Do Puffers Puff?

[fryeguy82]

i have two green spotted puffers and was wondering if they actually puff up. i saw one the other day whose belly looked a lot bigger than the other one for a while. its back to normal now, though. do these small puffers puff up like the bigger marine puffers, or did he just have a little too much to eat?

thanks,
chris

 

[Torrean]

yes they do.

 

[Tommo]

Freshwater puffers can inflate themselves if they feel threatened, but if this hppens its not good as if any air is trapped they find it difficult to release, and can be picked on while in this difficult state.

However in this case it is more likely that it had recently eaten as after feeding puffers tend to have a very large, rounded stomack as their skin is very stretchy (no scales).

 

[ox5477]

Freshwater puffers can inflate themselves if they feel threatened, but if this hppens its not good as if any air is trapped they find it difficult to release, and can be picked on while in this difficult state.

However in this case it is more likely that it had recently eaten as after feeding puffers tend to have a very large, rounded stomack as their skin is very stretchy (no scales).

Yes, he probably just engorged himself as most puffers will do and you will see their belly bulge out a little.

 

[Fella]

I think it's better to be more explicit about pufferfish and how/why they inflate.

When they inflate underwater, then that is a ntural response to feeling threatened, an act of courtship or in some cases "practice". In the latter 2 cases, it is harmless. In the 1st instance, a pufferfish may puff up if feeling threatened or in danger, as it is a reflexive response to a dangerous situation. Fish handle stress very differently to humans (like a lot of other animals) and can die from stress. To deliberate make a pufferfish inflate is contrary to the aquarium hobby itself, it is deliberately putting the fish in danger. While seeing a pufferfish "inflate" might be the thing everyone wants to see with pufferfish, it is harmful, and unnecessary.

If puffers inflate out of air, this can be harmful. This has happened to 2 of my puffers before (neither deliberately, 1 was trimming the teeth, the other the fish had jumped out of the water) and the consequences were thankfully harmless, although this is not always the case. Expelling air from the fish can be more difficult than expelling water, in order to get them to expel the air, you may need to turn them upside down and "stroke their tummies", tail fin to mouth direction to release the trapped air. This method isn't always successful however, and can lead to an ill fish.

If a puffer appears to have "puffed up" but has a bulging stomach, rather than a round one, then that is due to overfeeding/recent feeding. An inflated puffer in the majority of cases is spherical (that is the reason for the defence mechanism, inflating spherically makes it very difficult for you to be grabbed hold of by a predators mouth), and if not, then the chances are it has been fed too much. Cutting down on the feedings, or feeding less more frequently may be a better course of action.

 

[fryeguy82]

thanks guys, he did look more bulgy than round

 

[mlawson]

Another thing to note, is that if you are moving puffers to a different tank. Do not expose them to the air. When you net them out, place the net into the bag without bringing it into contact with the air.

 

[fishboy619]

ive always heard people say dont let your puffer be exposed to the air, and i never do it with my dwarfs, but i wonder why, what will happen if they do get exposed to air?

 

[nmonks]

For the reason Fella mentioned above: pufferfish can't easily deflate the air from their bodies. They evolved to pump up with water not air. Air floats in water, while water (obviously) doesn't, so the system that moves water out of their inflation chamber doesn't work so well with air. The prime risk isn't damage to the fish (the air eventually works its way out) but the pufferfish can't submerge (because it's bouyant) and that can keep the gills above the waterline, so it suffocates.

As Fella mentioned, there are various ways to deal with air-inflated puffers, but most involve holding it with the mouth upwards and taking advantage of the fact air floats to work it up and out the mouth.

Cheers, Neale

ive always heard people say dont let your puffer be exposed to the air, and i never do it with my dwarfs, but i wonder why, what will happen if they do get exposed to air?

 

[kpintheshed]

they do i use to have one saw it puff up once. is this true if a puffer fish dies and u have some community fish and if the other eat it will they die?

because i know they are poisioness too humans

 

[nmonks]

I wouldn't go out of my way to feed pufferfish to your pets, but generally speaking, no, pufferfish do not pose a threat in this way. Not all pufferfishes contain poison, and those that do synthesise the poison from their diet. Experimental work suggests they lose their toxicity a year or so after being removed from the wild because the food we give them lacks the precursor molecules they need to build up the poison.

Cheers, Neale

is this true if a puffer fish dies and u have some community fish and if the other eat it will they die? because i know they are poisioness too humans

 

[fryeguy82]

i hope these pics are clear enough, what do you guys think air or food?

 

[iSnail]

Cute puffer. Looks like it's over-eaten or bloated

 

[Tommo]

simply appears to be a heavily fed puffer

 

[Pufferpack]

Here are a couple of South American puffers. C. asellus. (mine) looking normal, (also shows the difference between regular and overgrown teeth):

and one that is puffed (not mine):

very easy to tell when they are puffed as opposed to bulging with food.