Porcupine Puffer.

[Redhaze]

Am currently in the process of setting back up my 55g after recent house move. As im upgrading to 125-250 in December I dont fancy going reef again & have the hassle of breaking down the tank but mainly I want to try something new so defo going for Fowlr. Plan only to keep the Porcupine & maybe a Scarlet Hawkfish?!

Research has brought up that this wonderful 'pet' will grow to a max 1' 6" in the home aquarium & can inflate twice the size when threatened. Obviously this poses a big problem given my tank size but as im upgrading hopefully this will tie in nicely before he/she gets any where near max size? I believe they are voracious eaters & will eat anything it can fit into it's mouth including small fish & Inverts. Also need a varied but balanced diet. No chance of ditching 88lbs of LR & replacing with Ocean Rock so if they do eat Inverts what will be my cleanup crew? A good skimmer is recommended - no problem here as my Deltec mce 600 is for tanks up to 150g. Also it seems they are prone to Ich so maybe a UV is needed?...Freshwater dip on hand? Any one know how they get on with Cleaner Shirimps?

This post has got longer than expected but if anyone can give me any info on the Porcupine it would be very much appreciated especially from people who keep these adorable fish.

Regards

 

[Lakeside518]

I currently have my 7" Porc puffer in a 75 gal FOWLR setup. Will soon be moving him to a 125 gal RR setup.

The tank is BB with starboard. No cleanup crew. If you get cleaner shrimp he will great you happily and LUV you for it. Great snack. I do not have any inverts in the tank. I have considered trying large mexican turbos but affraid to loose them and the $$

He has been treated for Ich once. I do run a UV light
I freshwater dipped him once. I didn't see much effect with it and ended up QT'ing him. Treated with Copper. Worked fine.

Great fish. Family Luvs him. I wish we had inverts in that tank but Ahhh well. Defin not getting rid of him.. Will just upgrade tanks over time and use the tank for another setup or sell off.

We feed him frozen blood worm cubes, Fresh Krill, silversides, clams, scallops and shrimp from the supermarket. He defin eats good and is spoiled.

Kris

 

[fredweezy]

I have had my porc for about a year and he is 5" I'd say. I have had two ich breakouts and he has never gotten it. But as the guy above said I treated my other fish with copper and he was fine with it. He will destroy shrimp...so that would be a waste of money.

 

[moogoomoogoo]

I have had mine for 2 years. No ich. I have seen some hermit crabs in shells around 3 inches long for sale in the past. I'm not so sure this would be bothered???

 

[Redhaze]

Thanks chaps much appreciated.....very interesting. Big dilemma now though?

Fredweezy - great pic mate & the more I see of the Porcupine the more I want to keep one, lovely, anymore? No doubt their personality is fantastic!

Dont know what to do as regards to having LR. Dont want to ditch this as that is my only type of filtration ontop of the skimmer. As expected it seems like the Porcupine will eat anything it can fit into its mouth so maybe like lakeside518 & moogoo said try the larger turbos/crabs if dont mind the expense?! Those large Tropic Albone(?) snails might be ok? Im sure I read they are ok with Starfish but maybe someone else can chime in on those two?! Seems like more than most have an Ich outbreak at some time so I believe I need a QT &/or Freshwater dip ready on hand. I also think I should buy a UV.

Lakeside518 - nice to hear what your feeding. Did everyones Puffers eat straight away or was some type of live food (feeder shrimps/small fish) needed?

What's all your tank mates if any with your puffers? How often have you saw them inflate? I believe you can not handle them with a net & use some type of container incase they get stressed..is this true? Anything on aquascapping? Flow?

Im very confident that once I get over the LR issue I can have success in keeping this wonderful fish.