Puffer Tank Size and Tankmate Advice Please

[Leslie]

Hi There,

I have had a very handsome all black Dogface Puffer for just over a year now. I adore him. He is a still a small guy about 4 inches max now. He has survived a very stubborn case of Ich which took me 3 months to rid him of, anesthesia, a novice trimming his overgrown teeth plates, and quarantine in a 30g for quite a while. I just moved him from a 50g to a 75g that I was given by a friend.

I am looking for some tankmates.......

As expected I am finding conflicting information about them as well as the fish they would be appropriately kept with....
Scott Michael says they can be kept in a 75g as well as with other Puffers. Well I tried another Dogface and they were just miserable and fought. His book also mentions the milder mannered Triggers like the Bluechin which I was considering, get to be 8.9" and need a 75g.

The WetWebMedia crew recommend MUCH larger tanks for the Puffers and Triggers, even the smaller of the species and also mention the Bluechin Triggers gets to be a good 12 inches.

So I am wondering if I have totally wasted my time and my energy accepting this 75g and setting it up for my Puffer as well as what the heck can live happily in a 75g with him.

I made a list was checking it twice, don't really wanna find out who's gonna be nasty or nice...... and started coming up with the conflicting info. So if I could get some of your opinions I would appreciate it. I really do not want to test the waters and play the buy the pretty fish I like ....that one book says is OK, have it be a VERY wrong choice, catch it and bring it back game. I have been there and don't really want to go again.

I was considering and am interested in some of the following
fish.....
One of the less belligerent Triggers. I like the Bluechin and saw a pair for sale. One of the books says they can be kept together 1 male with 2 females, but no mention of a single pair.

A Kole Tang

A mated pair of Flame Hawkfish

A big algae eating blenny.....I had this fish once before but was never able to ID it. The LFS called it a Tidepool Blenny from the Indian Ocean. It was dolphin blue, a good 5 to 6 inches long and 1 in in diameter, with huge pectoral fins and 2 good sized dorsal fins. He was a very cool fish and held his own very well with the puffer who is actually so far quite docile. He even would steal food from the Puffer.

Are any of these fish appropriate?

Do you all have any other suggestions?

Your experience and knowledge is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Leslie

[mikefish]

We have an 8" hispidus puffer that we have kept with a dwarf angel, juvi koran, and juvi niger trigger for a year now without problems. He ignores them all and doesn't bite back even when they pester him.

Mildly amusing story - shortly after we added the niger trigger it decided to play dominance games with the puffer when competing for food (an opened fresh mussel). The niger twice bit the puffer right on the nose, just holding on there. The puffer kind of looked confused for a second until the trigger finally let go, then continued to eat, not sure that anything had actually happened. The trigger didn't bother to bite him any more.

That said, we recently added a beautiful 12" zebra moray which was killed by the puffer within a week. We don't know if he was "sampled" to death out of curiosity or if it was outright aggression. But when we subsequently tried to add a small dwarf lionfish, the puffer immediately went after as well (we got him out in time). Not sure if he thought the lion was some kind of weird shrimp, or if he's getting more aggressive as he's grown.

Our initial conclusion is that we will only add large or fast moving fish that can not be ambushed in the future.
Mike

[M.Dandaneau]

While "normal" puffer combinations offer end with fighting, we've got ours in with a porcupinefish/ballonfish and they get along great, along with larger ambush predators and some tangs.
It IS a large tank though.
The dogfaces get fairly large, with many averaging 12according to the books, so you can probably expect a minimum of 8" eventually.

[Leslie]

WOW that guy sure can eat!!!

[M.Dandaneau]

Thought they only puffed up with seawater or air, huh?
SURPRISE!
They can fill up that take out doggy bag with lunch as well!