The Blackspotted Puffer acts much like a dog and is a favorite! That face looks so sweet, that you may find yourself whistling for it to come…. and it just might!
Millie - 2019-11-05 OK so Boom! I have a 55 gallon salt water tank for about 9 months now! I have a trigger Niger, blue spotted Puffer,two clownfish, Yellow Tang and a star fish. My favorite fish is my new addition the Dog faced Puffer, I love how cute, smart and social he is! When I leave the room sometimes, I turn on the tv when he looks bored. This fish watches tv 😭. He acts like a dog. Recently, I was cleaning my tank and he wanted me to pet him. I admire the fact that he isn’t scared! He is just wagging his fins and knowledging me while the other fish run and hide. I’ve been observing the tank and noticed even though he is a sweetheart he can has a temperament. He didn’t get a long with the smaller blue spotted puffer. 3 months later my blue spotted fish got bit by him and couldnt recover. Poor fella didn’t have a chance😕. He ate my star fish, yellow is back at the fish store in a quarantine being healed because he has a bump on his stomach. Also, I have noticed there is jealousy between trigger and dog face. I usually kiss the tank and show them all attention. I would put my hand in the water and trigger would swim by for me I touch his rough scaly body. They both share the left side of the tank. Never seen them be aggressive to each other only during feed time trigger is fast and quick to steal krill from dog face. Feeding time can be stressful because dog face is slow and you have to hand feed him and if you drop the krill in the tank by accident he won’t go after it. High maintenance for sure. 😂
Brendan Cox - 2012-02-19 I just bought a yellow bellied dog faced puffer. It is very active at night, but during the day it just lays under a rock until feeding time. It has a healthy appetite. Is this normal?
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Jeremy Roche - 2012-02-20 Very normal Brendan! They can be a bit shy when intoduced into a new tank. I use to hand feed mine krill with tongs to get them comfortable. Once comfortable they have amazing clownish personalities.
tom - 2012-08-16 yes it is normal
Scoot Shoot - 2015-02-21 It's normal, these guys seem to be nocturnal, least mine and obviously yours are. I was getting worried with my days old Dog Faced Puffer chilling on the bottom as well. However have noticed he is very very active at night when the lights are out. Sometimes I'd wake up 4am, room in complete darkness only to turn the light on and there he is wide awake swimming around. During day cycle he does become active just enough to get his daily meals, then he chills out again. Obviously burns all those day calories at night, hah.
Matt - 2014-06-24 Please help me with infomation on these things. My 'Arothron nigropunctatus' was spawning. She lives alone in a water tank. Female of 'Arothron nigropunctatus' was dying after spawning? Please tell me who knows these things?
Daniel Kishen - 2014-03-18 I am thinking of getting a dog face puffer, what other fish do well with it and what should I feed it?
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Clarice Brough - 2014-03-20 The Dog Face Puffer (Arothron nigropunctatus) are large carnivorous predators that can reach up to 14' and need a tank of at least 100 gallons. They are considered Semi-aggressive, because they will eat snack sized fish as well as any crustaceans (not good for a reef tank!), but they are not scrappers. So look for tankmates that are too large to be eaten and of similar habits, like lionfish or frogfish. They may also do fine with larger angelfish or tangs, and possibly more passive triggers. But their diet preference rules out small fish like damsels and clownfish.
seatzy - 2012-07-15 I have recently purchased a 200 gallon fish tank, it is something special. I have plenty of live rock and have started to put my fish in (once tank has matured). I have Valentini puffer, two lion fish, a wrasse, granddad blenny, convict blenny and I have just today got myself a dog-face puffer today. He has fitted in like he has been there since the beginning. He allows the wrasse to clean him and has accepted the other fish, as they have them. I am wondering if he will end up eating my clean up crew. I have a few nice orange legged hermits and the like. I also have a sand sifting star fish, he won't attack that will he? thanks
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Daniel Kishen - 2014-03-18 I am afraid it isn't a very good idea to keep him with a starfish as they tend to attack invertabrates. He will be fine with the other fish and crustaceans.
heather damitio - 2013-12-06 I have had my black spotted puffer for almost 6 months. He has always eaten well and been active. Lately he is sitting on the bottom of the tank under a rock and one of his eyes has turned white. I have been hand feeding him for a couple days because he isn't coming to the surface. Yesterday he would not eat and kept running from me. What do I do?
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Clarice Brough - 2013-12-10 It sounds like your puffer has cloudy eye. This can be caused by a number of different things from water quality, diet and bacterial infections. First check your water parameters to make sure everything there is okay. Being a 6 month old tank, I'm guessing you are keeping on top of that. Next make sure you are feeding him a varied diet, and then look at a treatment. You will want to treat with a broad spectrium antibiotic. You can either treat the tank or feed him foods soaked with antibiotics. If you choose the soaked food route, add 250 mg of antibiotic to each ounce of food. Good luck.
Melonie - 2013-04-25 Can someone tell me how many eggs a Dogface Puffer Fish lay? I also need to know the parenting skills of this type of puffer and what are their pedators. I'm not finding much on any website. Thanks.
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Jeremy Roche - 2013-04-26 Little is known about breeding. They have not been bred in captivity to properly study. The puffer has a lot of defenses against predators so most stay away.
dana - 2007-05-21 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.
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jada - 2010-04-06 Wow we saw one in myrtle beach @ original Benjamin's it was so weird we didn't know what it was. It had teeth and looked like a dog. So when we came home I looked on the computer and saw what you posted.
Does your dog-faced puffer have teeth?
