The Puffer Forum

Okay, so I've been cramming my brain with info on puffers this past week, and have heard about how intelligent puffers are. I've even read of a couple instances where they learn to recognize a type of sign language, which completely fascinates me, as both of my parents are deaf.

That said, what do your puffers do that amaze you?

Whats this about Sign language, sounds facinating

Clooney knows when its his turn to feed and will only adopt a waiting position unitl I have fed the other fish and then picked up his "food tub" then its all about Clooney

I think puffers have the capacity to know where others are looking. With my GSP Kismet, if you turned to look at him, he would turn to look at you, and proceed to do his happy dance (including Shamu-style backflips above the water). If you weren't looking his way, he'd go about his puffer business.

One thing that always impresses me about my puffers is that they have learned when to beg for food.
They always get fed in the evening after I eat dinner, where they can see me eating in plain view, and will not beg until I am doing so. Even when I'm doing the exact same thing and its lunch time, or when I do things that may seem like I'm about to feed them around the tank, ie. taking things out of the stand, etc.; only once im eating dinner.

This to me seems to indicate that they just know when to expect to get fed and know that its not worth begging any other time - I've never had a fish do that before, or be so aware of my activities like they are.
I've also never had a fish look me right in the eyes like they do.

There's just some undescribable notion of intelligence with them; it's hard to put your finger on, but there's definitely something about them that at least makes them seem to exude intelligence.

My girl doesn't start begging until I've put my glasses on.

These stories are awesome and I can totally picture all of them. My little guy will follow me almost anytime I look in at him. However, he gets really excited (see my gallery) when I walk out of the kitchen with plastic silverware. To test this, I walked in with a plastic spoon then hid it behind my back and he promptly calmed down and started swimming around the tank. He also knows that I'm right handed, or at least his food always comes from my right hand. The one time I tried feeding him with my left hand, he would not go after it, but instead stared expectantly at my right hand. He finally went after the food when I started pointing to it with my right hand.

My GSP's can tell if I am looking over my shoulder at them from the computer in the same room, and zoom into "begging position" in the upper right corner of the tank. My GF's community 55 has fish that get excited when there is a person around, but only my puffers can tell if I'm peeking over my shoulder at them.

LoL, these are great stories! I can picture all of your puffers, too.

I'll have to find the story I just read about the sign language, and I'll post it.

samaki wrote:These stories are awesome and I can totally picture all of them. My little guy will follow me almost anytime I look in at him. However, he gets really excited (see my gallery) when I walk out of the kitchen with plastic silverware. To test this, I walked in with a plastic spoon then hid it behind my back and he promptly calmed down and started swimming around the tank. He also knows that I'm right handed, or at least his food always comes from my right hand. The one time I tried feeding him with my left hand, he would not go after it, but instead stared expectantly at my right hand. He finally went after the food when I started pointing to it with my right hand.

I like this one, and Faeth if you can find that info that would be awesome

Ah-ha! I found it

There was an article on WetWebMedia by Justin Petrey that says (in part):

"I love my Porcupine Puffer as I have every Puffer that I have ever had. I have, unlike many hobbyists, been willing to experiment with tank mates and training after reading several articles on the ability and success that several aquarists had training a Diodon histrix to respond to a sort of “sign language”, so that it would not eat the food intended for the Eel with whom it was housed. I began a series of tests and began experimenting with medication practices as well. This gave me a “fin up”, if you will, on keeping Puffers because now I had a “trained” animal whose responses to my actions told me volumes about its health and stresses."

This is very interesting, and it makes me want to get one for my Dad, who has been deaf since birth, but in 2005, heard for the first time, thanks to a cochlear implant. He finds any animal that has the possibility to respond to any kind of signs, fascinating.

Maybe we can try some signs with our puffers. Like maybe we can teach them the sign for "food" and get them to respond to it, knowing they're about to get some food...

I haven't any striking stories about my puffers, but still there's something I would like to share. I have an awful lot of tanks here, so I have an awful lot of fishes When other fish look at me, they only see me as a source of food, I think. They look at me, and then go into hiding, ignore me or start begging for food. With my puffers it's different. Especially I first experienced with my second puffer, Tiger. Puffers don't just look at me. They watch me and is thinking about what they see. It's the only kind of fish I've ever felt has been evaluating me. I can't explain what exactly it is that makes me think that they are evaluating me, but I'm very sure they do. Maybe it's that they are so aware of me. And of course, that they are so interactive. They really respond to what happens outside the tank. They respond to the way I am acting. They know my habits, and of course know when to expect food. Well, at least most of them. Hufflepuff is always begging
And they really show emotions as well. I've told about it before, but it still amazes me. Especially Hufflepuff and Tiger (my two target puffers) really react when they get food they are not satisfied with. Hufflepuff has been sulking twice after getting food he didn't like. He is always coming to me and is lively every time I pass the tank (which is often, as the tank is in the hall). When I gave him freeze dried krill and something else he didn't like, he got grumpy and hid in a corner, sulking for two hours!
Tiger also got freeze dried krill the same day. He was in a normal mood before the feeding. When he got the krill, he took a bite, spat it out again, and then got so angry that he started attacking some reflection on the glass on the other side. He was really pissed off!'

Showing those kind of emotions tells me something about their intelligence. If they didn't do some kind of thinking, they wouldn't go sulking for hours when they got angry with me

(Ok, I did have some stories anyway )

Yeah, I was reading on WWM that the dog-face puffers have a tendency to sulk when they get upset. WWM said that they will go to a corner of the tank, stick their nose in it, and ignore you till they decide that they are no longer upset with you.

I find that absolutely hilarious.

Everything about marine life fascinates me, but puffers take the cake!

There was another story on WWM, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/burrfishsysfaqs.htm , a story pertaining to a Diodon hystrix in a public aquarium that learned a visual cue that he would obey and stop stealing food as soon as the biologist gave him a finger signal.

It's a very cool story. Scroll down to almost the bottom of the page and look for the header "Puffer lifespan?"

*EDIT- Haha, whoops. Thanks Manutius, I fixed the link!

that is excellent stuff, the link doesn't work for me though, you need to take the the comma off the end guys and it will opent the page

One day I got home from school. Normally I put my stuff down and go up to my tank and talk to my porc. That day I had to go to the bathroom really bad so I ran upstairs. When I came down I saw this giant ball of spikes in my fish tank. I ran downstairs and stood by the tank. He then shrunk really fast and starting acting like his normal puppy dog self. I miss that puff.

Also when I had to feed him sometimes I would have to hide because he would keep looking at me and not realize that I had put the food in.