Care
This large, characterful pufferfish species is known from lagoons, coastal bays, and inner reef flats where there are sandy stretches with rubble and sparse seagrass, at depths of between 3 and 50 metres. Juveniles are often associated with weedy areas of estuaries where there is ample cover for them to develop in relative safety. Adults are usually solitary and fairly territorial. They typically feed on various types of algae (including coralline), mollusks, crabs, tunicates, sponges, corals, zoanthids, tube worms, and echinoderms; feeding on hard prey keeps the beak from overgrowing. Therefore due to such eating habits, these fish are not suitable for keeping in a reef setting in the home aquarium. As Whitespotted Pufferfish tend to attain quite a size, a very large tank will be needed to house an adult specimen. Despite its eventual size, this species is relatively gentle for a puffer, although it must still be considered a semi-aggressive fish. Keep only one per tank and not with any other pufferfish; ideally, tankmates will be of similar size and temperament. The aquarium should be aquascaped with plenty of rockwork, with some large-sized shelters, and an open swimming space along the front. Filtration must be efficient to cope with the voracious eating habits and large amounts of waste that these fish produce, yet water movement should not be too vigorous. Be aware that large pufferfish are notorious for biting through tubing, and even heaters, so it is worth thinking very carefully about where you place your equipment; do also always keep a close eye on where the fish is when carrying out any maintenance in the tank. The general coloration of the White-spotted Pufferfish is an overall grey-brown, with the back, sides, and caudal fin speckled with white spots. The belly area is marked with white stripes. These markings lend themselves to the alternative common name of the Stars and Stripes Puffer. As the fish mature, the white spots appear smaller in proportion to the rest of the fish. When frightened, these fish can inflate themselves to more than twice their original size to deter predators. This defense mechanism is a last resort, and should never be actively encouraged; it is particularly dangerous if the fish ingests air instead of water. Kept in the right conditions, the Whitespotted Puffer will become a real "pet fish" with bags of personality, soon learning to recognize its owner and beg for food. Just don't be tempted to feed directly from your hand always add food a safe distance away, or with tongs!
Feeding
Offer a varied diet consisting mainly of meaty items such as vitamin-enriched krill, prawns, cockle, mussel, whitebait, squid, and clam meat. Hard-shelled foods such as cockle-in-shell and crab legs should be given regularly to help keep the beak worn down. A decent amount of living in the tank will also give the puffer lots of browsing opportunities which will also help to keep the beak in check.
Breeding
This species has not been bred in the home aquarium. Little is known about its reproductive habits other than the fact that the male fish digs a nest into the sandy substrate and entices a female there to spawn.
