Saddle Valentini Puffer

[HumuhumuFan]

Hi, everyone. In a few months I am going to be setting up my first reef tank. My plan is to use an existing tank I have which is a 20g long. I have been keeping freshwater and fish-only marine tanks for about 14 years total so I’m not a complete beginner in the hobby.

My plan is to start with very cheap soft corals and hardy inverts. If this tank goes well I will move on to some more advanced stuff and a bigger tank in 2020.

For the only fish in the tank I was thinking about a saddle puffer. Ive seen them listed as reef safe but with caution and also as not reef safe. Anyone have any experience with them in a reef setup?

 

[eatbreakfast]

They are mostly safe, though I have had them nip at fleshy brain corals and zoas. They will also go after motile inverts.

 

[HumuhumuFan]

Thanks for the reply. It sounds like I might want to go with something else since I want to try keeping some shrimp in the tank. It’s a shame because I’ve heard the puffers are very smart and interesting tank inhabitants.

 

[eatbreakfast]

They are very intelligent and personable.

 

[DylanE]

I have one in a reef with a skunk cleaner and peppermint shrimp. They are almost as big as he is, and he leaves them alone. I've seen him clear out a few snails, but I'm okay restocking them since he's such a character. One of my favorite fish. I've seen him nip a few corals, but nothing more than checking them out, for now at least.

 

[HumuhumuFan]

Interesting. I suppose I could try it and move him to the FOWLR if he misbehaves.

 

[Davisma]

very cool fish, in a tank that small they will most likely nip at any stony corals and cleaners. I kept one for a while even after seeing him nip at corals. The more I added the more he would nip to the point of destroying whole frags (montipora and acros mainly). If you're going the softy or LPS route then I wouldn't worry. I've seen them nip at zoas and other corals but not on the flesh, just picking stuff off the coral. They're awesome fish, but if you want stony corals down the road or plan on keeping snails as cleaners you may want to reconsider.

 

[paphater]

I had similar experiences as above. When I put my valentini in, he was a model fish. Three to four months down the road he would continuously pick at any new sps frags. He never touched the frags that were in the tank before him but anything new he would go to town on.

 

[HumuhumuFan]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Since my goal for the tank is to practice keeping corals and inverts for a while before setting up a big reef, I think I will pass on the puffer. No reason to add another potential problem right from the start.