea Water is pretty much sea water.  just be careful where the water is collected.  Make sure not near any outlets, or docks were man made chemicals or wastes are in the water.  Can be dangerous for the fish in such a small area.>
Lately, I noticed that the saddleback is occasionally scratching its body on the filter tubes especially when I switch off the filter.
<Many fish in the ocean have skin parasites, it's probably something like that.  and the fish is rubbing on the objects to get the parasites off.>
I also noticed, that there are some very fine pink rashes on its white stripe near its head. I cant figure out if its an itch.
<The pink rashes are most likely bruising from the fishes rubbing. I would suggest adding some medicine to the water to help fight the parasites.  If you have any stores that carry Mardel medicines I suggest you pick up some Maracyn Tablets.  They should work well for curing the fish of external problems.>
Both are doin good on their appetite.  I am planning do some freshwater-Methylene Blue bath.  Would it do any good?
<I wouldn't use it, I'm nervous with Methylene blue  on puffers.  They are sensitive to that.  I would go with medicines designed for Salt Water fish.> Thank you.
Joebel J. Sorioso
<Good luck. -Magnus>

Tank size for Porcupine Puffer 2/22/04
Hi!
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I have a porcupine puffer. She is 7 inches in a 70g tank with a flagfin angel. I am planning to set up a new tank in a couple of months. I probably won't add any more fish. The size would be about 210g. Is that enough for an adult puffer? I found some very different info on the web (from 80 to 300 gallons). What's your opinion?
<It all depends on which species of porcupine puffer you have.  One species, (Diodon holocanthus) http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/photos/blpicfishmdemaiopuffer.htm, grows about 12" & needs at least 100g.  The giant pufferfish, (Diodon hystrix), http://tekipaki.jp/~puffer/puffer/diodon/hystrix/photo.htm, can grow as large as 3' & 1000g would be good for a fish that size.  Then you have the Burrfish, which grows on the average 10+".>
Thanks, Katja
<You're welcome!  ~PP>

Cave for Puffer  1/17/04
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Hi,
First of all I'd like to say that your site is excellent and really informative. <thanks!> As to my question: I'm planning to set up a 160 gallon system for my two pets - a puffer (Diodon holacanthus) and a flagfin angel. I would really like to build a cave big enough for the puffer (she is currently about 9 inches). Is it OK if I use a terra cotta flower-pot - turning it upside down and making a hole in it - or do you recommend some other material or method (live rock, perhaps?)
<Either of those ideas sound ok.  Just make sure you secure the live rock together with something, so it won't fall on your puffer.  A friend just lost her puffer from a rock falling disaster that caused internal injuries.  It was horrible!>
One more question: a little while ago the puffer was bothered by the lights. She swam about nervously when the lights were on, then I shielded the lights and it was a bit better. Now she prefers to stay on the darker side of the aquarium and seems to "come to life" when the lights are off. I read that puffers are nocturnal fish, but is that normal?
<Yes, the cave should make it more comfortable & secure.>
Thank you for your help and advice.  Katja
<Your welcome, enjoy your puffer!--Pufferpunk>

Cave for a puffer II (1/16/04)
Hi!
<Hi! Ananda here this morning...>
I have another question about cave building. I read about a mixture containing Portland cement, but some recommend it, others say it can seriously interfere with the water chemistry. What's your opinion?
<Sounds like you're talking about "Aragocrete". The way to use it is to make your cave structure, and then let it soak in water for several weeks, doing water changes frequently. The raw Aragocrete will cause the pH to spike off the charts, so you can't just mix the stuff, shape it, let it dry, and put it in the tank -- it MUST be "cured" first. But once that's done, it's quite safe in the tank.>
Thanks.  Katja
<You're welcome. --Ananda>

