The Puffer Forum

The Common Porcupine Puffers (Diodon holacanthus)

This is a very wide spread species of puffer, found in almost every major warm water ocean; Pacific, Indian, and the Atlantic Ocean. This is a member of the Diodontidae family which also includes Burrfish. The separation between the Diodons and the tetradons comes from the armored and spiny bodies of the Porcupine and Burrfish.

This is possibly one of the best puffers you can get for your tank. Providing that you are going to be getting a tank that is over 100 gallons. These spiny little buggers are very personable, and are real charmers. Once people raise one of these fish, they instantly fall in love and can not imagine not having one in their tank. If you are looking for a Pufferfish with more personality that most dogs and almost every cat, then this would be the puffer for you. They always are excited when you come into the door, and of course begging for food. Some owners even say that their puffer has a different reaction to different people. Thus, meaning that the fish is smart enough to recognize the difference in people.

Many times I'm contacted by people which ask me if their porcupine puffer would be okay with tankmates. This question seems very straight forward, but in actuality, it is one that I'm not qualified to answer. The reason is that porcupines are known for the fact that each fish has it's own unique personality. Some have lived with multiple tankmates and never had problems, while others have been known to eat a tankmate if it misses a single feeding. There have even been a few Porcs that I have seen that have never allowed any tankmates, though this is the not typically the case. The best person to make the decision if your puffer will allow tankmates is you, but you have to be completely honest with yourself at this point. Don't simply think that the puffer looks lonely so you want to get it a tank mate. If you are a responsible hobbyist, you will know your puffer the best! If you do think that your porcupine puffer will accept a tankmate (and the tank is large enough to accommodate this). Then there here are the rules to picking your puffers room mates. The fish can not be extremely aggressive, at least more so than the puffer. A more aggressive tankmate will pester the puffer and might cause it to puff up frequently, which is unhealthy for the puffer. Also, stressed porcupine puffers have had reports of seeping some of the toxin into the water and killing other tankmates. Similarly Aggressive fish can be okay, but have to be watched more carefully. Triggers can be kept with porc puffers. Such as the Black or Niger Trigger, these are the less aggressive of the trigger family. Some of the Picasso Triggers have been known to pester a Porc puffer. If getting a fish like a trigger Make sure that they are the same size, if either one is smaller than you have more chances of there being problems. A great trick is feed each from different sides of the tank. This helps curb any aggression over food. NO long finned fish, Like stated above puffers are fin nippers. And some just can't pass up the opportunity to nip at the fins of another tankmate. So, for that reason, you shouldn't keep any long finned fish like marine bettas or any sort of long finned lionfish in with your porc puffer. It's safer to have fish that don't swim in the porcupine puffer's swimming area. Fish that swim very low to the bottom or even many of the surface dwellers are great tank mates. If they don't get in the puffers face then there is less risk of any problems between them. It should be quite obvious that any sort of snail or crustacean in the tank would not make a suitable tankmate for a puffer. I have heard a few reports that cleaner shrimp have been left alone in a puffer fishes tank, but this is a risk that you will have to take. I don't recommend it, chances are you simply purchased a rather expensive snack for your puffer. I met a man that got a Porcupine puffer simply to seek revenge on a large Mantis shrimp that kept eluding him in large tank. The Mantis had made a meal of just about everything in his tank, and after seeing one of my puffers demolish a crab, he thought he had found the perfect weapon for revenge. He and his wife returned the remaining fish from the tank, and purchased a medium sized Porcupine Puffer. Set it loose in the tank, the next day when they were watching it, the puffer spun around, zoned in on a small crevice and blew a jet of water into it, a very surprised Mantis shrimp was blown out the other side... the puffer sort of looked at it's new owners... then went right over and bit the annoyance in half, much to the delight of it's new owners. From that point on they new that this was the pet for them. With it's puppy-like, and playful nature it quickly became the family's most treasured pet. They even upgraded it to a tank that was over 200 gallons because they enjoyed it so much. These are just one of the many people that formed strong attachments with their aquatic pet. An important note to mention here is that Porcupine puffers have another habit that any future owner should know about. These fish love to spray water out of the tank. They are like little fire hoses. So, remember to keep a sealed lid on your tank, and it's best not to have any expensive electronic equipment near there either. If you are looking for a fish with a personality, they you should look no further than the porcupine puffer. This is quite a long lived species so, expect to have this fish for at least 15 years!

chuckfriedrice wrote:After several months of living in a Garage Petey is back home , where he suppose to be!