The Spiny Box Puffer is also known as the Striped Burrfish. It has a tan to yellow body with dark striping, and short, heavy spines that are always erect—unlike their cousins the porcupinefish, which have movable spines, which help protect it from larger, more aggressive fish. They move by undulating or waving their pectoral fins and tails rather than by bending the entire body. This specimen like all of the burrfish and pufferfish can take in water to inflate their bodies considerably when threatened.
Its teeth are actually a fused beak-like structure. They have large heads and somewhat bulging eyes that are spaced widely apart. Their eyes are golden yellow with iridescent blue-green specks in the pupil.
Quick Stats
Minimum Tank Size: 70 gallons
Care Level: Difficult (not a very hard puffer)
Tank Conditions: 72-78°F; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4; dKH 8-12
Max. Size in Aquarium: Up to 10" (some reports of 12”)
Color Form: Black, Tan, Yellow
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Reef Compatible: No
Diet: Carnivore
Origin: Caribbean
Family: Diodontidae
Diet:
Feed this puffer at three times a day. It diet consists of shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, blood worms, squid, clams, mussels, oysters, krill and earthworms. It does need snails to help keep their ever growing beak-like teeth from getting too long. Some of these puffers are known to become tamed that you can actually hand feed it on occasion. I have been able to hand feed mine on numerous occasions. In the wild they use their powerful beak-like jaws to eat small fish, barnacles, snails, crabs, and clams. They have often been observed to swallow hermit crabs whole—shell and all.
Compatibility:
It is known to nip at slow-moving fish and long-finned fish, but is not aggressive with others in its own family. It will eat invertebrates found in a reef tank so use caution. It is generally compatible with Dwarf and Large Angels, Anthias, Batfish, Blennies, Butterflies, Cardinals, Chromis, Clownfish, Damsels, Dragonetts, Eels, Filefish, Foxface/Rabbits, Gobies, Jawfish, Hawkfish, Hogfish, Lions, Scorpions, and Parrotfish. Keep in mind though your Spiny Boxfish Puffer does have his/her own personality so one day there could be peace in your tank but the next day there could be compatibility problems.
Range
They live in seagrass beds in bays and coastal lagoons and over shallow coastal reefs from Maine to Florida, although they are less common in the northern part of the range.
Striped burrfish are abundant from the northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil.
They start out in brackish water but adapt to saltwater by the time they are adults and full grown.
References:
Striped burrfish (2005). Retrieved August 27, 2006, from http://www.aqua.org/animals_stripedburrfish.html
Foster and Smith, (2006). Spiny Box Puffer. Retrieved August 27, 2006, from http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... pCatId=256