A puffer fish, also known as a blowfish and a toad fish, has a life span of between four and eight years. The female will lay between three and seven eggs (after the male has guided her towards the shore) and they float on the surface of the water for about a week until they hatch.
These baby puffer fish (fry) are not fully developed when they hatch and so they have a hard shell that gives them protection until their limbs have started to grow and they are stronger and more resilient. This shell then cracks and falls off and the tail and the fins can then develop properly. Once the fry are big enough, they swim deeper into the water and integrate into the community.
The scientific name for the puffer fish is Tetraodontidae and it can be found in equatorial waters. It is an omnivore and depending on the species (of which there are 120) can be anything from one inch to two feet long. They feed on a variety of things including algae that they find on rocks and coral, and invertebrates. The larger puffer fish will also eat shellfish such as crabs and shrimps, and molluscs.
When the puffer fish believes itself to be in danger it can expand its body and reveal its very poisonous spikes by filling its body really quickly with air. This very often intimidates predators into backing off but those who are foolhardy enough to eat a puffer fish will usually be poisoned either by the toxins that are in the spikes or from the ones that are released from the organs of the puffer fish once it is dead. Sharks, however, are able to eat puffer fish without coming to any harm.
These baby puffer fish (fry) are not fully developed when they hatch and so they have a hard shell that gives them protection until their limbs have started to grow and they are stronger and more resilient. This shell then cracks and falls off and the tail and the fins can then develop properly. Once the fry are big enough, they swim deeper into the water and integrate into the community.
The scientific name for the puffer fish is Tetraodontidae and it can be found in equatorial waters. It is an omnivore and depending on the species (of which there are 120) can be anything from one inch to two feet long. They feed on a variety of things including algae that they find on rocks and coral, and invertebrates. The larger puffer fish will also eat shellfish such as crabs and shrimps, and molluscs.
When the puffer fish believes itself to be in danger it can expand its body and reveal its very poisonous spikes by filling its body really quickly with air. This very often intimidates predators into backing off but those who are foolhardy enough to eat a puffer fish will usually be poisoned either by the toxins that are in the spikes or from the ones that are released from the organs of the puffer fish once it is dead. Sharks, however, are able to eat puffer fish without coming to any harm.
