Care
The Porcupine Pufferfish is known from a wide range of habitats including rich, shallow reefs and open areas with rocky or soft, muddy substrates, to depths of 35m (115ft). Juveniles have been observed amongst floating Sargassum rafts, sub-adults are gregarious and form small groups, whereas adults are solitary. These relatively poor swimmers are nocturnal by nature and feed on crabs, hermit crabs, molluscs, and sea urchins. Young fish display a spotty pattern (particularly prominent on the belly), whereas adults sport dark blotches across the back and spots in between the blotches, the spots becoming fewer with age. This is a popular species for the Fish-Only marine aquarium on account of the fish's rather comical and amiable personality; indeed, many keepers report how these intelligent fish quickly learn to recognise their owners, likening them to "pet dogs", such are their characters and responses to visual stimuli. As Porcupine 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. Porcupine Pufferfish can be kept in pairs or groups in a vast tank if all fish are of the same size and they are added to the aquarium simultaneously. Tankmates must be of similar size and temperament e.g. large angelfish, large tangs, triggerfish etc. 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. When frightened, these fish can inflate themselves, causing the long spines to stand erect, which deters predators. This defence 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 Porcupine Pufferfish will become a real "˜pet fish"™ with bags of personality, soon learning to recognise 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! May also be seen on sale as the Balloon Porcupinefish, Freckled Porcupinefish, Longspined Porcupinefish, Porcupine Fish, or Spiny Pufferfish.
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 rock in the tank will also give the puffer lots of browsing opportunities which will also help to keep the beak in check. Some herbivorous rations can be given now and again, but avoid any floating foods as the fish may ingest air which can lead to buoyancy problems. Feed small amounts 3 times per day. Please note that this species will constantly "beg" for food in a puppy-like manner, and this does not always mean the fish is genuinely hungry - it is just that they very quickly learn to recognise the aquarist and associate their presence with food, so don't be tricked into overfeeding.
Breeding
This species has not been bred in the home aquarium. In the wild, this species spawns at the surface during dawn or dusk, in pairs or groups of males with a single female.
