Hi guys, I have a 4" dogface puffer and a 5" Harlequin Tusk. They have been in the same tank for about four months and everything seems ok.
However, I had a question about the aggressivness of the Tusk. The Tusk is definately the king of the tank and the puffer just minds his own business, only caring about me.
From time to time I'll se the Tusk exerting his dominance over the puffer...he'll crowd him and nip him in the belly. Not a big attacking bite...just a small nip as if to say "Don't forget that I'm king and I don't really like you"...the puffer always rolls so that his belly is exposed and when the tusk bites him he'll get a mouthful of rubbery balloon like stretchy material that doesn't break so he let's go immediately.
The puffer doesn't puff up and isn't all upset...it's like he just deals with it and the tusk moves on. It's not continuous and only happens once in awhile but everytime the tusk gets close(usually during feeding times) the puffer will roll so that his belly is what the tusk gets to bite, nothing else. Sometimes the tusk is so aggressive that the puffer just takes off and swims to another part of the tank...but not that upset and comes right back out like it was no big deal.
Is this normal? I'm thinking that the tusk sees the puffer as competition for food and is just making sure the puffer knows who is boss. The puffer is smaller than the tusk atm and maybe that helps contribute to this issue but when the puffer gets bigger I wonder if this will continue. My last Tusk in a different tank NEVER messed with my Stars n Stripes puffer because the puffer was much bigger than the tusk. I know it's an "aggressive" tank but I worry about my little buddy. He's the favorite around here as you can all understand.
Like I said it's not a mean grab-on-and-try-to-rip bite...more like a nip...like a dog teaching another dog in the pack who is boss. The puffer is never damaged and never blows up like he actually feels threatened(the only time he's blown up is when I was holding a piece of pizze up for him to check out, lol. Apparently he doesn't like pizza).
Should I be worried at all or is this normal behavior?
I wonder if I should add a niger trigger to give the tusk something else to think about?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
However, I had a question about the aggressivness of the Tusk. The Tusk is definately the king of the tank and the puffer just minds his own business, only caring about me.
From time to time I'll se the Tusk exerting his dominance over the puffer...he'll crowd him and nip him in the belly. Not a big attacking bite...just a small nip as if to say "Don't forget that I'm king and I don't really like you"...the puffer always rolls so that his belly is exposed and when the tusk bites him he'll get a mouthful of rubbery balloon like stretchy material that doesn't break so he let's go immediately.
The puffer doesn't puff up and isn't all upset...it's like he just deals with it and the tusk moves on. It's not continuous and only happens once in awhile but everytime the tusk gets close(usually during feeding times) the puffer will roll so that his belly is what the tusk gets to bite, nothing else. Sometimes the tusk is so aggressive that the puffer just takes off and swims to another part of the tank...but not that upset and comes right back out like it was no big deal.
Is this normal? I'm thinking that the tusk sees the puffer as competition for food and is just making sure the puffer knows who is boss. The puffer is smaller than the tusk atm and maybe that helps contribute to this issue but when the puffer gets bigger I wonder if this will continue. My last Tusk in a different tank NEVER messed with my Stars n Stripes puffer because the puffer was much bigger than the tusk. I know it's an "aggressive" tank but I worry about my little buddy. He's the favorite around here as you can all understand.
Like I said it's not a mean grab-on-and-try-to-rip bite...more like a nip...like a dog teaching another dog in the pack who is boss. The puffer is never damaged and never blows up like he actually feels threatened(the only time he's blown up is when I was holding a piece of pizze up for him to check out, lol. Apparently he doesn't like pizza).
Should I be worried at all or is this normal behavior?
I wonder if I should add a niger trigger to give the tusk something else to think about?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
