Dogface puffer

Care at a glance

The dogface puffer owes its name to its blunt snout and large, mobile eyes, with which it follows you through the glass like a pet. It comes in various colour forms, from grey-blue with black spots to almost entirely yellow.

It is curious and quickly learns to recognise its keeper, but it also eats anything with a shell: shrimp, crabs, snails and clams. Its teeth grow continuously, so offer hard, shelled food, and keep it in a spacious tank without invertebrates.

Good to know

• Outgrows most home tanks
• Preys on shrimp and snails

Best not combined with

• Cleaner shrimpLysmata amboinensis
• Hermit crab (red leg)Clibanarius sp.
• Turbo snailTurbo fluctuosus
• Blue leg hermit crabClibanarius tricolor
• Scarlet reef hermit crabPaguristes cadenati
• Electric blue hermit crabCalcinus elegans
• Dwarf zebra hermit crabCalcinus laevimanus

Related species

• Porcupine pufferDiodon holocanthus
• Yellow boxfishOstracion cubicum
• Bluethroat triggerfishXanthichthys auromarginatus
• Volitans lionfishPterois volitans
• Clown triggerfishBalistoides conspicillum
• Lined seahorseHippocampus erectus