dog faced puffer

Question
QUESTION: im expecting to buy this dog face puffer because ive always wanted one and ive seen this particular one and he has a very unique personality. Anyways i was wondering if i would be able to put him in a 46 bow front tank with any other fish kind of like a lion but not sure we might put some live or dead rock in there with some live sand

ANSWER: Hi Dylan. Dog face puffers can reach about 12 inches in length when full grown. It is recommended that they are kept in a tank that is  at least four feet long and at least 18 inches wide. I would not recommend putting this fish in a tank that is as wide as they get long. Depending on what type of lionfish you are planning to get, They can get to be over 12 inches in length as well. These two fish together in your tank would be a little cramped. Both of these fish require lots of swimming space and are very messy eaters that give off large amounts of waste. I can not in good faith recommend either of them to be put in your size tank. However if you must, then choose just one and buy it little with the knowledge that one day in the not so distant future you are going to HAVE TO upgrade to at least a ninety gallon tank!

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QUESTION: Thank you for answering back but i have one more question.
my tank is 3.5 feet long and 22 inches high were not so sure about the lion so we were thinking about either a niger trigger or maybe a huma huma. also what about a bird faced wrase. thanks again

ANSWER: You will only want to keep one trigger per tank as they will often fight to the death. These would be okay in your tank however should be kept in a tank where they would have lots of swimming room owning to their active nature. Bird wrasses are nice but they do spend the majority of their time hiding. They do not get overly aggressive nor too large. One trigger and one wrasse would be good for your tank. If you are still planning on the puffer then I would recommend just the birdwrasse. Triggers can be big bullies and will often not let the slower more docile pufers eat especially in a smaller environment.

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QUESTION: last question what kind of fish do you think would be cool with the puffer besides another puffer

Answer
There are allot of fish that would go well with a puffer. You will want one that will get as large as the puffer but not be too overly aggressive or territorial. Puffers should not be housed together as is the case with most species of fish. Saltwater fish can be even more territorial and aggressive with fish of their own kind and are usually less aggressive with fish of another species. Puffers will get along well with angelfish, tangs, larger damsels, larger clownfish, hawkfish, eels, lionfish, squirrelfish, sweetlips, wrasses, foxface, basses, batfish, and butterflyfish. Among a few others. Your options are plenty. It is the size of your tank that would be a concern if choosing a larger species of fish to go with this already large fish. If you follow the recommendation of 3 inches of fish per gallon you are looking at maxing out your tank at 14 inches of fish. That is calculating it based on 46 gallons. With gravel and rocks and any other decorations you may have you do not have exactly 46 gallons of water in your tank. Estimate about 40 gallons and this will bring your stocking level down to 13 inches of fish. That is about the size the puffer will reach when full grown. Does this mean that you absolutely can not have any other fish? Of course not! This is just a recommendation and one other fish may not necessarily mean doom for your tank. However you may have to do larger more frequent partial water changes to combat wastes that will build up in your tank and testing will have to be done more often as well. An oversized protein skimmer on your tank should be in use and activated carbon replaced more often. I can only give you some suggestions and do not want to help you pick a tankmate for your puffer(I am very partial to the very overlooked squirrelfish) That is the fun part for you!