Puffer Fish belong to the family Tetradontidae, which means they have four teeth.

They are also

called blowfish. There are species of Puffer Fish which live in freshwater, some species live best
in brackish water, and some Puffers live best in marine or sea water. Because they live in these
kinds of water, they have various colors and sizes. They are called Puffer Fish because their
ability to inflate themselves with water or air when they feel threatened. It is a defensive
mechanism. It’s harder to swallow a large fish than a small one.

It is hard to resist a Puffer fish. If you see them you may think that it is a sweet and charming fish.
Maybe because they have a unique and comical way of swimming and they have big eyes and a
round belly. But it is not true. Puffers are predators. Most Puffer species have a nasty
temperament. They can be fin nippers and killers. Even those who have previously been in a
community tank can become aggressive when they are older, or if they are not well fed. That is
why you should be careful with choosing aquarium friends for them. Freshwater Puffer Fish live
best with fast swimming fish such as Barbs, Danios, Rainbow Fish, and Sharks. Crabs and
Shrimps are usually eaten by Puffers. Freshwater Dwarf Puffers do less nipping than many other
types of Puffer Fish. But if they are in a tank with fish with long fins, they will nip them even if they
are less aggressive.
hwater Puffers are best in a bigger tank. Even if they are freshwater some Puffers like a little salt
in the water. A big tank is good for other fish, because they will have a lot of places to hide from
the Puffers four teeth. The best temperature is about 24 - 26°C. If Puffers are in good condition,
they can live for several years. Plants are in danger because most Puffers like to eat them. In an
aquarium you will need many caves, so they have places to hide where they can’t see each other,
and everybody can have its own place. Bear in mind that there are links at the bottom of this
article and each of them points to a different Pufferfish. Thus, each species may require different
water parameters and one can find them on those particular pages. It's also important to
understand that these species are very sensitive to low pH and low dKH. Puffers can die easily
without proper water conditions.

Food

They should be fed frozen blood worms and freeze dried shrimps or krill, plus frozen and live
brine shrimp, live Ghost Shrimp, and an occasional treat of a few live Black Worms. Puffer Fish
have powerful teeth, which they use to crack open snail shells, and puffers love to eat small
aquatic snails such as rams horn snails. If a Puffer Fish has a full belly nipping can be minimized.
When you introduce a new Puffer into your aquarium, it will likely accept only a couple of foods
instead of accepting the entire range. It's wise to ask the seller about food that have been
accepted in the shop. If you're very curious, ask a seller to feed chosen Puffers so that you can
see what they like.

We know only a little about how Puffer Fish breed.

Pictures of different Pufferfish species

Tetraodon Mbu Tetraodon nigroviridis Carinotetraodon travancoricus

Also check the links shown below; They point to Puffers in our database and each profile contains
it's own picture (or pictures).

Links to profiles which contain more specific information

Since there are more than one or two puffer fish species, they're described on different pages:

* Green pufferfish - Tetraodon nigroviridis

* Malabar pufferfish - Carinotetraodon travancoricus
* Giant puffer fish - Tetraodon mbu
 * Amazon pufferfish - Colomesus asellus
* Green pufferfish - Tetraodon fluviatilis
* Bailey's puffer - Tetraodon baileyi
* Red-spot puffer - Tetraodon abei
* Mekong puffer - Tetraodon suvattii
* Coral butterfly puffer - Tetraodon lineatus
* Striped red-eye puffer - Carinotetraodon salivator
* Figure eight puffer - Tetraodon biocellatus
* Congo puffer - Tetraodon miurus
* Red eye puffer - Carinotetraodon lorteti
* Fang's puffer - Tetraodon cochinchinensis
* Bronze puffer - Xenopterus naritus

Biologists think pufferfish, also known as blowfish, developed their famous “inflatability” because
their slow, somewhat clumsy swimming style makes them vulnerable to predators. In lieu of
escape, pufferfish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts
of water (and even air when necessary) to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several
times their normal size. Some species also have spines on their skin to make them even less
palatable.

A predator that manages to snag a puffer before it inflates won’t feel lucky for long. Almost all
pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a substance that makes them foul tasting and often lethal to fish.
To humans, tetrodotoxin is deadly, up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide. There is
enough toxin in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.