New porcupine puffer (01/15/04)
<Hi! Ananda here tonight...>
Just need a little advice on a new acquisition. I just purchased a 3 to 4 inch porcupine puffer.
<Cute size.>
I set him up in a QT, but its only 29 gallons- is this ok?
<For a QT, that's fine.>
I put in 40 lbs of live sand, hooked up a Magnum 350 with ceramic and carbon media as well as a skimmer suitable for a 60 gallon tank. Does this sound reasonable for a quarantine?  What are your suggestions for setting up quarantine on this messy little guy?  
<I would have skipped the live sand; usually, quarantine tanks are kept bare-bottomed so any possible ich can't infest the sand. But since it's in there already, keep it in there the entire duration of the QT. Do add a couple of PVC pipe sections for the puffer to sleep and hide in. It's great to hear you've got a filter and skimmer on the tank.>
I know they need allot of room, and he'll go into a 150 once out of QT, most the time I QT in a 10 because I always try to buy them as small as possible if they look healthy, but I am very apprehensive because of all the things I read about how messy and their usual health problems when purchased, is 29 ok for a QT for this size puffer?  
<Very good.>
Is that enough live sand?
<I would've skipped it, but... c'est la vie.>
Enough flow?  
<Should be.>
Skimmer ok?
<I'm thrilled you've got a skimmer on your QT. That should really help.>
Any special instructions I should know after the fact that I should have probably had before.
<I think you've covered pretty much everything. He'll want a cave, though, so a PVC pipe elbow or joint or something is in order.>
I guess I just didn't think about what I was going to do for QT for this guy, and now I'm
worried I might have messed up.  Are they so messy that he'll pollute the water before I get home this afternoon to change it?
<With that filtration setup, he should be okay. Do check your water for ammonia every day and do water changes as needed.>
He's small for a porcupine, how often should I feed him in QT?
<As often as you would in the main tank. You may as well get him used to his normal feeding schedule. But do make sure he eats what you give him; he may be a bit stressed from the move.>
Should I slowly lower the salinity to ensure he's ick free or see if symptoms develop.
<I'd wait and see. Do watch closely for symptoms and nip them in the bud if they show up.>
Am I in over my head here?
<I think you'll do fine.>
Will he get too big during the QT period for this tank, usually I do 2 months.
<I don't think he'll grow quite *that* fast.>
Should I throw some of my live rock in there?
<Nope. You might put several pieces of PVC pipe in, though, to give him a variety of caves to choose from.>
Thanks for the great site and any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,  Aaron
<Thanks for the kind words. Enjoy your new puffer! --Ananda>  

New Porcupine Puffer II (1/14/04)
Thank you for the fast response, I do feel a bit better.  
<Ananda here, glad I could help.>
Yea, I kinda thought the sand might be bad idea, but I was hoping to keep water quality up, probably an over reaction.  
<But probably not a harmful one. It may indeed help the water quality.>
When I set up a nano cube reef, before I put any fish in it I had a magnum HOT on it.
<Uh-oh....>
At only about 12 gallons they maelstrom was quite pretty, but not exactly the effect I was hoping for.
<Oh, my. I can imagine.>
On some good advice given to me by Pufferpunk I went to a human sized filter and found a lot  of very interesting little life forms in the canister, go figure, well they are in the tank proper again and would probably thank you guys as well as I.  Any chance I might be able to keep this porcupine puffer with a golden puffer in say a 240 if it was the only 2 fish in there?
<Hmmm. It's a possibility, if by "golden" puffer you're referring to Arothron meleagris -- but keep in mind the ultimate size of those guys (about 20"). One Arothron-Diodon combination that is known to be safe is the dogface puffer & porcupine puffer.>
I saw two together once in a 150, along with other fish at a LFS, it seems like a bad idea, but they didn't really mess with each other, of course I see some pretty strange stuff at fish stores.  
<Me, too.>
So with a guy this small, should I try to feed him like cherry stone clams, mussels, rock shrimp?  
<Stay away from freshwater mussels, at least. Kelly the Puffer Queen determined that some disease or parasite they were carrying was the source of some puffer deaths. I'd try frozen shrimp tails (you eat the shrimp), frozen squid pieces, and the like for this guy. Try some frozen mixed food, too (Formula One frozen and the like); it's got a good balance of nutrition, and hopefully this youngster will be more amenable to the frozen mix than an older fish.>
Earthworms pretty safe?  I hear they are extremely nutritious.  
<But they lack marine proteins. They might be an occasional treat, but I wouldn't feed them often.>
He makes a real mess with frozen krill and I don't think those shells are hard enough to have any real effect on his beak, not that I can see it yet.  
<The fact that they're frozen will help some. I find the tank thaws the frozen shrimp tails fast enough that I never bother to thaw them first.>
Anyway, really appreciate all the advice and thanks a million.  Sincerely, Aaron
<You're quite welcome. --Ananda>

