Saddled Toby
Saddled Toby
 

Saddled Toby

Canthigaster valentini


Saddled Toby
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Common name: Saddled toby, Valentini Puffer, Blacksaddled Toby, Saddled Puffer, Saddle Valentini Puffer, Black Saddle Puffer
Scientific name: Canthigaster valentini
Max size: 4 inches / 10 cm
pH: 8.1-8.4
Salinity: 1.020-1.025
Temperature: 72-78ºF (22-26°C)

This species is very common in the trade and if you want to keep it you should not have any trouble finding it in a fish store near you. If your fish store doesn't have Saddled Valentini toby in stock they will most likely be able to order it for you.

The Saddled Valentini toby has a white body with a black field on the upper half. The tailfin is yellow and the body is covered with black dots. The black dots become more numerous the higher on the body you look. The body shape is that of a typical puffer fish.

The Saddled Valentini toby is not suitable for beginners as it has fairly high demands on its keeper but it is suitable for those who have kept marine aquariums for a while and is ready to move on to something a little more sensitive.

This species is not reef safe even if they can be kept with larger stinging sea anemones. They will eat most small reef animals. They are very aggressive towards each other and you should only keep one saddled Valentini toby per tank. They can sometimes be aggressive towards other similar fish species but are generally friendly towards other species and the saddled Valentini toby is perfect for a marine community tank. It sometimes nips the fins of long finned species but not all specimens do this. It is less prone to be a fin biter than other similar species. That said, you should consider the risk before adding a Saddled Valentini toby to a tank containing long finned fish.

The Saddled Valentini toby, or Valentine puffer as it is also called, originates from the Indo-Pacific.

Saddled toby care and aquarium setup

The Saddled toby is best kept in a marine aquarium no smaller than 30 gallon / 120 L. It can be kept in "fish only" or "fish with live rock" tanks. It should never be kept in reef tanks as it can cause a lot of damage.

The aquarium should contain hiding places in caves and overhangs as well as a lot of open space to swim on. You can keep a few large stinging anemones in the tank as well as if you want to but the toby doesn't need them. The tank should be well circulated with calmer areas for the fish to rest in. The Saddled toby doesn't care much about the lighting of the tank but if you want to keep anemones you need good lighting and the Saddled valentine toby fish will in that case appreciate a couple of shaded areas.

Ideal water conditions are pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025, and temperature: 72-78ºF (22-26°C).

Feeding Saddled valentine toby

The Saddled toby puffer is a carnivore that should be feed a varied high protein diet. It can only sometimes be trained to accept pellets or flake food. Feed them a diet consisting of live food, frozen food such as krill and brine shrimp, and chopped up sea food. Frozen mixed foods for carnivores is also a good choice. Make sure that your Saddled toby gets enough food. Feed it 2-3 times a day.

Breeding Saddled valentini toby/puffer

It is not hard to sex the Saddled toby, Canthigaster valentine, because sexing can be done by looking at the coloration. Males have lines radiating from the back of their head. These lines have a blue-green iridescent color. Males also have blue grey lines under the lower jaw. The lines are featured on an orange background. In addition to this, Saddled toby males have a blue-gray patch just behind their anus. Females lack all these features. Sexing the saddled toby valentine puffer can also to a certain degree be made by size because males tend to be larger than females.

This species has as far as we know not been bred in aquariums and it would likely be very hard to breed the saddled toby without a very large aquarium as they are very aggressive towards each other. If several are kept in a small aquarium they will often fight until only one fish remain.

This is an egg scattering species.

Pufferfish Articles:

Black Dogface Puffer - Information about Black Dogface Puffer.
Dogface puffer - Information about Dogface puffer.
Immaculate Puffer – How to care for Arothron immaculatus.
Saddled Toby – Information on keeping Canthigaster valentini