Valentini Puffer: The Fish That Will Steal Your Heart!

Valentini puffer, also known scientifically as Canthigaster Valentini, is a saltwater fish belonging to the pufferfish species and the Canthigaster genus, which are mostly called Tobies

Our little guy here has several names such as :

• Valentini toby
• Black saddled toby
• Sharpnose pufferfish
• Saddleback pufferfish
• Valentini sharp nose puffer

And more other names.

Although they are not as popular as other pufferfish, they do indeed have many names.

They are usually found in the Indo ocean and inhabit shallow, still waters such as coral reefs and rocky reefs.

Characteristic

Valentini Puffer is a very colorful fish with an oval body shape. Their body color is white from the top half with black color around their midsections, and colorful spotting all over their bodies, which can be orange or brown depending on the fish, with yellow fins and little blue stripes running on their back.

Their body is small with an elongated nose shaped like a beak. In fact, they have sharp teeth and like to chew on things, just like a woodpecker. 

They don’t have pelvic fins, so they rely on their pectoral fins to move around, which makes for a beautiful view in the aquarium.

Their teeth are a little bit poisonous, so their victims will die shortly after being nipped at. They inflate their bodies when feeling threatened, but due to their small size, it is not as obvious as other pufferfish, but you can still notice it.

They also inflate their bodies when they feel stressed, so you should take that into consideration when performing water changes

Size & lifespan

Valentini Puffers are very small in size, reaching only three to four inches (7-10 cm) in length.

On average they live 3 to 5 years in captivity. At the condition that they’re well taken care of. 

Temperament

They are not excessively aggressive by nature like typical Pufferfish, but they will still nip at other small fish and retaliate if attacked despite their small physique.

They are also very interactive, much like Silvertip Tetra, and will follow your gestures when pointing at them. They are not shy at all.

Tank requirement

They aren’t suitable for reef coral aquariums as they are known for nipping them, so keeping them in an aquarium that already has an established reef environment isn’t ideal. It can be ruined.

 However, as I always tell people, fish are adaptive, and habits developed before might not be evident in your own fish. 

That being said, you can keep them in an aquarium full of reef and coral, and they might just nip them when they feel hungry or simply ignore them. 

Maybe if their diet is rich in meaty food and you often give them something to chew on, they won’t ruin your corals. 

I haven’t tested this myself, so if you have kept a Valentini Puffer in an aquarium with reef and corals before, please let us know your experience in the comments below.

Tank size

 A 40-gallon tank is a good starter for them, but a bigger one would be better if possible.

Water parameters

They are very sensitive to water and require meticulous water conditions.
Its recommended to set the temperature at 72-78° F(22-25C), degrees of carbonate hardness (dKH) between 8-12, and a pH level of 8.1-8.4 and gravity (sg) of 1.020-1.025.

As you see they require very specific settings which can be a little hard for beginners to follow.

I’ve seen people recommending them to beginners and heard of beginners successfully taking care of them, as they are a little bit easy to take care of compared to the other Pufferfish which are totally not beginner fish, so if you did your research and feel confident enough that you can provide a stable environment for them, you can also get one as a beginner.

Tank mates

Some potential tankmates can be: 

• maroon clownfish
• Black saddle filefish(this guy actually mimics Velnetini puffer)
• Engineer goby
• Fire goby.

Usually, you could easily integrate it into your tank if you don’t have aggressive fish already. 

Also before considering tank mates, you may want to consider, if you only have a small tank, only get one Valentini Puffer and no more.

They don’t like to live with their own kind, so try not to put two Saddle Valentini Puffer together they don’t like each other as freshwater betta fish don’t like to be with other betta males. 

So you might only consider getting more if you have a bigger tank that will separate their territories. 

Also, don’t keep them with Invertebrate or cleaner shrimps, they will bully and eat them.

Diet

They eat frozen meaty food such as brine shrimp. You could also consider giving them clams and half shells, squid, and krill a couple of times a week, it’s a great nutritional food for them and they also like it. 

Feeding them once a day is sufficient, but if you want to feed them twice a day, make sure to reduce their portion to avoid overfeeding.

 You should observe how they interact with food, whether they are excited, or do they rush right away, or just simply ignore it, and so on.

Then base your feeding schedule around that, as you know even the same fish of the same specie can adopt different eating habits.

But you know the general outline, feeding them once a day is usually good enough.

Breeding

When it comes to breeding time, The female Valentini puffer will start moving its tails and picking at the aquarium substrates.

The female can lay hundreds of eggs all at once but they need a stable environment for a large number of them to survive. If kept in the same tank as other fish they might get eaten.

Conclusion

The Valentini Puffer or Valentini toby is such a beautiful small fish that can be a great addition to your tank. Although they are a little bit aggressive and like to prey on small fish which makes it hard to keep them in the same aquarium. They are usually peaceful and calm fish.

And although they are not popular as the other pufferfish, they are one of the most beautiful pufferfish you could have.

By properly feeding and caring for them, you can expect them to recognize you and you will enjoy their company for years as long as you are able to make them happy and feel comfortable.