I have had a dogface puffer for a couple of months and he has not bothered my crabs or snails so far.
I would like to add some cleaner shrimps and corals soon. would he likely eat them?
shrimps yes, corals probably not. I'm really surprised he hasn't eaten your other inverts!
edit: I just did some reading, apparently they are known to be destructive and chew on hard corals so they'd probably make short work of soft corals too.
aww, you'd rather give up your puffer for some shrimps? Just kidding, it's your decision.
If you can put down some kind of divider to help corral him, then you wouldn't have to remove all the rockwork. Anything works, like a plank of wood or a plastic tub lid. Just anything to effectively reduce the volume in which you have to chase him. If you can move it closer and closer to one side of the tank, and corral him into a corner, it'll be really easy (depending on if your rock work will allow that).
As an alternant try feeding him. Place, net in tank give it a few minutes and then feed. When it comes to the top scoop it out. They do get pretty big though so I hope your friend has a large enough tank to house it.
hth
I'd think that they'd be chewing on hard corals because the skeleton would help keep their teeth down, so I'm not sure that'd they'd eat softies. This is just speculation though.
But yeah, shrimps, crabs, etc. are all on the menu.
That makes sense *nods*. I would think the nematocysts in corals would prohibit any but specialized coral eaters like parrots from consuming them. Good call, Freddy!
I have a dogface and he doesn't touch any of the corals...soft or hard. However every now and then he will nip on some snails or any other critter that moves that are smaller than him. The only time I actually seen him nip on the smaller critters was when he was hungry...so just keep him well fed.
I had the same query a couple of months back, my dogface has been in the tank now for a good month. He just picks on my Mushrooms when he needs a snack, note to keep him well fed. I have 2 cleaner shrimps and despite what people say even though you can never say they will eat you inverts hasnt even touched my shrimps. In fact he more interested in them cleaning him than wanting to chew them up.
He has been a great addition although i do have trouble keeping him fed with a variety of foods.
x
I had a stars and stripe puffer and he was fine with my shrimp and crabs. He would occassionally knock off a snail. I kept him well fed. I had a mushroom rock and some sponge donated for his lunch. He would nibble on the mushrooms but would not touch the sponges. I had some polyps that he wouldn't touch either. I even has pincushion urchins in there and he wouldn't touch them either. Now that I think about it...my coral banded shrimp lived in the same cave as him! Everything in aquariums is a fish-to-fish experience. They all have their own personalities and own likes and dislikes. Good luck!
