Porcupine puffer experiences?

[MPrz59]

Good evening, I'm currently planning a 300 gallon FOWLR tank and I'm making a fish list. I was curious about other peoples experiences with porcupine puffers because I want to build the tank around one. Looking forward to reading the replies.

 

[Paul B]

I have had a few of them and dove with a lot of them. They do get huge but you can keep them with big fish like lionfish, eels, triggers lookdowns etc. They are large eaters like those others and really don't like captivity as sometimes they will just swim up and down one side of the tank scraping their eye on the glass until they get an eye infection.

In the sea they are long distance swimmers even though they don't look like they would be.

I think if you get one, get a small one maybe he sill adapt better than large ones which can be difficult.

Try to feed live crabs like fiddler crabs that you can get in a bait shop. Eels, triggers and lionfish will also eat those.


Good luck

 

[MPrz59]

I have had a few of them and dove with a lot of them. They do get huge but you can keep them with big fish like lionfish, eels, triggers lookdowns etc. They are large eaters like those others and really don't like captivity as sometimes they will just swim up and down one side of the tank scraping their eye on the glass until they get an eye infection.

In the sea they are long distance swimmers even though they don't look like they would be.

I think if you get one, get a small one maybe he sill adapt better than large ones which can be difficult.

Try to feed live crabs like fiddler crabs that you can get in a bait shop. Eels, triggers and lionfish will also eat those.


Good luck

Thank you

 

[nereefpat]

Excellent summary by PaulB.

Depending on dimensions, a 300 gallon will be about as good as we could expect from a home aquarium for a porc. They do get really big. For anyone considering one, look up Google images for D. holocanthus. They seem to come in around 3-4" or so. But soon they can eat silversides in one or two bites, so I would avoid small fishes and also any invertebrates that you care about.

I would choose big, yet somewhat peaceful, tankmates: Naso tang, zebra or snowflake eel, volitan lion, raccoon butterfly, v-tail grouper, that sort of thing.

 

[garbled]

I kept one for about 2+ years. It was a model citizen.

That being said, I made the mistake of feeding it too much krill. It eventually got puffer lockjaw. I managed to save it once, but the second time, it was just beyond saving, and slowly starved to death.

I've not had this problem with dogface puffers, only with the porcupine. And from my many searches at the time, what I learned is that this is more or less common with them.

Amazing fish, even in 2 years mine never got that big, maybe 7-8" from it's initial 2-3" size. Just don't feed it krill.

I kept it with an orange spot rabbit, which it was just fine with. Basically something that isn't crazy aggressive, and won't steal food from it, and big enough to not fit in the mouth. The puffer won't really attack other fish, but if it's shrimp-sized, yeah, it's food.

 

[ReefHog]

I’ve kept four porcupines in the last 30 years. My last one was about 8 years when I lost most fish to a velvet outbreak. My current one is a little shy of a year now. Like all fish they have different personalities but many common traits. Many people put them in with lion fish but I wouldn’t recommend it. Porkys tend to meander and bumble around swimming and could easily bump into or startle a lionfish. Especially at night as they are nocturnal swimmers. They really shouldn’t be fed fish but rather shellfish & shrimp. They can be real messy eaters. I feed raw shrimp, squid and clam from the market. I do feed krill once a week as well. I feed with metal tweezers which reduces the mess significantly while also helping grind his teeth/beak. Shrimp is important as porkys need iodine in their diet. Many take to captivity very well but some never do and just surf the glass endlessly rubbing their mouth and head on the glass causing infections as @Paul B said. Live food really is not needed and may encourage him to look at tank mates as a meal.

 

[thedraque]

Good evening, I'm currently planning a 300 gallon FOWLRnk and I'm making a fish list. I was curious about other peoples experiences with porcupine puffers because I want to build the tank around one. Looking forward to reading the replies.

Porcupines are my favorite fish and we had two up until this week when they passed. If you have any more specific questions let me know, they can be a bit costly to feed. We spent about $60 per month just on the two of them. Clams on a half shell and BRS Chunky are their staple diet, they also love crabs, shrimp, snails, etc. Krill should not be fed regulary just as a treat. also plan on daily or every other day cleaning your skimmer and mechanical filtration media, big puffers are messy eaters

Also consider researching Stars and Stripes puffers. They are hardier and a bit more accustomed to living in aquariums in my experience. While I love Porcs they are generally restless in aquariums and sometimes dont do well in captivity. Our Stars and Stripes loafs around alot and swims calmly while the porcs are often pushing against the glass swimming back and forth or up and down

 

[adsf430]

Porcupines are my favorite fish and we had two up until this week when they passed. If you have any more specific questions let me know, they can be a bit costly to feed. We spent about $60 per month just on the two of them. Clams on a half shell and BRS Chunky are their staple diet, they also love crabs, shrimp, snails, etc. Krill should not be fed regulary just as a treat. also plan on daily or every other day cleaning your skimmer and mechanical filtration media, big puffers are messy eaters

Also consider researching Stars and Stripes puffers. They are hardier and a bit more accustomed to living in aquariums in my experience. While I love Porcs they are generally restless in aquariums and sometimes dont do well in captivity. Our Stars and Stripes loafs around alot and swims calmly while the porcs are often pushing against the glass swimming back and forth or up and down

Hi, I know this thread is old but have you ever kept porcs with eels? I've heard they might bite their tails. Also do they nip other fish?