New porcupine puffer III (1/15/04)
<Hi! Ananda here again...>
Ok now I'm a little worried. Came home today and the porcupine won't come out of his little cave, well he came out when I came home, swam for a little bit, then went back to his cave.  I sent the wife over to the store to get some different kinds of food for him, he ate this morning and wasn't hiding when I woke up, he was awake and running around.  
<One thing to keep in mind: these are nocturnal fish in the wild. It will take your little guy a while to adapt to your diurnal schedule. He was probably sleeping when you got home, and when you woke up, he was still awake from his night's roaming around the tank.>
I did another 15% water change.  Still zip on ammonia, nitrite.  
<Coolness.>
Salinity is 1.022 temp is 86 F.  I do notice that from time to time my Green Spotted puffers just hang out in caves in the bolo rock, and they seem fine, but I'm worried.  No spots, eyes are clear and responsive, but he seems scared for some reason.  
<Add more "caves" for him to hide in. The shorter the distance between him and a cave, the more secure he will feel, and the more often he'll be out and about.>
I'm going to see how he responds to some food and wait.  Been switching between a Magnum 350 for chemical and biological filtration and a Magnum HOT for polishing and possible parasite removal.
<Okay>
I've never used chemicals to treat a sick fish, and feel that they can usually heal on their own if provided with comfort and safety.
<Often, but not always.>
I'm worried though.  Any advice?
<Hang in there, give him more caves and stuff to play in, and let him get used to your daytime schedule.>
Thanks, Aaron
<You're welcome. --Ananda>

So you want a porcupine puffer.... (1/12/04)
<Hi! Ananda here tonight.>
I went to the local pet store to look at some fish I had thought about getting when I saw a porcupine puffer. I understand that they need a saltwater tank. I just don't know how big.  
<For the long term, I'd recommend 240 gallons or larger. This fish gets as big as a football/soccer ball, and really appreciates some swimming room.>
The employee at the store said that a 25 gallon tank would do fine. Is that correct?
<For a quarantine tank for a very young juvenile, perhaps... but these fish can live several years. Do consider that the store employee is doing their gob in trying to sell you stuff: not only the 25 gallon tank and the fish, but all the other equipment you will need and want -- and then all of that equipment *again* when you realize you need a much bigger tank for that fish.... Think of the 25 gallon tank as the "free sample" that isn't free, and you're that not far off. >
Can I put any other fish in with it?    
<It depends on the size of the tank. There is a lot of information about porcupine puffers and other puffers on the WetWebMedia site. As it seems you may be new to saltwater fish keeping, you might start with the basic marine fishkeeping sections. Please understand that getting a system sufficient for a porcupine puffer in the short term will probably cost at least $1000USD. A system that will be sufficient for an adult porcupine puffer will probably cost several times that. Further, puffers are quite expensive to feed, as they need shell-on shellfish to keep their ever-growing teeth worn down.>
Thank you for your help, please write back at [...]  
<Please consider investing in a couple of books before going further. The first two I suggest to potential marine aquarists are Mike Paletta's "The New Marine Aquarium" and Bob Fenner's "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist". The former is more of an overview, while the latter goes into a fair bit of depth on many topics. You might also ask questions and read others' questions and answers on the WetWebMedia discussion boards at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk --Ananda>  

