Can I keep a Porcupine Puffer

[Perthegallon]

Hello I want to get a baby Porcupine Puffer but I do only have a 65-gallon tank and I know the recommendation is 100 but is there any chance I can keep it I do have a cube so it would provide it a lot of swimming space but if hes that active I get it

 

[Jon Fishman]

Not active per se, but big, round growers. No way a 65 is big enough. I wouldn’t put one in a 100

 

[Perthegallon]

Not active per se, but big, round growers. No way a 65 is big enough. I wouldn’t put one in a 100

ah okay I wish they could stay small forever

 

[DaddyFish]

Porcs aren't very fast swimmers, but they are active swimmers, way moreso than dogface puffers in my experience.
And Porcs grow quickly. Be prepared for at least a 4' tank within a year.

 

[vetteguy53081]

If its 2-3", you can and as you know. . . TEMPORARILY

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

You’ll fall in love and have an excuse for bigger tank. Mine (10 years ago) started in a 30g, moved to 60g, 90g and eventually 180g.

If it’s small, 65g is ok (for 1 year), while you save, plan, and get upgraded tank.

They are massive poopers. A good skimmer and stay on top of water changes!

 

[Jon Fishman]

You’ll fall in love and have an excuse for bigger tank. Mine (10 years ago) started in a 30g, moved to 60g, 90g and eventually 180g.

If it’s small, 65g is ok (for 1 year), while you save, plan, and get upgraded tank.

They are massive poopers. A good skimmer and stay on top of water changes!

Dang. You’re making me long for the ones I’ve seen!

Sorry to hijack, but not reef safe..... I get that.

If all I have (that I care about) are my BTAs and about 25 headed Torch........ can I keep one? I absolutely plan on adding more (lots) Nems though.

 

[Perthegallon]

You’ll fall in love and have an excuse for bigger tank. Mine (10 years ago) started in a 30g, moved to 60g, 90g and eventually 180g.

If it’s small, 65g is ok (for 1 year), while you save, plan, and get upgraded tank.

They are massive poopers. A good skimmer and stay on top of water changes!

Oh id have a bigger tank tommrow if I could but Im in colloge

 

[DaddyFish]

You’ll fall in love and have an excuse for bigger tank. Mine (10 years ago) started in a 30g, moved to 60g, 90g and eventually 180g.

If it’s small, 65g is ok (for 1 year), while you save, plan, and get upgraded tank.

They are massive poopers. A good skimmer and stay on top of water changes!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the poop!!! There's a LOT of poop generated. And Tangs will eat it as it comes out... Yuck!

 

[Jon Fishman]

Im in colloge

Haha. I’m betting that’s only temporary

 

[Perthegallon]

Haha. I’m betting that’s only temporary

Yes but took the mcat and now to med so another 4

 

[Perthegallon]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the poop!!! There's a LOT of poop generated. And Tangs will eat it as it comes out... Yuck!

I saw the spotted one was rated for a smaller tank

 

[Tired]

Yes, college is temporary. You finish it, and then you go do other things.

Pufferfish are not reef safe. Porcupine puffers are very large not-reef-safe fish. A much smaller option is the pea puffer, which does fine in a 5-10gal tank. It's a freshwater species, very tiny, very cute. Can't really be kept with anything else due to being sort of murderous.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Dang. You’re making me long for the ones I’ve seen!

Sorry to hijack, but not reef safe..... I get that.

If all I have (that I care about) are my BTAs and about 25 headed Torch........ can I keep one? I absolutely plan on adding more (lots) Nems though.

It will go after your inverts more than corals. It might bite off a piece of coral or rock occasionally but won't actively go after corals. The worst part is when you add something new to the tank the puffer will need to be distracted or they'll have to taste it (including corals)

 

[JumboShrimp]

I know it's completely at the other end of the size-scale, but have you looked at the Valentini Puffer? Playful and adorable.

 

[Jon Fishman]

It will go after your inverts more than corals. It might bite off a piece of coral or rock occasionally but won't actively go after corals. The worst part is when you add something new to the tank the puffer will need to be distracted or they'll have to taste it (including corals)

I might go for it. Lost a boxfish to a prolonged power outage, and love the blue-eyes these guys have (and I’m a fan of big oddly shaped fish)

I always thought 250+ was the tank size for them though

 

[DaddyFish]

It will go after your inverts more than corals. It might bite off a piece of coral or rock occasionally but won't actively go after corals. The worst part is when you add something new to the tank the puffer will need to be distracted or they'll have to taste it (including corals)

I love your signature "... and an evil puffer"
I can't type any of my puffer names on the forum. They all get censored.
One does have to admire their relentless tenacity to "sample" all new things, ALL new things. I think Valentini Puffers are the worst. I can't stick my hand in a tank without one of those peckerheads (see it happened again) coming over asking, "what you got, what you doing, how does THAT taste???"

 

[NotFishyFishGuy]

I know it's completely at the other end of the size-scale, but have you looked at the Valentini Puffer? Playful and adorable.

I was just about to say, there are some smaller puffers out there that you can check out.

 

[DaddyFish]

I might go for it. Lost a boxfish to a prolonged power outage, and love the blue-eyes these guys have (and I’m a fan of big oddly shaped fish)

I always thought 250+ was the tank size for them though

They will grow to be BIG boyz. There does seem to be a sudden supply of porcs in the supply stream, and most of them I've seen are very, very small, which is unfortunately deceiving. My oldest dogface, "Moe" is about two years old and the size of a large baked potato. His younger brother "Spud" is sweet potato sized.
I have a baby porc in a 25-gal QT right now. He'll live in a 90 for about a year and eventually have to move to the 200.

 

[DaddyFish]

I just switched on lights for a second and snapped this. ********** Valentini perched atop the shipwreck mast and Moe laying in his hammock. Both were sound asleep bc it's lights out at 21:00. I love puffers!