Megan - 2012-12-26 puffers, being predatory animals, tend to watch what is going on around them. they are very smart fish. my jeff (yellow belly dog face puffer) gets all excited when he sees me going to the freezer for his food.
The Blackspotted Puffer acts much like a dog and is a favorite! That face looks so sweet, that you may find yourself whistling for it to come…. and it just might!
OK so Boom! I have a 55 gallon salt water tank for about 9 months now! I have a trigger Niger, blue spotted Puffer,two clownfish, Yellow Tang and a star fish. My favorite fish is my new addition the Dog faced Puffer, I love how cute, smart and social he is! When I leave the room sometimes, I turn on the tv when he looks bored. This fish watches tv 😭. He acts like a dog. Recently, I was cleaning my tank and he wanted me to pet him. I admire the fact that he isn’t scared! He is just wagging his fins and knowledging me while the other fish run and hide. I’ve been observing the tank and noticed even though he is a sweetheart he can has a temperament. He didn’t get a long with the smaller blue spotted puffer. 3 months later my blue spotted fish got bit by him and couldnt recover. Poor fella didn’t have a chance😕. He ate my star fish, yellow is back at the fish store in a quarantine being healed because he has a bump on his stomach. Also, I have noticed there is jealousy between trigger and dog face. I usually kiss the tank and show them all attention. I would put my hand in the water and trigger would swim by for me I touch his rough scaly body. They both share the left side of the tank. Never seen them be aggressive to each other only during feed time trigger is fast and quick to steal krill from dog face. Feeding time can be stressful because dog face is slow and you have to hand feed him and if you drop the krill in the tank by accident he won’t go after it. High maintenance for sure. 😂
I love the dogface puffers. I had one but my tank got poisoned so it died. I had a rare gold one.
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.
Do you like animals? I do they are so much fun.
A 55 gallon is way to small for a dog face puffer.
I just bought a yellow bellied dog faced puffer. It is very active at night, but during the day it just lays under a rock until feeding time. It has a healthy appetite. Is this normal?
Very normal Brendan! They can be a bit shy when intoduced into a new tank. I use to hand feed mine krill with tongs to get them comfortable. Once comfortable they have amazing clownish personalities.
yes it is normal
It's normal, these guys seem to be nocturnal, least mine and obviously yours are. I was getting worried with my days old Dog Faced Puffer chilling on the bottom as well. However have noticed he is very very active at night when the lights are out. Sometimes I'd wake up 4am, room in complete darkness only to turn the light on and there he is wide awake swimming around. During day cycle he does become active just enough to get his daily meals, then he chills out again. Obviously burns all those day calories at night, hah.
Please help me with infomation on these things. My 'Arothron nigropunctatus' was spawning. She lives alone in a water tank. Female of 'Arothron nigropunctatus' was dying after spawning? Please tell me who knows these things?
I am thinking of getting a dog face puffer, what other fish do well with it and what should I feed it?
The Dog Face Puffer (Arothron nigropunctatus) are large carnivorous predators that can reach up to 14' and need a tank of at least 100 gallons. They are considered Semi-aggressive, because they will eat snack sized fish as well as any crustaceans (not good for a reef tank!), but they are not scrappers. So look for tankmates that are too large to be eaten and of similar habits, like lionfish or frogfish. They may also do fine with larger angelfish or tangs, and possibly more passive triggers. But their diet preference rules out small fish like damsels and clownfish.
I have recently purchased a 200 gallon fish tank, it is something special. I have plenty of live rock and have started to put my fish in (once tank has matured). I have Valentini puffer, two lion fish, a wrasse, granddad blenny, convict blenny and I have just today got myself a dog-face puffer today. He has fitted in like he has been there since the beginning. He allows the wrasse to clean him and has accepted the other fish, as they have them. I am wondering if he will end up eating my clean up crew. I have a few nice orange legged hermits and the like. I also have a sand sifting star fish, he won't attack that will he? thanks
I am afraid it isn't a very good idea to keep him with a starfish as they tend to attack invertabrates. He will be fine with the other fish and crustaceans.
I have had my black spotted puffer for almost 6 months. He has always eaten well and been active. Lately he is sitting on the bottom of the tank under a rock and one of his eyes has turned white. I have been hand feeding him for a couple days because he isn't coming to the surface. Yesterday he would not eat and kept running from me. What do I do?
It sounds like your puffer has cloudy eye. This can be caused by a number of different things from water quality, diet and bacterial infections. First check your water parameters to make sure everything there is okay. Being a 6 month old tank, I'm guessing you are keeping on top of that. Next make sure you are feeding him a varied diet, and then look at a treatment. You will want to treat with a broad spectrium antibiotic. You can either treat the tank or feed him foods soaked with antibiotics. If you choose the soaked food route, add 250 mg of antibiotic to each ounce of food. Good luck.
Can someone tell me how many eggs a Dogface Puffer Fish lay? I also need to know the parenting skills of this type of puffer and what are their pedators. I'm not finding much on any website. Thanks.
Little is known about breeding. They have not been bred in captivity to properly study. The puffer has a lot of defenses against predators so most stay away.
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.
Wow we saw one in myrtle beach @ original Benjamin's it was so weird we didn't know what it was. It had teeth and looked like a dog. So when we came home I looked on the computer and saw what you posted.
Does your dog-faced puffer have teeth?
puffers, being predatory animals, tend to watch what is going on around them. they are very smart fish. my jeff (yellow belly dog face puffer) gets all excited when he sees me going to the freezer for his food.