Puffer trouble? (1/7/04)
I may have got my self into some trouble.
<Hi! Ananda here tonight to try to help you get yourself out of trouble...>
In Dec I set up a 110 gal saltwater tank. I used 4 to 5 inches live sand. I let it cycle for 3 weeks, added live rock then a few days later I added a surgeon ( Damsel)?
<Surgeonfish are commonly called tangs, and damsels are a completely different sort of fish... do yourself a favor and pick up a book about different sorts of marine fishes.>
Looks like it any way. At that time the tank was stable. Jan 3rd I brought my Porcupine Puffer home. He was doing great. I keep checking the tank, Chemical wise. I think the sand was bad. I keep having my nitrites and nitrates spike.. like Nitrite 0.2 Nitrate  5.0 maybe 2.5 if lucky.
<The fact that you're getting any nitrites at all means one of two things: (1) your tank isn't really finished cycling; (2) you need more filtration. I do hope you have a substantial skimmer -- porcupine puffers are *messy* fish. I would get a skimmer rated for twice the tank size. Also, this tank is on the small side for a porcupine puffer!>
Last night we hurried and changed 30 gal, then I came home today and they were up again. I changed 15 gal. How can I fix this? I have black sand in the tank a layer or two down and when I siphoned it, stinks..
<Hmmm. Don't siphon your sand much -- you don't want to disturb the layers that are doing denitrification. Having a layer of black sand is pretty typical; that's an anaerobic layer, which is pretty much guaranteed to stink if disturbed.>
Do you think it is my sand and what do I do.
<Nope, I don't think it's the sand. If you don't have at least 100 lbs of live rock, I'd add more live rock. Check the forums at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk for comments on various sources for live rock. If you have a skimmer, make sure it is producing nice dark gunk. If it isn't, you probably need to tweak it a bit. If you don't have a skimmer, you need one. For opinions about which one to get, head to the Google search bar on the WWM site, and type in "skimmer selection 110" and peruse the links (do a page search on "110" to find the relevant entries).>  
I don't want to loose my Puffer it has such a personality already...
<Yup, they do...>
Help. Will he make it threw all this?
<With care, water changes, and good filtration, he can. You may find it more cost-effective to get him a quarantine tank and do daily water changes in the smaller tank while the larger tank finishes cycling. Besides, you'll want a quarantine tank for your next fish, too. Much more info on QT systems on the WWM site... --Ananda>

Puffer and pH (12/18/03)
<Hi! Ananda back again...>
Thanks for the reply... I have good news. After three days of hunger strike the puffer started eating and has been eating normally since.
<Yay!>
As to your questions, I've had her for about 10 months, the water I think is OK, no ammonia or nitrites, about 30 nitrates or so (no matter what I try I cannot get rid of them),
<Do you have a skimmer, refugium, or deep sand bed? All are useful in reducing nitrates.>
temperature is 77, salinity 1.022. I do have, however, some problems with low pH (its about 7.8). I am adding Kalkwasser, but I only succeed in keeping it at this level. And phosphates are another story (about 0.8).
<Yikes. Check your alkalinity, too, then -- something is out of whack here. Phosphates and nitrates at those levels are going to make it difficult to keep the algae at bay -- if you do not have a refugium, I would heartily suggest one. The macroalgae will help with the phosphates, too. Do check your source water for phosphates and nitrates; you may want to get some sort of reverse osmosis/deionization system. Meanwhile, there's a lot of info on the WWM site about keeping pH and alkalinity etc at the levels saltwater fish need. If after reading those you are still stumped, do write in or post on the message boards at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk with all of the above info, your alkalinity readings, source water readings, water change schedule, Kalkwasser usage, etc and we'll get someone to help you out with that.>
As for the mark on her tail, it is not raised at all, it seems rather smooth and it doesn't grow.
<In that case, just keep an eye on it. You mentioned a concern that your puffer's tail wasn't yellowish -- not all D. Holocanthus' s have yellowish tails. Some are decidedly brown. An excellent example here: http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=2&ID=4659&what=species >
The only intervention in the tank since she stopped eating was when I placed the cleaning magnet from one side of the pump to the other. I don't know much about this stuff, but could it be possible that some sort of an electromagnetic field was created?
<Hmmm. Possibly.>
I know that sharks are  very sensitive about these things, but I don't know about puffers.
I am just happy that she is OK, because it is really horrible and sad when a fish stops eating and you haven't a clue as to why she stopped and how to help her.
<Puffers are known to go on occasional "hunger strikes" for no apparent reason. If your moving the magnet coincided with either the start or stop of her fast, perhaps there was a link -- or perhaps not.>
Hoping for the best...
Katja
<Me, too. --Ananda>
PS. Happy holidays!

