Notes: Misc. Val

From Puffer Forum:

• Bonnie's Val sleeps wedged into veggie clip every night -- likened to looking like a shark with opened mouth, coloring wise..
• JPSmith's sleeps wedged between rocks and fades to blend.
• Bertie just sleeps on the floor and fades -- wasn't too extreme with the rocks about, but she becomes quite "washed out" looking by morning with the mirrored bottom. Normal color returns pretty quickly once she's "up and about".

Various ("cleaning aids"):

• Decoy shells (empty) help with longevity of snails / hermit crabs.
• Micro brittle stars may be too small to find among the live rock.

5/18 QT Notes

• Clowns "sleeping" in PVC caves.
• Bertie sleeping on bare floor; coloring even more washed out/grayish looking thatn I am accustomed to in mornings (due to mirrored floor?). Color came back once she "got up" and began moving around as usual. Breathing unremarkable.
• PJ in back, hovering as normal
• Bertie now has a brownish patch / strip along her stomach / chest that seems attached, not falling off. (From sleeping in poo?)
• Ber

Notes: Valentini Feeding Specifics

• Live short neck clams (either clam on half shell or crack it open a bit to help them out; left over clams can be frozen for later use)
• Krill
• Marine Cuisine
• Mysis shrimp
• Nori (to give puffer something to pick at in place of your live rock)
• Raw mussels / frozen mussel cubes (crack mussels first?)
• SF Bay Emerald Entree
• Shrimp (can get raw, frozen shrimp and break off tail section to offer to puffer; rest of shrimp can be reserved for more standard cuisine uses)
• Squid

In general, brine shrimp and bloodworms don't offer the needed nutritional value; treat them as snacks or rare treats instead of meals.

Sources: Various on-line references; this post in particular mainly culled from researching forum post recommendations of other Valentini Puffer owners at The Puffer Forum , specifically, thanks to posts from OraLacerta, Bonnie3188, and Faeth

Notes: Valentini Puffers

Tetraodontidae family, Canthigaster valentini

• Also known as: Valentini's Sharpnose Puffer, Black Saddled Toby, Saddled Puffer
• Marine fish, originates in reefs of Indian and Pacific Oceans.
• Maximum length: Approximately 11 cm.
• Lifespan: Believed to be 5-10 years.
• Minimum tank size: 20 gallons.
• Preferred pH: 7.9-8.4.
• Preferred temperature: 74-80 degreesF.
• Description: 4 black stripes on the back (saddles), blue-grey head, white body with blue-grey speckles, tail and fins tinted yellow, males have a rainbow streak of color behind eyes.
• Needs to eat a source of shelled food in order to prevent teeth from overgrowing.
• Often considered to be a "fin-nipper", can often co-house with blennies. May nibble at any crustacean in tank, regardless of size; if well fed, generally doesn't bother corals.
• Poisonous to eat.

Sources: Info composite of various on-line sources but mainly culled from researching forum posts and library info at The Puffer Forum

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Notes: Feeding Options

Puffers (in general) feed on:

• Algae
• Blackworms
• Bloodworms (sparingly, treat as a snack food)
• Brine Shrimp (sparingly, treat as snack food)
• Cockles
• Crabs
• Crayfish (consider removing claws so they don't get the chance to hurt puffer)
• Crickets (occasional)
• Earthworms (use bait worms rather than "provenance unknown" worms)
• Ghost Shrimp
• Krill
• Bonnie feeds a marinara seafood mix with squid and clams in it.
• Mealworms (occasional)
• Mini Brittle Stars
• Mussels
• Plankton
• Prawns
• Shrimp
• Silversides
• Snails (fresh water / pond snails easier for puffer to break the shell of, less likely to damage their teeth)

Frozen Food: Good idea to defrost and strain. Can thaw or dehydrate using vitamin water. Freeze dried or sundried foods must be soaked for 20 minutes or so before feeding to puffers (to keep them from swallowing air with the food).

Shelled Foods: Offer once daily to 2-3 times per week (small mollusks, shrimp, krill with shells) to help keep teeth from overgrowing. Some do well with feedings one day and snails in the tank for the next day's feeding.

Feed puffer in one area of tank only -- aids with training and ease of cleaning, makes puffer more likely to accept dosed food if needed, decreases likelihood of puffer being aggressive to tankmates over food. Puffer should have a small potbelly (but not bulging) after feeding. Watch and remove "leftovers" after the meal.

BoxerMom suggests that fish under 3" be fed twice a day, over 3" be fed once a day.

Sources: Info composite of various on-line sources but mainly culled from researching forum posts and library info at The Puffer Forum

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