Why are puffers so aggressive?

[bgraber]

? For such cuddly little fish, these guys really pack a punch.. why?
After a little research, i found this page http/www.splutphoto.com/pierre/puffer.htm
And fell in love

 

[Pufferpack]

I don't think it is a matter of being more aggressive than other fish (Put 3 male guppies together and watch them...they wil constantly attack each other) I believe it is the amount of damage they do when they get aggressive that is the problem. Other fish (guppies for example) are constantly attacking each other with minimal damage, but if a puffer attacks someone once there are usually chunks missing from the other fish, due to the puffers having bony plates designed to crack into shells, rather than teeth like most fish.
Or they could just be a bunch of cranky old farts that don't like anyone bugging them

 

[Lithril]

Tell me about it

 

[Sondan]

bgraber;
Nice job on finding that link. I read the thing from start to finish and I would have loved to see the guys face when he dropped in the crabs. After reading this section over and over I know that my next ten gallon that comes open is going to have to be a puffer thank. Keep the info coming.
Signed,
Sondan

 

[bgraber]

Gotta love a fish that can kill you! lol. And Pufferpack, yeah I never really thought of it that way.. Makes sense. What do you give them to wear their teeth down properly?

 

[dixaisy930]

Mine will eat tiny snails (and ever not so tiny ones lol). From time to time, I see her picking up a small piece of gravel in her mouth and evertually spit it out...I assume she's filing them down this way too.

 

[Pufferpack]

About the only thing I've tried are the pond snails (and the occasional trapdoor snail to harrass). I find the Dwarfs teeth don't grow at a fast enough rate to worry too much (unlike the South Americans that need constant snails to keep the teeth ground) and I give my little guys about 20 snails once per week. You could try some muscles but I think the Dwarfs are too small to do more than just pick at the shells.