porcupine puffer in a reef?

[screwsloose]

has any one succesfully done this? i have few hermits and snails but i have brittle star and a clam. can it be done?

[AquaKnight]

saltwaterfish.com's pic of their Porcupine for sale, so someone did it;

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/images/266_porcupinedina12.jpg



IMO doable, depending on what you are fine losing, the hermits/snails/star will likely be consumed. A healthy Tridacna should be left alone, but no guarantees. Porky's/Burrfish seem better at controlling their teeth, so they don't need to grind them down on rocks so to speak, so corals should be safe as well. Just keep in mind the size a porky grows to, and the bioload a decent sized porky puts out.

[quadrantkhan]

I have a porcupine puffer in one of my tanks and has not touched anything at all. He will scope out the hermit crabs and the occasional nip at their shells but that's about it! One of my favorites and have great personalities!

[anbosu]

Keep in mind they will eat smaller fish as well, I had one eat a 6" lunare wrasse (which isn't even really that small).

[Kimberleydg]

I have one, and within the last month I have had a Blood Shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, and a damsel vanish. I can't blame him for certain, but it seems like a reasonable conclusion. But I do have some corals, snails, and crabs I don't think he has bothered.

[AquaKnight]

Keep in mind they will eat smaller fish as well, I had one eat a 6" lunare wrasse (which isn't even really that small).
Great point, and I definitely forgot about that. There used to be a vid on youtube where a porcupine nearly had finished off a yellow tang...

[reefergeorge]

I have a 7" porc in my reef. He is fine with snails, corals, and shrimp.
He nips at the hermits, and spits them out, but he has ate two clowns, and 3 green chromis. The chromis I expected, but the clowns were pretty large at the time.

He was with the cleaner shrimp for almost three years before I added a picasso. He ate him within minutes. :(

[screwsloose]

i added mine. so far he has been eating a scallop a night so maybe he will be content with that

[chewey]

Mine hasn't done much yet. Been a month. I see him graze around the rocks always looking for food...which at times does worry me. He has left all my SPS and softies alone so far. So far so good (knock on wood). I call him E.T.

[AquaKnight]

i added mine. so far he has been eating a scallop a night so maybe he will be content with that
Depending on the size, a scallop a night might be good. I vary the diet of my 8" Burrfish, but typically he gets a whole jumbo shrimp and 2-3 scallops a night. The pic I posted up top is a good example of a healthy porky. Way too often Porcupines/Burrfish don't get enough food and tend to have sunk stomachs. You can see how that guys nicely round belly.

[anbosu]

I second that, it is amazing how much food they can consume.

[screwsloose]

scallop is about 1.5-2" diameter. split it into tow sections and he eats it. very messy eater though. reminds me of oscar cichlids when they eat. all the other fish get a treat too

[reefergeorge]

Since we all love pics. Here is an older pic of my porc.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk217/rgeorge4651/th_SDC10204.jpg (http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk217/rgeorge4651/?action=view&current=SDC10204.jpg)

Here is the zoa eating machine while still in QT. He only lasted two days in the dt.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk217/rgeorge4651/th_SDC10427.jpg (http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk217/rgeorge4651/?action=view&current=SDC10427.jpg)

More recent. I really need to take some new pics. Sorry for the poor camera phone shot.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk217/rgeorge4651/th_puffer1.jpg (http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk217/rgeorge4651/?action=view&current=puffer1.jpg)

[screwsloose]

how active is your porcupines? the ladyi got this one from said he is very lazy and i would almost chaulk him up for dead some days. he sits on the sand bottom and doesnt even move his eyes until i target feed him, then he will come up and eat and go lay back down. she said hes always been spoiled.

[Paul B]

A porcupine would just love to live in your reef. Just feed him hermit crabs :rolleye1:
Here's one I collected
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/boxfish007.jpg

[Chihuahua6]

I love these fish. I had one in my first salt tank when I was 15. He was like a pet. I used to feed him out of my hand as he would beg for food. His name was Ugy. My mom even remembers him to this day.

I'm not sure exactly what type of puffer he was. I think his "quills" stuck out from his body instead of laying flat against it. He was sold to me as a Spiny Boxfish. I wish I could have another one in my reef tank. I just don't want to take a chance with my smaller fish.

[reefergeorge]

how active is your porcupines? the ladyi got this one from said he is very lazy and i would almost chaulk him up for dead some days. he sits on the sand bottom and doesnt even move his eyes until i target feed him, then he will come up and eat and go lay back down. she said hes always been spoiled.


They are nocturnal.
Mine lays in his cave most of the day until about 5pm. Then he begs for food until 830 when I feed him. Sometimes when I leave for work at 5am he is still swimming around.