Identify this fish

[Babygecko1233]

Anyone?

 

[Chaotic]

a toby puffer of some kind it looks like. not sure on the exact species name though

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Canthigaster rostrata, Caribbean Sharpnose Puffer. Or something similar.

 

[Babygecko1233]

Thank you so much. Explains the aggression towards the hermits. And the grouper stays well away from him...we have never seen him puff up tho.. How would I be able to tell for sure?

 

[eatbreakfast]

You don't want them to puff up, that is really a last line of defense.

 

[Babygecko1233]

Are they poisonous

 

[eatbreakfast]

If anything tries to consume them, yes. But they would rather not be eaten.

 

[Babygecko1233]

So if one day I'm cleaning my tank and I spook the little fella he's not gonna poison me with its spines?? Huge relief ... I was considering thick rubber gloves for future tank management if it is poisonous ... Taking all precautions.. Lol

 

[Maritimer]

The spines on this guy would be tiny ... like a cat's tongue, maybe. Or sandpaper.

Puffers do carry a poison, but you have to eat them to be effected. Like Japanese fugu.

~Bruce

 

[eatbreakfast]

So if one day I'm cleaning my tank and I spook the little fella he's not gonna poison me with its spines?? Huge relief ... I was considering thick rubber gloves for future tank management if it is poisonous ... Taking all precautions.. Lol

This is the difference between poisonous and venomous. Something venomous has a way of injecting venom, such as a lionfish's spines or a fang blenny's fangs.

Something poisonous doesn't inject the toxin, but rather has to be swallowed or at least licked, such as a poisonous mushroom. In the case of pufferfish, the poison is in their internal organs. So you will not have a problem if you touch the puffer, only if you swallow the puffer.

 

[Babygecko1233]

Thank you for clearing that up for me :)