The Puffer Forum

Would anyone know how long it take for a puffed Pufferfish to unpuff after the triggering stimulus (e.g. perception of danger) goes away?

Thanks kindly for any help,

Debbie

The neurological release is quite fast. If the fish is puffed with water, the physical process is still rapid, ~ seconds. If the fish is puffed with air, the physical release is problematic. To work, the fish must be in the proper orientation for the open valve to properly aligned to vent the ingested air bubble, and the fish may not have the physical strength to get into the right attitude/angle for air release. the owner must assist if this is the case. The instructions are here on the site, but someone else will need to give you the URL as I don't have it bookmarked (my viewing program is not the same as the board's, It eats time for me to find addresses, sorry about that.

library/hospital/help-my-puffer-is-air-filled/

Usually they deflate within a few seconds if filled with water

This is Scruffy my hairy puffer

At full puff


With in seconds he is deflating, and then its done.


When deflating, it looks like he is burping and then down to his normal little self.

Sometimes I get lucky enough to catch juke as he is beginning to puff and it seems like he holds it a little longer. If he is already puffed, the second I get over there he starts spitting out water. I couldn't upload a photo but if you check out my gallery, it has some nice porcupine puffer pictures and a puffed up porc pic

Thank you SO much for this info! It sounds as if a puffer can deflate quickly, then.

Your answers are much appreciated!

Debbie

But air inflation can be an entirely different. Air expulsion require the puffer to be positioned such that their release valve is pointed upward. Otherwise the air stays in and they can exhaust themselves trying to get rid of it. then owner assistance is required.