Pufferfish are an odd species. Although typically small fish, they inflate like a basketball when threatened. When they inflate, they pull water into their stomach to increase their size as a defense mechanism. When a pufferfish is eating, it uses two continuously growing upper and two lower teeth to crunch hard foods. Favorite foods include clams and other mollusks.
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Sam Arbonida cares for several fish and animals, with two pufferfish, “Shia” and LaPuff.” Watching LaPuff decimate a clam is both wholesome and alarming. The fish get plenty of human interaction and willingly take a clam. What happens next is a surprise.
The whole clam slides into the pufferfish’s mouth, and she immediately begins eating. With the first bite, the fish breaks the shell. Pieces are spit out to drift through the water. The shell crumbles into smaller pieces as the little fish continues using its beak-like tooth structure. As the little fish enjoys the chewy clam, the rest of the shell tumbles to the bottom of the aquarium.
LaPuff enjoys her clam. Her cute little spotted face, with its wide-set eyes and adorable expression, makes it difficult to look away. Although we don’t usually think of pufferfish as cute, watching this little gal eating fits the bill. When she is swimming with fellow fish, Shia, they look very similar but have subtle differences.
As a poisonous fish, people often avoid the pufferfish. They make good pets but require research to be a good pet parent. The active chemical they exude is tetrodotoxin, which causes muscle paralysis. Some species carry more toxicity than others. Although no one recommends handling them, many people can hand-feed their pufferfish.
Please share this cute pufferfish eating.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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