Puffer FishBy: Lidzy Jimenez

Habitat

Shallow waters

Coral reefs

The puffer fish (also known as the blowfish and the toadfish) is a medium-sized species of fish that lives in warmer, coastal waters around the world. The puffer fish is most well known for it's unique adaptations that the puffer fish has to defend itself.

Most are found in tropical and subtropical ocean waters, but some species live in brackish and even fresh water.

Diet

Omnivores

Puffer fish mainly feed on the algae that grows on the rocks and coral and also the invertebrates that inhabit these areas. Large species of puffer fish will also eat shellfish such as shrimp and crabs and molluscs.

Baby puffer fish start feeding on algae, small shrimp when they're a week old, and finally regular-sized food when possible.

Reproduction

Eggs have been seen to hatch after five days at 27 °C (81 °F). initially feeding on algae, small shrimp when they're a week old, and finally regular-sized food when possible.

The puffer male fish has to perform for the female fish by blowing up big and shrinking small very fast. The female puffer fish is then surprised and releases her eggs, at 200mph.

The male fish dies because he's to tired, leaving the female fish to care for the chiclets.

Life Span

Male blowfish push their females to the water surface to breed. The eggs float and hatch after roughly 4 days.

In their first 10 days, larvae are covered with a hard shell, with metamorphosis into a true fish occurring in about 3 weeks. As the blowfish fry mature, they move closer to the shore and become adults.

Blowfish live from 5 to 10 years.

4 Interesting Facts

Puffer fish are known to be the second – most poisonous vertebrate in the world, after the Golden Poison Frog.

Some predators, such as tiger sharks and sea snakes, are unbothered by the puffer fish’s poison.

There are more than 120 species of pufferfish worldwide.

Tetraodontidae is the scientific name for puffer fish.

Pictures Size relative to a tea cup

Work Cited

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/pufferfish/

http://answers.ask.com/Science/Other/how_do_puffer_fish_reproduce

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraodontidae

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_life_cycle_of_a_puffer_fish