Valentini puffers - Canthigaster valentini

Valentin's sharpnose puffer, also known as the saddled puffer or black saddled toby, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. The saddled puffer is a small sized fish which grows up to 11 cm.

Canthigaster valentini features four prominent black saddles along its back. Its head displays a blue-grey shade, while the body is predominantly white adorned with blue-grey speckles. The fins and tail exhibit subtle yellow tones, complemented by a vibrant rainbow streak behind the eyes. This species is omnivorous, consuming filamentous green and red algae, tunicates, and smaller quantities of corals, bryozoans, polychaetes, echinoderms, mollusks, as well as brown and coralline red algae.

Feeding

In the wild, C. valentini consumes benthic invertebrates along with filamentous and coralline algae, necessitating a varied diet appropriate for omnivores in captivity. Regular provision of hard-shelled foods, such as small bivalve mollusks and crustaceans, is essential to wear down their continuously growing teeth naturally. Without this, or deliberate dental maintenance by the keeper, their teeth can overgrow to the point where feeding becomes impossible, ultimately leading to starvation.

Compatibility

In choosing tankmates, keep in mind that C. valentini can be a fin nipper and has the dentition to do some serious damage if so inclined. Species with long fins or filaments should definitely be avoided. Conspecifics (with the possible exception of keeping a known mated pair in a larger system) and congeners are also poor choices, as they are likely to elicit aggression.