Midnight Dogface Puffers come from the Solomon Islands, where they inhabit a wide variety of habitats. They are found everywhere from coral reefs to sea grass beds, to brackish estuary environments. The one thing that seems to be a requisite for them is relatively sedate, or at least predictable flow, as they are not the most athletic swimmers. They are usually found either by themselves or occasionally in pairs which may be purely reproduction related. Mostly they are found in pretty shallow water, less than 50 feet down or so. In regard to a cleanup crew, your Midnight Dogface Puffer would love them – for a snack. They will make quick work of any motile invertebrate you put into the tank, sea stars, hermit crabs, snails, crabs, even cleaner shrimp are on the menu. Actually, every and all invertebrate you add is at risk, while the coral reef is one of their natural habitats, it is possible that yours might eat the growing tips off hard corals and the fleshy polyps of LPS corals; sea fans, gorgonians, and even small unwary fish might be on the menu. They will appreciate a mixed offering of whole meaty foods such as clams, shrimp etc. It is important that some of their food should come in hard shells, like Gamma's Cockle In Shell. Allowing them items where they have to break into dinner is messy, but absolutely necessary since their teeth never stop growing and need to be worn down on such food items. If you have access to clean live snails, clams and crabs, these would all be good treats for your puffer. Puffers also like to eat algae and sponge, so supplementing with algae or sponge-based food is a great idea. Arothron puffers will generally learn to take large pellets quickly, we use the Nutramar Algae and Color Boost Shots, and these would be perfect to supplement their diet in the home environment as well. To learn more click here
