Puffer in a 30 gallon? opinions please

[BlennyBoi]

i recently went to my lfs and was browsing the fish section. my falco hawkfish had recently went carpet surfing, and was looking to replace him. the had a honeycomb toby and i asked about him. i was told that he would grow to about 3 inches and would be ok in my 30 gallon softie and lps reef with a sixline wrasse and clarkii clownfish. my tank is a minireef 120. i was told that there is a risk that he would eat my hermits if he got hungry. im not really bothered if he ate them though. what are your opinions on this. i love puffers and i would like to try my hand at keeping them, but is my tank too small? thanks

[BlennyBoi]

can somebody please reply?

[Tamberav]

Don't think many of us keep this fish....putting anything in a 30g with a sixline and a clarkii may not last long term. Those fish can turn murderous in such a small tank.

[fissues]

That's a tough one. The Toby itself would be fine for the tank, but the Clarkii is gonna be a jerk. I doubt the sixline would cause TOO much trouble to that fish. Clarkii's are quick and aggressive while Toby's are slow and curious. I just keep imagining the Toby swimming past the Clarkii's crib and getting attacked.

[BlennyBoi]

thanks for answering. ive been waiting for what seems like weeks for anybody to reply. my main concern was tank size but you make a valid point with the clarkii. i have added other fish with him without problems (the hawkfish that went carpet surfing). ive been thinking about it and im thinking about instead getting a small chromis, like a blue reef of black axil. i imagine they would be ok but your opinions are welcome.

On 8/12/2019 at 9:46 AM, Tamberav said:

Don't think many of us keep this fish....putting anything in a 30g with a sixline and a clarkii may not last long term. Those fish can turn murderous in such a small tank.

is there anything i could do to reduce aggression? the clarkii is a jerk but the wrasse is SUPER chill

[TerraMagnus]

I wouldn't introduce one of these to a community tank.

 

1. Hermit crabs and many other inverts are on their menu.
2. If another fish stresses them out (or you stress them out) they can release toxic mucus into the tank and kill everything.

[BlennyBoi]

9 hours ago, TerraMagnus said:

I wouldn't introduce one of these to a community tank.

 

1. Hermit crabs and many other inverts are on their menu.
2. If another fish stresses them out (or you stress them out) they can release toxic mucus into the tank and kill everything.

thanks. ill have to keep my eye on him when i set up another tank!

[BlennyBoi]

nevermind. went back to the shop about a week ago and as i walk in the were bagging him up for someone else. hope he goes to a good home.

[mcarroll]

I think the clackii is going to fill up this tank all by him/herself.  Maybe consider one of the smaller clowns?

[BlennyBoi]

On 9/6/2019 at 5:24 AM, mcarroll said:

I think the clackii is going to fill up this tank all by him/herself.  Maybe consider one of the smaller clowns?

i actually just rehomed him. he took a chunk out of the sixlines tail and is now with a guy who has a 500g fowlr with other aggressive fish. now i have a 30g with only the sixline and a few corals. any suggestions? i like dartfish and cardinals, d'ya think it would work? nothing too difficult to keep. ive only been keeping salt for about 15 months

[mcarroll]

30 is pretty small so you "could" easily justify only having the sixline and corals...how many fish are you shooting for total?

[Humblefish]

You can put any of the "smaller" puffers in a 30 gal. Valentini, Leopard, Blue Spot only get 3-4". They generally leave corals alone, but sometimes will eat snails and even crustaceans when they get bigger.

[Poodges]

I have a valentini puffer in a 60 gallon, display space is probably closer to a 40 breeder.  No issues to report.  Peaceful fish that the others seem to understand they should leave alone. Does pick off small snails here and there.

[BlennyBoi]

6 hours ago, mcarroll said:

30 is pretty small so you "could" easily justify only having the sixline and corals...how many fish are you shooting for total?

i would like to have 2-3 small (~3in) fish. i really like firefishbut i am unsure wht the third should be. any suggestions?

[mcarroll]

Barnacle blennies

Any of the captive-bred fangtooth blennies.

Neon goby

Clown goby

Watchman goby

Chalk basslet

Royal gramma

Clownfish

Damselfish

Cardinalfish

 

The more fish, the harder it all is to balance tho.  🙂   

 

IMO I'd at least let the tank go as it is, fish-wise, for at least a month or two. 

 

Develop the rest of the tank in the mean time....cleanup crew, corals, inverts, et al.  Once it's all smooth-sailing with new corals and cleanup crew after a couple months, then pick your next fish to add.  You'll be all that much more confident about the state of your tank AND about the fish you want.

[BlennyBoi]

22 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Barnacle blennies

Any of the captive-bred fangtooth blennies.

Neon goby

Clown goby

Watchman goby

Chalk basslet

Royal gramma

Clownfish

Damselfish

Cardinalfish

 

The more fish, the harder it all is to balance tho.  🙂   

 

IMO I'd at least let the tank go as it is, fish-wise, for at least a month or two. 

 

Develop the rest of the tank in the mean time....cleanup crew, corals, inverts, et al.  Once it's all smooth-sailing with new corals and cleanup crew after a couple months, then pick your next fish to add.  You'll be all that much more confident about the state of your tank AND about the fish you want.

thanks. this helped a lot. ive always liked fang blennies but i thought they were too aggressive for community tanks. i like chalk bass too but ive never seen one for sale where i live. i could order from liveaquaria. it probably take me a month to decide what i want. AUGHHH TOO MANY COOL OPTIONS

[Tamberav]

On 9/15/2019 at 8:48 PM, BlennyBoi said:

thanks. this helped a lot. ive always liked fang blennies but i thought they were too aggressive for community tanks. i like chalk bass too but ive never seen one for sale where i live. i could order from liveaquaria. it probably take me a month to decide what i want. AUGHHH TOO MANY COOL OPTIONS

Fang blennies are peaceful....

 

Firefish would be fine but the sixline could easily kill it.

 

I would pull the sixline if you plan to add fish like firefish and fang blennies.

[Hannahhhh]

On 9/14/2019 at 2:18 PM, Humblefish said:

You can put any of the "smaller" puffers in a 30 gal. Valentini, Leopard, Blue Spot only get 3-4". They generally leave corals alone, but sometimes will eat snails and even crustaceans when they get bigger.

@Humblefish Have you had any of these puffers? I’m looking into getting one in my 30 gallon. I’m trying to decide which one to go with. 

 

On 9/14/2019 at 4:34 PM, Poodges said:

I have a valentini puffer in a 60 gallon, display space is probably closer to a 40 breeder.  No issues to report.  Peaceful fish that the others seem to understand they should leave alone. Does pick off small snails here and there.

@Poodges Does your tank have coral? Have any problems popped up with your valentini puffer moving forward?

[Poodges]

1 hour ago, Hannahhhh said:

 

@Poodges Does your tank have coral? Have any problems popped up with your valentini puffer moving forward?

Yes, I have a mixed reed with softies, LPS and SPS.  Puffer has been good.  I’ve seen her scrape her teeth on monti caps but that’s pretty much it. She will go after a free floating snail (like if you drop one back in the display) but has otherwise left cuc and cleaner shrimp alone.  I’m sure they are all different but mine has been great.

[Humblefish]

3 hours ago, Hannahhhh said:

@Humblefish Have you had any of these puffers? I’m looking into getting one in my 30 gallon. I’m trying to decide which one to go with.

I've owned both a Valentini and Blue Spot, but never a Leopard. I personally think the Blue Spot is prettier. Behavior for both is very similar IME.

[CoralCapture]

Only saddle puffers. I was once told a dogface could go in a 20 gallon by the worst fish store ever! Lol