Dog-faced Puffer, Black-spotted Puffer, Arothron nigropunctatus

The Dog-faced Puffer or Black-spotted Puffer are often exported from asia as juveniles. They make a special pet that can recognize their care givers and become visibly excited when given attention. Make sure you have a fairly large aquarium if you plan on growing this one up, it can reach up to 16" (40 cm)!

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Geographic Distribution Arothron nigropunctatus


Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Tetraodontiformes Family: Tetraodontidae
Data provided by FishBase.org

Maintenance difficulty:
Although the Dog-faced Puffer or Black-spotted Puffer is easy to feed and generally hardy, they require special care and a special diet to stay healthy.

Maintenance:
Puffers have strong teeth that grow throughout their lives. They need to be offered hard shelled live food often to keep their teeth worn down. For a better explanation and links to the practice of puffer dentistry (if needed) please read here. Because they eat a meaty diet and are often messy eaters, puffers will produce a large bio load on the biological filter of your aquarium requiring frequent water changes and good maintenance practices.

Habitat: Natural geographic location:
Dog-faced Puffer or Black-spotted Puffer are found in the Indo-Pacific. Islands of Micronesia and Samoa to East Africa. This is a species found on or near coral reefs.

Foods:
Puffers are primarily predatory fish in the wild, though they do graze on algae as well. Acceptable foods include shellfish, crustaceans and hard shelled foods such as snails. A large variety of all kinds of live and frozen meaty foods are best. It is best to feed small amounts several times a day. Some of the suggested frozen foods include prawn, crabs/crabs legs, bloodworms (live or frozen), blackworms (live or frozen), silversides, and mussels. Be sure to wash these foods thoroughly before feeding. Live foods can include snails, crabs, crayfish, shrimp (these are good for keeping their teeth trimmed), and earthworms. Live fish will also be eaten but it is thought it may cause problems such as 'fatty" liver and so should be fed sparingly or not at all.. Puffers are not picky eaters and will quickly become adapted to a variety of prepared aquarium foods and an occasional algae wafer. Flake food is not recommended. Even though they may eat it, puffers will not thrive on it.

Social Behaviors:
Generally this fish is not aggressive. Just make sure he doesn't think any other fish are meant to be dinner.

Sex: Sexual differences:
Unknown.

Light: Recommended light levels:
No special requirements.

Temperature:
No special requirements. Normal temperatures for marine fish is between 74 and 79 degrees Fahrenheit.

Length/Diameter of fish:
Dog-faced Puffer or Black-spotted Puffer adults can grow to 40.0 cm (16 inches).

Minimum Tank Length/Size:
A minimum 100 gallon aquarium is recommended.

Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong
No special requirements.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom
No special requirements.

Availability:
This fish is available from time to time.

Latest Comments
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I've had my puffer along with three other fish for a little over a year, and they are all doing great! I found something funny that was kinda weird is that my puffer loves having her picture taken. I was playing around with a digital camera one day and she started getting really excited in her tank so i walked over there and took a picture of her, and she loved it. She is the only fish that responds to this in the tank, and will follow me from one side to the other following the camera. I definitely recommend a puffer they are so friendly and sweet, a great addition to any tank. I have never had a problem with her and the other fish, I have a snowflake eel, a lyretail wrasse, and a maroon clown. dana 2007-05-21
I recently got a dogface puffer and she is a sweetheart. We have her in a 75 gallon tank with live rock and several other fish and she does not bother any of them. She is very social and loves to be rubbed under her chin. She will swim up to the surface and turn on her side like she is telling us to pet her. Amy 4/22/07 Amy Baker 2007-04-22
Our dogface puffer is a little devil. He spouts water when he wants to be fed and he goes in the huff when you dont. We feed him on frozen whole mussle to keep his beak down but not all the time. He has a tank mate as well, a niger trigger with whom he gets along great with even though he is a 1/3 of his size. They both sleep together side by side. A CONNELL 2006-04-09
I HAVE A 55 GALLON TANK. I HAVE A GREEN WOLF EEL, TANGS, A FAIRY WRASSE, A HARLAQUIN SWEETLIPS, AND A NEW DOG FACE PUFFER. dana 2006-03-09
i have a dog face in a 46 gallon and its fine with 5 other fish Justin 2005-10-29
Some of the coolest comments:
We've had our Puffer for some time now. It is not a good idea to keep them in a tank with invertebrates. Our chocolate chip starfish fell victim to our puffer within a week. Other than that, they are very personable. Rusty Shackleford 2006-03-21
Definitely not a reef-safe fish. He will eat any and all soft corals from my experience. This fish has a huge personality. Frequently he will swim up to the glass and "beg" for food. My dog-faced puffer will not except anything but flake food. He used to eat supermarket shrimp and that was a cheap way to feed him. Now he wants flake food only. Variety in the diet is important to prevent this from happening. This fish should not be fed flake food as an only food. They have teeth and those teeth need to be ground down. Otherwise over time the teeth will outgrow the mouth and need to be clipped with a nail trimmer much like gerbils teeth. Not a fun task. Food for this fish to keep its teeth filed would be shelled things like shrimp. If its teeth outgrow its mouth the fish will die and starve. This fish has not attacked any fish in my tank. These include smaller fish like a cleaner wrasse and green chromis. Actually, my tomato clowns are meaner than the puffer. The puffer is mostly a peaceful fish in my experience. This fish is generally nocturnal. On the reef during the day, they can be found hiding under coral branches. By night they are out looking for food. Although this fish ignores this nocturnal activitity in captivity. They do not seem to grow very fast. I have seen 1" growth after one year in my tank. Blasting powerheads tend to push this fish around. They are poor swimmers. I recommend a tank size of 125 gallons minimum. Due to the feeding habits of this fish, a large skimmer to remove waste is paramaount. corry 2005-10-10