Puffer waiting to come home... (12/17/03)
<Hi! Ananda here tonight...>
I have been checking out your site, and reading about puffers. This is great, I have one on hold at a pet store. We have a 110 gal tank.
<Okay...for what kind of puffer? What kind of skimmer do you have? Puffers are messy fish....>
We started with some live sand and coral that was taken right out of a tank and put in to ours about 5 inches that is a lot of sand. It turned our water green.
<Sounds like algae.>
We have been cycling it for two days it's still a little green, The ammonia is high in it, obviously we wouldn't put him in till it was down.
<And you absolutely need to wait until the nitrite part of the cycle is complete, too. Do check out the information about cycling marine tanks on the WetWebMedia site.>
How long do you recommend we wait to put our puffer in?
<The cycle needs to have finished completely, and I'd wait another week after that just to be safe. Do you have a quarantine tank at home?>
and should we net him or catch him a container?
<Definitely a container. Netting puffers can be stressful, and exposing them to air during transfer has a risk that they'll puff up with air, which is dangerous. You'll want to use a drip-acclimation system, too (more on that on the WWM site).>
I go see him every day he is use to us. Comes right up to the glass.
<Good idea. Getting him used to your presence now will help ease his transition to his new home.>
Thanks Sandy
<You're welcome. Please do ask if you have other questions, or post on the WetWebMedia discussion boards at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk ...and try to be patient and wait to bring your puffer home! --Ananda>

Which puffer should he get?
<Hi! Ananda here today...>
Hi, I need some help with choosing a puffer, here are the specs, 75 gallon FOWLR, sea clone 100 protein skimmer, emperor 400 filter, Fluval 404 filter, power head, live sand, 50# live rock, zebra moray, copperband butterfly, yellow tang.....
<The Seaclone is inadequate for a tank that size...puffers tend to be messy fish, and you're going to need a better skimmer to keep up with that bioload. I would also consider increasing the amount of live rock a bit and taking the Fluval filter off of the system once you get the additional live rock.>
I plan to get a puffer preferably 5" or under to try and keep tank capacity lower, I know that with adequate filtration and good maintenance it will help the tank be suitable for these fishes in the long term with size and all, I am interested in the valentini and the spotted puffers would these be good tank mates?
<The valentini would be great. There are too many species called "spotted" puffers for me to give a recommendation one way or the other on those; I really don't know which type of puffer you're referring to without more info.>
And with the spotted puffers are they all pretty much the same, just different spotted colors and the same max. size?
<Ah, no. There are freshwater, brackish, and marine puffers that have "spotted" as part of their common name...many species with a wide range of sizes.>
Thanks for any assistance you could give me.
-Jerry-
<You're welcome. --Ananda>

