Puffer Fish

Common Name: Puffer Fish

Scientific Name: Tetraodontidae

Adaptations: The puffer fish is most well known for it's unique adaptations it has to defend itself. The puffer fish has the ability to expand its body extremely quickly when faced with danger, revealing it's long poisonous spikes. These spikes cover its body, and are highly toxic to both humans and animals.

Hunting Strategies: Puffer fish are omnivores. They consume a variety of plants and animals. Puffer fish mainly feed on the algae that grows on the rocks and coral. They also find invertebrates that inhabit these areas as a great meal. Large puffer fish will crack open and eat clams, mussels, and shellfish by using their hard beaks. Poisonous puffers are believed to accumulate their deadly toxin from the bacteria in the animals they eat. 

Reproduction: Male puffer fish guide the female puffer fish towards the shore where she then releases three to seven eggs. The eggs of the puffer fish are very light and float on the surface of the water until they hatch in about one week. The babies of the puffer fish are known as puffer fish fry. Until their limbs begin to grow, these fry are still not fully developed, lacking a hard shell that is used to protect them. When the shell is produced it cracks living the tail and a fin develops. When the puffer fish is big enough, it will swim down and integrate itself into the reef community below.

Interesting Facts:

1.The smallest species of puffer fish are known as the dwarf puffer fish. They only grow to be about one inch and are only located in one river in India.

2. Although their poison is deadly to many animals and humans, it does not even face the shark. The shark can eat the puffer fish with no problem at all. 

3. Puffer fish only have four teeth. All together these teeth form a beak-like shape. They are then used to crack clams and mussels for food. 

Why I chose this fish? 

I chose this fish because it is very unique. You can't find very many fish that consume large amounts of water to expand their bodies to multiple different sizes.