Dogface Puffer Companions

[snailrider]

Been really liking the dogface puffers and wondering about getting one.

So what kind of friends can a dogface puffer have?

If I do, it will be in my 37 gallon tank which has a 29 gallon sump.

I really also like the dragon wrasse.

 

[Ace25]

Ummm.. they can be VERY aggressive fish at times. I would say some eels are good companions like a wolf eel (I know, Wolf Eels are not really eels). Maybe a lion fish.

IMO that is an extremely small tank for a dogface puffer. Ya, you can get a small/baby one and it will probably do ok for a little while, but I had a SS puffer in a 55G and I felt that was way to small as well, heck, a 120g would have probably been to small for that puffer towards the end when I brought it back to the LFS. I swear that thing had to weigh 10lbs.

From LiveAquaria.com

Minimum Tank Size: 100 gallons

Again, that is bare minimum with nothing else in the tank.

 

[MonoSebaelover]

I wouldn't put a Dogface in that small of a tank, even as a baby. I would say bare minimum of a 55g for the small dogfaces you see in the pet stores, they are a HUGE bioload for any filter to handle. In a 37g I would look more at the Sharpnose Puffers (Canthigaster sp.). There are some really pretty puffers and they stay a lot smaller. In a 37 I wouldn't go more than one or two tankmates, maybe a Clownfish. The Dragon Wrasse is too large and too active to be happy in a 37. Anyway hope this helps and good luck!

 

[snailrider]

Well this isn't quite what I wanted to hear, but better now I guess.

I do have bigger tanks, but have other plans for them. The dragon wrasse would be OK to move, but the dogface puffer I would have to sell if it got to big. I hear some would actually like a large puffer, but I am funny about selling pets.

The bio load would be interesting. Have the 37 set up with the super nitrate/phosphate scrubber which is just establishing. If that works, bio load would not be an issue, but more the room to swim for the fish.

the dogface puffers I have seen really didn't swim around like tangs etc. They just hovered with their tails curled. So is the physical dimensions an issue for the puffer?

 

[Ace25]

Yes, the bio-load is HUGE on them. I couldn't believe my eyes the first time I saw my SS take a dump.. really, like a small dog.. not your normal fish poop.. this was a huge log that just sat on the ground. It doesn't just break up and disperse in the water like almost every other fish you see. I had to syphon it out on a daily basis. Good thing is unlike with most fish, this would really be one piece in the tank and it made it easy to clean up. I know, weird topic to discuss, but it is good information to let people know about.

In a small tank like the 55g I had mine in, it wasn't so much the swimming room like you mentioned, they are not fast little spazs like Tangs are, it is the fact when they become that confined and cramped, they get really really agressive and will rip most other fish apart.

 

[snailrider]

Ace will they go into the rockwork? Do they prefer sand bottom with lots of room? I was talking to may gal, and she really likes them also.

I'm not one to be cruel to them, but I know that petco is selling them to folks who will surely kill them in short order.

So, while the guy is small, it can be in the 37 and by the time he outgrows the 37 I may have the 225 together and stable. Maybe. But just trying to get a grip on what fish to get if I get one for the 37.

If they poop that much they must eat alot also. I have never been one to like overly feed, it may be tough for me to dump that much food in at a fish.

 

[SigPiPup]

Back in '97 when I set my tank (85g) up for the first time, the dogface was one of my first fish (following the damsel acclimation mistake). It grew quite fast, and it was my most loved fish. I had all kinds of fish in that tank with him....damsels, tangs, trigger, even a banded cat shark (the lionfish didn't work out too well though). Mind you, at the time I really didn't concern myself with the now conventional stocking methods. He never bothered any of the other fish and they never bothered him. He grew to have a great personality and would even let me 'pet' him on the nose during feeding time (probably trying to eat my finger, but whatever).

I used to drop live crawfish in the tank. He would hunt them down and eat them up. Loved it.

The bioload is heavy, and as previously stated, considerable logs were left behind. Real messy eater.

I would love to have one again, but i'm fairly certain that my peppermint shrimp wouldn't take too kindly to that. Maybe someday.

Good Luck!!!