50 Gallon Tank... Overstocked?
<Hi! Ananda here today...>
I'm interested in purchasing a small cowfish, but haven't at this point do to the current stock in my aquarium. The aquarium doesn't look overstock to me, but it may feel like the occupancy has reached its max to the tenants.
<Kudos to writing before getting such a demanding species. I would avoid *any* cowfish in a tank that small. Do talk to the kind folks on the Yahoo forum "Cowfish, Puffers, & More" at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CowfishPuffers_andMore/ to hear/read first-hand experiences with these fish.>
Please advise if I've overstocked the tank or if I can continue adding. The following are the occupants in the aquarium:
(1) 3 inch Powder Brown Tang,
<Long-term, this guy needs a bigger tank. I would not keep this guy -- at his *current* size -- in anything less than 75g. And he's going to get a lot bigger.>
(1) 3 inch Clark's Anemonefish, (2) Damselfish (a 2 inch green Chromis and a 2 inch four stripe damsel),
<The 4-stripe is going to get bigger & meaner...>
(1) 2 inch Mandarinfish,
<Ack! For long-term survival, these guys need a tank at least 2-3 times the size of your current tank and lots of live rock to provide habitat for their food source (primarily copepods and other critters in the rock). Most people who report any success with these fish (i.e., keep it alive for more than six months or so) have at least a pound of live rock per gallon of tank size. Some have more, and many have a refugium dedicated to 'pod production. Do read up on these guys on the WWM site!>
(2) Medium size Cleaner Shrimps, (1) small Arrow Crab,
<Arrow crabs are not safe with smallish fish or smallish shrimp... and it's probably competing for food with your mandarin fish.>
(5) small Cleaner crabs, (5) small Snails (for algae cleaning).
Their is also (I'm guessing) about 15-20 pounds of live rock.
<I would suggest tripling this as soon as possible. Do check the WetWebMedia chat forums at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk for discussions about where you can get good live rock inexpensively.>
Thanks for any feedback you can provide
P.S.
The tank has a penguin filter and an under gravel 403 Fluval system.
<*blink* Undergravel filters are, um, usually considered passé' by most marine fishkeepers... they can be a source of nitrates and are far from efficient at filtration. Much info on marine filtration, starting here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/filtration/marineFiltr.htm ...Do look into getting a protein skimmer for that tank, too! If you use the Google search tool at the bottom of the Daily FAQ page, try "50 gallon skimmer" as a search phrase to get some recommendations.>
The salt and water levels are checked weekly
<And hopefully your ammonia and nitrite levels are zero, and nitrates are less than 20? If not, a filtration upgrade is definitely in order... --Ananda>

Messy Porcupine Puffer
Dear Really Smart, Expert, Fish type Guys,
<Sorry, they're not here right now, so you get Ananda tonight...>
I have a Porcupine Pufferfish about 3-4 inches that is in a 54 gal and he makes a real mess.
<Yep, they do that.>
The bottom is covered with poo and a bit of uneaten food which I siphon out on a daily basis.
<Do try to feed a bit less.>
I was wondering what I could put in the tank that would clean up the bottom and my little piggy wouldn't eat.  
<Hmmmm. Perhaps you could invent an automatic vacuum cleaner that works in saltwater?>
I have read conflicting posts on hermit crab/puff compatibility,  and was wondering if you
have any useful information.  
<I've read that they are very compatible when the hermit crab understands it is to be lunch for the puffer... seriously, I think the only way the two might last together in the same tank is if the hermit crab is bigger than the puffer, and even then I'm not certain.>
I did read the post about goatfish but I don't think that they would work because of the size that they reach (a bit unfair to the GF).
<You'll need a bigger tank for your puffer, eventually, too.>
I have attempted to ask this question in various forums and either received  no answer or ridicule so ANY info would be GREATLY APPRECIATED and MOST HELPFUL.  
<Did you try the WetWebMedia forums at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk?>
Thank you so much for your time and help.
I got the poo in my tank!
<You and everyone who keeps puffers.>
Thanks,
Dan
<You're welcome. --Ananda>

Puffin' together? (07/31/03)
Hi there.
<Hi! Ananda here this afternoon....>
I will soon be upgrading from my current marine setup to a 80 (UK) gallon tank. I currently have a baby porcupine puffer (3 inches) which will be moving into the new tank.
<I'm glad you're upsizing now...and he'll want a bigger tank in the future.>
The question is; can I also keep in the tank green spotted puffers? I understand that these puffers can do well in full saltwater, but will they be compatible with the porcupine?
<That particular combination is one that I haven't heard anyone trying before. Puffers can be happy together in a sufficiently large tank. I think it may also depend somewhat on the individual fish, as puffs are some of the most intelligent fish people keep in their tanks. Also, how big are th