Aussie Dogface Puffer (plz no flames SPS owners)

[cyberdeth]

I raised one of these in my last tank. He was with me for over 13 years. He would have been with me longer, but his top/bottom teeth grew over each other. I took him in to have them clipped but he didn't last but a few weeks after that. I've been told that is/was the longest anyone knew of keeping them around. I just feel he would have lasted longer if he had something a bit more "natural" if you will, to chomp on to keep his teeth more in check. I had a coral rubble/sand bottom and many dead coral items for him to chomp on.

I plan on getting another one of these when I get the fishies out of the tank I had planned for him (Hypo tank now). My question is; what would be the hardiest SPS corals I could have in the tank that could regenerate w/o stressing out and dying?

This may sound cruel to SPS guys, but it really is just "nature in a tank".

The only other fish I plan on having in this tank is a clown trigger and maybe one of those damn cute Golden Dwarf eels.

TIA!

-CD

 

[Brie]

I think its a really cool idea... Totally just nature in a glass box.

My 2 cents would be to use Bali Slimer or maybe poccilapora. Both grow easily and fairly quickly.

 

[cyberdeth]

My 2 cents would be to use Bali Slimer or maybe poccilapora. Both grow easily and fairly quickly.

Thanks for the responce Brie!

Do both of these have high lighting requirements?

-CD

 

[CRASHFIREJOE]

I have alot of birdsnest that grow like weeds. the main colony was only 1 inch a little over year ago and is now basketball sized seems to grow well in lower or high light with better coloring in high light. I have plenty for free if you want to try it. Mater of fact I have ton's that broke off durring a move that are browned out due to being burried in little light for months that one can chomp on with out feeling bad for the coral.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

digitia also is a fast grower

 

[Brie]

Thanks for the responce Brie!

Do both of these have high lighting requirements?

-CD

I dunno bout slimer but poccilopora does ok under T5s(as long as you have 4-5 of them). I'm sure birdnest would do ok under t5s too.

 

[returnofsid]

Another option is store purchased clams and oysters. Don't freeze, nuke or boil them, so they'll remain closed. This way, the puffer has to work through the shell, to get to the meat. I had a friend who had a FO tank, with a Dogface. This is how he fed it, to keep it's teeth trimmed. I kind of lost touch with the guy, but about 4 years ago, the puffer had been with him for 16 years. He also had a Foxface that was 13 years old and a Picasso Trigger that was 18. As far as I know, they're all still alive.

 

[cyberdeth]

I have alot of birdsnest that grow like weeds. the main colony was only 1 inch a little over year ago and is now basketball sized seems to grow well in lower or high light with better coloring in high light. I have plenty for free if you want to try it. Mater of fact I have ton's that broke off durring a move that are browned out due to being burried in little light for months that one can chomp on with out feeling bad for the coral.

Sweet, and thx for the offer! I am about 2 months out on being able to do this do to hs treatment. This would also give me a chance to purchase one of your elegance frags too! (if you have more available then)

 

[cyberdeth]

Another option is store purchased clams and oysters. Don't freeze, nuke or boil them, so they'll remain closed. This way, the puffer has to work through the shell, to get to the meat. I had a friend who had a FO tank, with a Dogface. This is how he fed it, to keep it's teeth trimmed. I kind of lost touch with the guy, but about 4 years ago, the puffer had been with him for 16 years. He also had a Foxface that was 13 years old and a Picasso Trigger that was 18. As far as I know, they're all still alive.

WOW! That's a long time on those fishies!

I did the clam thing (actually acclimated two my neighbor brought us for dinner in the reef now) and sometimes he'd get into them or they'd open enough and my snowflake would snatch them up. Nothing funnier in a tank than watching an eel tie itself up in knots working on live foods. After my eel died, the clams didn't seem to get eaten and died causing big ammonia spikes so I quit feeding them to the puffer. He got too spoiled on frozen foods.

I will sure try that again tho!

Thx!

-CD

 

[IWishIWasAFish]

I used to keep my catnip plants alive by enclosing the main body of the plant in chicken wire. The cats would eat off the new parts growing through the wire, but the main body of the plant remained intact and healthy. You might try a variation of that with the SPS for your puffer - maybe place it in rock crevice too narrow for him to reach all of it?

+1 for bird's nest and pocillopora - I grew them with 4 T5s in 37g tall, and when one frag fell down on the sand in the back for a month it lost color but kept on growing.
Some montiporas maybe as well?