When Wild Puffers Attack - Ouch !

[grup]

I was curious, and did some digging. There actually are a few documented rogue attacks
by large puffers on humans. The Cambodia and FL Keys incidents would no doubt qualify
as a provoked attacks. My apology if any of these have been previously posted.


http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/post/puf ... is-mother/
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/2057 ... walu-beach
Maui, HI

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=291_1333779691
(possibly feroxodon multistriatus)
Australia

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/ ... 05545.html
Cambodia

http://floridakeystreasures.com/diving/puffer.shtml
http://floridakeystreasures.com/diving/pufferfinger.jpg
FL Keys

[bertie 83]

Stick a hand in a fahaka tank, you get skin flaps. Big puffers = bigger problems. However I doubt a puffer would just attack, if threatened they would likely swim away. If they feel cornered then boom

[Welch4]

Probably due to me being a horrible person or immature, but i find the cambodia case hysterical. Dont net me bro!

[grup]

Here's a diver getting educated on the power of a porcupine puffer's bite.

Not a real bright move.

Video - 21 seconds

[BedScien]

good post, OP!

[hadla]

Someone evidently didn't know porkys hide little macaw like beaks in their mouths! Good for the puff XD

[Master of Puffers]

I've been bitten by a peacock puffer..I don't want to risk any of my big puffers attempting a bite TYVM!

[GBobNorth]

if I have to stick my hand in Rancor's tank, I tend to stick my whole forearm in. He won't attack something bigger than him, but a few fingers are an invading force he will attack.

[bertie 83]

Give him time, my fahaka was the same for a while then I turned into game

[grup]

Tetraodon Lineatus gets visit from rc submarine....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_QrY2l31J0

I wonder if that plastic sub has a large hole in it now ?

[grup]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykH1HrFUjS8

Watch the cat go for the sub at the 1:07 point.

This guy is stressing his fish out.

I wonder if he's been bit ? I'd say yes.

[hadla]

Olive just gets all sulky if my hand gets close to the water and isn't carrying food XD

[El Scorpio]

About four years ago Camille ripped an impressive chunk of skin out of my finger. These cases just prove that puffers are intelligent enough to have emotions - 'rage' being one of them.

[Dadof4]

Over the years I've been bitten multiple times but two are memorable. The first was one of my Monotrete suvattii pair. I was cleaning up some junk off a rock ledge I have in the tank, a custom 150 gallon reproduction of the Tonle Sap River area. I knew the bigger one was buried in the sand and tracking my hand around, I was giving him space and using a net as a guard because I know the damage he can do. I turned to grab a rock I had moved, dropped the net and, without thinking, I quickly reached to grab it before it hit the bottom of the tank. I startled him and I was within striking distance. He bit through my glove, got purchase on my thumb, and gave a shake. I could feel the top tooth tearing through the nail from one side of the thumb to the other. The nail still has a ridge to it.

The second was a 10 inch Fahaka that I was hand feeding. Don't hand feed it ends badly more often than not. I had been working with the other tanks and my hands stunk like shrimp and raw squid. This fish never showed a hit of aggressiveness, ever, so I felt pretty comfortable dangling shrimp and night crawlers in the tank with my fingers. During winter night crawlers get scarce here and when they come in in the spring it's a big day. I was dangling the first one of the year in the tank and it came flying over to grab the squirming crawler.....it missed. He got me on the index finger of my right hand hard enough to expose bone.

I still have the Monotrete suvattii pair but gave the Fahaka to a friend that had more room in his house for the tank, it's currently over 20 inches. He had a similar experience with it a few months later when he was putting a huge pond snail in the tank, it hit his little finger and got the tip.

[hadla]

Over the years I've been bitten multiple times but two are memorable. The first was one of my Monotrete suvattii pair. I was cleaning up some junk off a rock ledge I have in the tank, a custom 150 gallon reproduction of the Tonle Sap River area. I knew the bigger one was buried in the sand and tracking my hand around, I was giving him space and using a net as a guard because I know the damage he can do. I turned to grab a rock I had moved, dropped the net and, without thinking, I quickly reached to grab it before it hit the bottom of the tank. I startled him and I was within striking distance. He bit through my glove, got purchase on my thumb, and gave a shake. I could feel the top tooth tearing through the nail from one side of the thumb to the other. The nail still has a ridge to it.

The second was a 10 inch Fahaka that I was hand feeding. Don't hand feed it ends badly more often than not.

Owwwwww! That's it, I'm getting feeding tongs on Amazon! I have stainless steel skewers that I use to feed shrimp pieces, but they slip off too easily :/ it is fun to have small puffs pick snails off your hand... But olive doesn't like my hand -.- so I guess that's a good thing lol