baby puffer with cleaner shrimp??

[oxkisses12ox]

i have a baby puffer fish .. which is only around 1/2 an inch long and isaround the size of my pinky nail ( im a 17 yr old girl!) and i have a reef tank with a cleaner shrimp... now this is only a temporary arangement... so wouldi be able to keep the puffer with the cleaner shrimp for a month or two?? or would the puffer eat it?

[McCrary]

I doubt that the cleaner shrimp is in any danger from a puffer the size of a nail.

[cdangel0]

I've got a puffer that is probably 2-3 inches long - doesn't bother my cleaner shrimp at all. Desn't seem to necessarily appreciate the cleaner jumping on his bak to clean him while he's trying to sleep, but has never tried to eat him.

snails on the other hand - forget it - I have no choice but buy the biggest mexican turbos I can find.

[oxkisses12ox]

what ? i dont get it? the puffer eats the snails??

[nosferatu51]

Yes, puffers like to eat lots of things that we wish they wouldn't. They make great garbage disposals for troublesome crabs though.

Wait a second though, do you have the puffer in the 14g Biocube in your sig? I hope not..... those 2 clowns are about as full fish-wise as it can take. Then there's all those invert which will eventually be snack food for the puffer. Lastly, the tank is just too small for a puffer. He may be small now, but at the size your are talking about (I doubt fingernail size, but I have seen them extremely tiny) he will be growing quickly. That says nothing about their propensity to destroy the water quality of a tank that small.

[oxkisses12ox]

no he is fingernail size... he is from the ocean ( in the seaweed) the local aquarium pulled him right out of hte ocean for me ... yeah he is in the 14 gallon right now, but i only have one clown. i am getting a new tank and i have a 10 gallon as well with just some live rock for now...

[McCrary]

oxkisses12ox- Don't worry about how the puffer will affect your bioload, if your size description is right then he should barely register, even with such a small tank. He is no danger to anything at 1/2 inch, but he will need a new home in a few months. What are you feeding such a small puffer, can he handle brine?

[oxkisses12ox]

yeah! he can demolish cut pieces of shrimp! and he eats frozen phyto plankton and cyno on the bottom... he is really tiny ... he has been hanging around my bubble coral a lot, but never nips ... he just uses it to hide. He gives the snails a good checking out and then just swims away... i am getting a very large set up soon enough and i would love to keep him in it. I was hoping if i fed him enough and kept him in a reef aquarium he would become REEF SAFE ? :) maybe impossible but worth a shot!

[DrBegalke]

i dont think any adult puffer would be reef safe....
but then again, humans swimming with killer whales doesn't seem to make much sense either...

[AquaReeferMan]

Any pictures?? Im curious as to what kind of puffer this is.

[cdangel0]

I'm betting this is a "green spotted" puffer. They are the only ones I've ever seen that small for sale anywhere.

Reef safe means he won't eat the other inhabitants - i.e. snails shrimp etc. Keep him well fed and you should be OK keeping hime for years to come.

[AmosUSA]

I have a blue dot saddle back puffer and two shrimps in my tank he does not bother them at all. I do keep him well fed. your puffer is so small no worries.

[tangyreefer05]

He will grow fast, raise it and sell it or setup a new tank as it will get to big :(. Can you get any pics of the guy?

[oxkisses12ox]

yeah ! sorry ! i didnt buy him the local aquarium pulled him right from the ocean for me :) ... i will try to get a pic tomorrow... he is a little longer than a half an inch... possibly an inch ?? he has a straight line of dots all along the bottom sides of his body and blue eyes. HES SO CUTE! hes just a baby... so he should be growing to a good size ! :)