Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've got a valentini puffer in my reef tank and I'm thinking of adding some small polyp stonies, I've noticed he doesn't bother my coflakes or feather dusters, only chews on the rockwork, so I was wondering if it's safe to keep them together or if he'll end up grinding his teeth on them, any advice would be great thanks.

Hey, I think I can help you out. You've got a valentini puffer and you're considering adding some small polyp stonies to your reef tank. I'd say it's worth a shot, especially since your puffer doesn't seem to be nippy with the coflakes or feather dusters. The main concern would be whether he'd try to graze on the stonies or if the rockwork would be okay for him.

It's early days yet, to be honest, you've only had the valentini puffer a little while. Why don't you try introducing an inexpensive small frag and see how things go? We can't predict with certainty how they'll interact, it's a bit of a gamble, I'm afraid.

It's a gamble, mate... Tristan Lougher's words come to mind, "in the wild, they munch on filamentous algae, crustaceans, polychaete worms, and the like." Seffie's right, trial and error's the way to go, and trying with a small frag first is a solid plan, always worth a shot.

I've seen some stunning corals at Reefworks, might just give it a go. If my puffer was gonna nip at the coflakes, I reckon he'd have done it by now, so fingers crossed. Has anyone else had an issue with their tomato clownfish being a bit weird, mine's always shoving her head in the puffer's mouth.

I've seen some lovely small polyp stonies at Reefworks that I'd love to get, they're really beautiful. If my puffer was gonna nip at my coflakes, I reckon he would've done it by now, so I think I'll take the plunge and give it a go. Has anyone else had an issue with their tomato clownfish doing weird stuff, mine keeps shoving her head into my puffer's mouth, it's really strange.

I'm assuming that's the puffer's mouth she's shoving her head into, rather than her own, that's her subtle way of telling him to back off before things escalate into the usual aggressive behavior we've all come to expect from these feisty little characters.

Not all puffers eat every type of coflake, some might be quite particular - I've heard of them only going for certain ones, like millepora, while leaving others untouched. It's a bit like the old dwarf angelfish conundrum - some people swear they never touch coflakes, but then you add a catalaphyllia and the angel demolishes it. I recall a mate who had that exact issue with his tlazuliphillia.

As for your clown sticking its head in the puffer's mouth, I'm guessing it's a pretty big puffer and a tiny tomato clown?

No, actually it's the bubbletip anemone's mouth she keeps shoving her head in, I didn't mention the bubbletip anemone, did I. Would've been hilarious if it was the puffer's mouth though.