Toby puffer help & advice

[Mr_Knightley]

Hey yall! Happy new years.
So I have a 25g tank that has been set up since this June, and I would like to keep a Leopard toby pufferfish in it. I was wondering if any of you had recomendations on care for one of these guys.
Thanks a lote
-JB

 

[Big G]

Do you have any LPS or SPS in the tank?

 

[mort]

What aspect of care are you thinking of, the fish itself or what to keep with it?

My experience with the fish is that they are more shy than a normal toby and they appreciate a quieter tank with plenty of caves or overhangs. This is because they come from deeper water.
Make sure you see it feeding as I've heard they can be slightly harder to get feeding. Mine did take a couple of weeks to begin to take food but did pick at the rock all day.

I only had it for 2 years before I gave it to a friend because I had to shut the tank down but it was no trouble with any cuc or corals (mixed reef with sps, lps or limited softies) and as far as I'm aware it's still behaving in their tank.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Thank you! Sorry, the holidays have been hectic.
So the tank is 25g, and has astrea snails, zoas, hammers, acans, rho shrooms & an acro in it. (and some caulerpa)

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Thanks @mort for the help! I was looking for more specific help, such as feeding requirements, as I am new to puffers.

 

[Big G]

Keep an eye on your "hard" corals and snails. They are a puffer's natural food.

I liked to keep mine busy "chewing" on other things like Hikari's frozen half clams. It tore them apart. It would see me walking over to the tank with the clam in my hand and it would wag it's tail like a dog. LOL.

You need to give a puffer something hard to chew on to help grind down the puffer's front teeth. Otherwise you will have to trim them so it can eat. That's why feeding them clams is a good idea. Some feed them small snails like dwarf ceriths which you can buy by the 100. QT them for pests, then place into the tank. You will notice their numbers decreasing over time. LOL.

 

[Butuz]

Couldnt agree with the post above re snails. I had a toby as well, they love snails and need them to keep their teeth in check/grinded. In absence of that, their teeth will grow too big and they will lose the ability to take food. They will go after your CUC. Be prepared. They will also nibble on your corals, but not to the extent of decimating a colony, rather enough daily to make them close up/recede. Finally, they are very smart, so need plenty of hiding spaces and things to do in a tank.