TankBud

Dogface puffer

Arothron nigropunctatus

Also known as Blackspotted Puffer, Black-Spotted Toadfish, Spotted Toado

SaltwaterFish

Dogface puffer (Arothron nigropunctatus)
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
13 in
33 cm
Minimum tank
151 gal
570 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Not reef safe
Family
Tetraodontidae
Origin
Indo-Pacific reefs, from East Africa to Micronesia and Samoa, north to southern Japan

Overview

The dogface puffer is a marine puffer with a curious, almost dog-like personality. It often follows its keeper along the glass. It is not a beginner's fish, but someone with a little experience can manage it.

Did you know

The dogface puffer is not always black-spotted. Individuals turn up in gray, half-yellow, solid yellow and blue-tinted color phases, all one species and not linked to sex. Two from the same reef can look almost nothing alike.

Caring for the dogface puffer

Give a dogface puffer a fish-only or FOWLR tank of at least 151 gal (570 L). Despite its unhurried pace, an adult needs real swimming room. Add plenty of live rock to explore, plus open sand or gravel for cruising.

Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Move it with a container rather than a net. Puffers can gulp air when netted and then struggle to release it.

Its beak never stops growing. Feed hard-shelled foods such as snails, clams, crab legs and shell-on shrimp regularly, not just soft frozen fare. Without them, the beak can overgrow and keep it from eating normally.

The dogface puffer is mostly peaceful, yet it is not reef safe. It eats snails, hermit crabs, small shrimp and coral polyps on sight. Keep it singly unless the aquarium is very large, since it will spar with other puffers.

Good to know

Like every member of the puffer family Tetraodontidae, the dogface puffer has its jaw teeth fused into four broad plates. They form a permanent, parrot-like beak, and the family name literally means four-toothed. It also carries tetrodotoxin, mainly in the liver, skin and gonads. It is one of the most potent toxins known, with no antidote if eaten. The toxin is a last-resort defense against predators, and the fish does not release it into the water the way a boxfish does.

In the wild

The dogface puffer is found on Indo-Pacific reefs from East Africa to Micronesia and Samoa, and north to southern Japan. It usually lives on coastal and outer reef slopes with rich invertebrate growth, down to about 60 m. It moves slowly and deliberately around the reef, picking at sponges, tunicates and coral rather than chasing prey.

Common questions

What size tank does a dogface puffer need?

A dogface puffer needs at least 151 gal (570 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a dogface puffer need?

A dogface puffer is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a dogface puffer eat?

A dogface puffer eats hard-shelled foods such as snails, clams, crab legs and shell-on shrimp, not just soft frozen fare. Crunching them keeps its ever-growing beak from overgrowing.

How big does a dogface puffer get?

An adult dogface puffer reaches about 13 in (33 cm).

Related species