new puffer need some help

[combiemaster]

Ok guys i have been eyeballin this nice porcupine puffer at petco since Jan 06 and i really like him. Every time i would go to petco i would look at him and wish i could get him. i remeber when he was only about 3 inches long now a couple of months latter he is about 6 inches long. So i brought him home this morning . At the petco they had him in there in a maybe 7 gallon tank all this time so now he is in my nano cube 24G i know its kinda small for him but hey hes been in a 7G for 5 months i think he will appreciate a 24G very much. So this bring me to my question. if i stick my hand in the tank would he bite me. are these really messy. the guy at the store which is the one that actually got me into the whole fish thing told me he has been feeding him one feeder fish daily. he said he will also eat some frozen shrimp but he loves live gold fish (feeder) So is there anything special about this guy i should know. Before i got him i check all the water parameter at the store the salinity in there tanks were at 1.021 and the nitrite 0 nitrate 0 ph 8.3
ill post up a picture of him tomorrow because i am at work now but i logged into TRT all day here. so give me some input on this guys thx

[leveldrummer]

get a bigger tank... he might be better off in a 24 instead of the 7, but cmon, hes 6 inches now. he has to be packed into that 24.

[dobejazz]

Tank is way to small, also freshwater fish are a very poor diet for marine animals

[combiemaster]

Ok so what would you suggest me feeding him i have some formula 1 and frozen krill cubes. (aww man i just set up my little 2G tank and water ready for little feeder fish for tomorrow. well i guess ill feed him maybe 2 or 3 a week. I just want to see the Carnage of him Devouring (spelling) a little fish i know i know so brutal but hey im a guy who loves action. And as for the tank hes gona be staying in that 24G a couple of months ago i got so flamed for having a Tang in a nano cube so i felt bad and went out and paid 700 for a new 60G with all the rock and sand. Nope the puffer stay on the 24G i am not gona go get another tank lol i would be crazy having 3 tanks in the home

[Cuda]

Nobody flames on this site do they? You've been watching too much Fantastic Four, flame on

[DebsSisterFlo]

why can't he go in the 60g? Is the tang that small that he'd be in danger?

[jipps]

Originally Posted by DebsSisterFlo

why can't he go in the 60g? Is the tang that small that he'd be in danger?

That's what I was thinkin.

[dobejazz]

The puffer should be eating a saltwater based food like Krill or silversides
I would suggest you do some research on puffers they also require hard shelled food to keep their beaks/teeth in shape. They also produce tons of waste and can grown very very large very quickly although you may not need to worry about that

[seshapir]

Since this seems to be the second time you've purchased a fish without doing the proper research I would highly recommend asking/researching each fish you want to buy and its habbits prior to purchasing especially if you've been looking at this fish for months. I would not keep this puffer in anything less than a 100g and would prefer a 120g or 150g. They can get up to a foot and a half.

I would also be concerned if petco has been feeding the puffer feeder fish for at least 4 months it may already have health problems.

I highly recommend purchasing this book http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/189...lance&n=283155

It will give you the requirments and habbits of different fish and is a great reference. It is also small enough to take to the LFS with you incase you ever have an impulse purchase.

[combiemaster]

can i put him in the 60G because wont he eat my turbos and fire shrimp also i have lots of polyps and star metalics in there would not want him to eat does up plus my clown fish is really small he could gobble him up :0

[combiemaster]

Originally Posted by dobejazz

The puffer should be eating a saltwater based food like Krill or silversides
I would suggest you do some research on puffers they also require hard shelled food to keep their beaks/teeth in shape. They also produce tons of waste and can grown very very large very quickly although you may not need to worry about that

hey dobejazz like what can i give him that would be hard that he can eat. also just want to know would it be bad for him if i just gave him one feeder fish a week as a snack. oh and when i put my hand in there to syphon and poo out is there a chance he will try and bite me i have heard some kind of puffers can bite you finger off?

[dobejazz]

Here is some reading on puffers in General
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/puffers.htm

[Geoff]

what kind of puffer is this? is this a little green and white brackish puffer or a SW one. could you give us a description please?

G~

[seshapir]

Originally Posted by Geoff

what kind of puffer is this? is this a little green and white brackish puffer or a SW one. could you give us a description please?

G~

He said in his first post it's a porcupine puffer

[Geoff]

sorry everyone, i was not reading carefully enough.

puffers do not need a lot of room compared to other fish of the same size. they do however grow pretty quick. they also are messy eaters. they produce a lot of wastes. skimming is very important.

G~