The Puffer Forum

I do not believe any of a puffers poison is external, also reports indicate topical contact with the poison causes a pleasant tingle at surface contact, followed by numbness, which is kind of the opposite of a red irritation and stinging. I'm seeing odd information like this circulating more and more, when it's boxfish that are the ones that can release the toxin from their body voluntarily.

On that note, I just spent some time fixing some of the worse problems in the wikipedia article on tetrodontiforms. It was just painful to read, it even had a section on how the deadly bite of the puffer fish infects the victim with deadly poison saliva, often requiring medical attention to save the poor soul. Fish injecting venomous SALIVA.

So the idea of fish saliva is amusing to me now. Not many aquatic vertebrates even have salivary glands, and I think the closest fish get are the individual cells in the mouths of bubblenest builders that help the nests endure, and I'm pretty sure that's just slightly modified slime coat.

I have read somewhere about someone going numb from contact with his puffed GSP.. let me see if I can find it...

Definitely look, that would be interesting. I've had contact with puffed F8s and GSPs, no odd symptoms, but they sure are prickly. Like a burr.

I couldn't find it again. It was something about how his puffer jumped out, puffed, he picked it off the floor with his bare hands to put it back in, and then he scratched his lip and it was numb for a day or two. Too bad I can't find that again. I have found many sites that give contradicting info, so I have no evidence as to whether they can actually excrete poison through their skin or if it's a myth. But isn't their toxicity derived from their diet in the wild containing tetrodotoxin? So if they have been in captivity for long enough, they wouldn't be poisonous anymore, right? That could explain why some people have had reactions to their puffs and others haven't. What do you think?

sounds an aweful lot like this thread lol except not a GSP. i touch my GSP daily and never had my finger itch or go numb. i will open the top of the tank to say hi to him and put my finger in the water and he will rub against my finger repeatedly. he has never puffed up and i have never touched him outside of the water so i dont know what different effect(if any) that would have rather than touching him in the tank

OMG, thank you Nick, for correcting that!