Saddle Valentini Puffer fish..

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Hi guys,

I bought a rather cool looking Puffer yesterday at sams, and he told me they eat veggie flakes! so I Put some flakes in this morning,and not a thing..

So going now to waynes to buy some food!

Any other thoughts and ideas on taking care of these?
 
He's probably still shy thats why he isnt eating as yet.
Get yourself some Nori and wedge some between two rocks, it might just help him tickle his taste buds.
 
I boght some NutriDiet shrimp for him to eat, as well as calamari.. should an interest in the shrimp, but then lost interest. He is pecking at the rocks, but im concerned about him not eating.. any ideas
 
Hey Robski, Here's some info on your latest inmate. I hope this helps.


The Saddle Valentini Puffer is also known as Valentini's Sharpnose Puffer , Valentini Puffer, Black Saddle Puffer fish, Black saddled Toby, Valentini Toby, or Saddled Toby. The Saddle Valentini Puffer is often thought of as a very cute Puffer. These puffers are white with brown saddel bands which resemble dripping paint and many small spots. Their eyes are bright and inquisitive in nature. It has four distinct black stripes (saddles) on its back. The tail and fins show hints of yellow .The Saddle Valentini Puffer will do well in a fish-only aquarium. And only one per tank is advisable. A 20 gallon or larger, fish-only aquarium is suitable. It will fight with conspecifics such as the filefish, large finned fish, and other tobies.

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Saddle Valentini Puffer is a venomous fish and it is not fit for consumption. If ingested, medical attention is immediately required. It is a hardy fish. The Saddle Valentini Puffer needs medium maintenance. It needs an acclimation time of 3+ hours.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Saddle Valentini Puffer is a nocturnal hunter by nature. The Saddle Valentini Puffer has the ability to inflate itself to twice its original size, in order to protect itself from predators. And when subjected to stress too, it would exhibit the same process. The Saddle Valentini Puffer has the ability to injest water into the ventral portion of their body causing them to blow up . It is not advisable to use a net when handling this fish. Because, it becomes alarmed when netted. The Saddle Valentini Puffer is a hardy fish. And it may act semi-aggressively with other fish. It uses the pectoral fins to move around the aquarium as it lacks pelvic fins. The Saddle Valentini Puffer will eat the invertebrates found in a reef tank. These fish also have incredibly strong plated mouth structures. They can crush even the toughest shells.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Maximum Size: The Saddle Valentini Puffer grows up to 5 inches[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]General Size Specifications: The small size will come to you generally 1 to 2 inches; the medium generally 2 to 3 inches; the large generally 3 to 4 inches.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Minimum Tank Size: The Saddle Valentini Puffer prefers a tank of at least 20 gallons with plenty of places to hide & swim. Keep water quality high (SG 1.020 - 1.025, pH 8.1 - 8.4, Temp. 72 - 78° F).[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Habitat: Range: Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif]Feeding and Diet: The Saddle Valentini Puffer is an omnivore and likes to eat variety of chopped meats (fish, scallop, shrimp, squid, clam). And it feeds mainly on algae.[/FONT]
 
He has everything!
 
hehe not only do i have one, he happens to be my favorite fish:)

I have never heard of them eating nori, they are predatory by nature and mine loves krill,brine, blood worm. He gets excited with flakes in the water but does not eat.

get yours a mix of frizen foods, make sure its well defrosted (i do that in a empty glass in hot tap water on the outside in the sink) and feed that way.He will nip corrals (mione doesnt....oh i dont have many corrals:)) but they truley are great fish:)
 
thanks crispin..

Its day three, and still not eating anything! I just hope he doesnt peg, and kill everything in my tank!
 
robski,do you have a sump? i find that with fish I am not certain on about feeding i keep sump side for a while and feed them there.Often the solitude allows them to feed when they want to and not when everyone else is franticly hammering food around them.

I would sump side the fella firstly, and if you have pods there he can and will hunt those first....and he is due a meal.

then try him on live...go to LFS and get brine shrimp (alive) and the simple stuff you need to breed them yourself.If you can get 4 or five packets do so and keep them in the fridge the cold slows them down and they stay alive well in a fridge for a while (5 days or so). Then take a few out (half a packet to start) and defrost some frozen krill or brine or mysis in WITH the live Brine. Let that all warm up in a glass surrounded by warm tap water in your sink.

Feed that to him in the sump. Slowly teach him to take live and frozen (defrosted) at same time and then after a long time (go slow!) ie atleast three or four week, try him in DT again.


thats the process I did with my Copper band who was only eating live to start and now he is perfect in my DT.

and i would like to thank Midasblennie for helping me with this to start, I was at a loss for ideas!:)

hope this helps
 
Thanks Crispin,

But i do not have a sump, i have a 30gal. Nano. I will try with the brine though, and perhaps some pellets as well.

Will keep you posted.
 
nano...puffer...alarm bells going up here.

is the fella really small? he WILL outgrow that tank, def not a good nano fish:( sorry to say.

thats fine for now though lets get him eating before worrying about his size:)
 
oh and as mekaeel said, having him peck at rocks is a good thing, he will be taking small pods and live things off the rocks so thats a good sign:)
 
ben they need thought before you get them (cant reemebr the tank yoiu planning) but in all honesty this fella is my fav for simple attitude and charactor, appart from being really cute:)
 
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