Puffer Fish Facts & Worksheets for Kids | Species, Habitat, Diet, Poison (2024)

The puffer fish, also known as blown fish or toadfish, is a unique species of fish popular for its inflatable body and sharp poisonous spikes as a defense mechanism.

See the fact file below for more information on the Puffer Fish. Alternatively, you can download our 26-page Puffer Fish worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Scientific Name: Tetraodontidae
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Diet: Omnivore
Life Span: 4 to 8 years
Habitat: Shallow waters and coral reefs
Average size: 7 – 24 in (18 – 60 cm)

About the Puffer Fish

• The Tetraodontidae family are primarily marine and estuarine fish.
• This family includes many species with different and sometimes familiar names like balloonfish, blowfish, bubble fish, globefish, toadfish, toadies, and sea squab.
• There are more than 120 species of pufferfish worldwide.
• Pufferfish have bulbous heads with long, tapered bodies.
• Some have wild colors and markings to advertise their toxicity.
• Others have more muted coloring to blend in with their environment.
• They range in size from the 1-inch-long (2.5 cm) pygmy or dwarf puffer to the giant freshwater puffer, which can grow to more than 2 feet (61 cm) in length.
• They are scaleless fish and usually have rough to spiky skin.

Puffer Fish Anatomy and Habitat

• Pufferfish can be found in a variety of colors, including gray, yellow, blue, white, and brown.
• They can be hard to identify when they’re not inflated.
• Pufferfish mostly live in the warm waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
• However, some species are found in freshwater.
• Unlike fish with scales, most puffer fish have thick and rough skin, and some species have spines on their skin.
• The pufferfish’s stomach area is the elastic part of the body.
• They have four teeth fused like a beak which they use to open clams, shellfish, and mussels.

Reproduction and Young

• Around the age of five, puffer fish reach maturity and are ready to reproduce.
• Male puffer fish are known to spend days creating underwater crop circles in the sand consisting of intricate patterns to attract females to reproduce with.
• The eggs are either laid in a place close to shore chosen by the male or in the center of the underwater crop circles.
• Once the female has laid the eggs, the male will fertilize them externally.
• The eggs are spherical in shape with a hard protective shell.
• They usually float on the surface because of their lightweight.
• When the eggs hatch, the young puffer fish swim towards the reef.
• Around three years of age, they swim to join the community, which is between the sunlight zone.
• A puffer fish’s diet varies depending on its environment.
• Traditionally, their diet consists of algae and small invertebrates.

Unique but Deadly Venom

• The main feature of puffer fish is their ability to enlarge their body when threatened.
• In order to enlarge their body extremely fast, puffer fish ingest large amounts of water, turning them into ball-like creatures that a predator may find scary or too large to swallow.
• Experts believed that puffers developed such a unique ability because they are generally poor swimmers that cannot escape predators.
• The puffer fish’s body is covered with poisonous spikes, which are highly toxic to both animals and humans.
• Almost all species of puffer fish contain tetrodotoxin, which can be 1,200 times stronger than cyanide.
• This makes them taste foul as well as toxic.
• In addition, the brighter colors are associated with the amount of toxin produced.
• Pufferfish poison works by paralyzing the diaphragm, causing respiratory failure.
• However, while a single puffer fish can kill 30 adult humans, Japanese people have a very expensive delicacy made of puffer fish.
• The name of the dish is Fugu (the Japanese word for pufferfish) and is made of puffer fish meat.
• It is only prepared and served by specially trained chefs who know how to remove the highly poisonous parts, which include the liver and ovaries.
• As of today, there is no known antidote for this toxin.

Puffer Fish Poisoning Symptoms

• Puffer fish poisoning symptoms occur 10 to 45 minutes after ingestion.
• A person begins to feel numbness and tingling around the mouth. In addition, excessive salivation, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting follow. Moreover, limbs start feeling weak, followed by difficulty in breathing.
• It may progress to paralysis, loss of consciousness, respiratory failure, and death.
• A person should immediately seek medical attention after initial symptoms appear.
• If a patient survives puffer fish poisoning for more than 24 hours, recovery is possible. In severe cases where respiratory muscles get paralyzed, it is fatal.

Did You Know Facts

• The tetrodotoxin present in puffer fish is also present in triggerfish and blue-ringed octopus.
• The only species immune to puffer fish toxins are sharks. They can eat as many as they want without negative consequences.
• Male white-spotted puffer fish are the species known for making circular nests in the sand to attract females.
• Some puffer fish, like the spotted green puffer, the bronze puffer, and the pignose puffer, can survive in large home aquariums but cannot be housed with other fish due to their aggressive behavior.
• Stellate pufferfish is considered the largest of the species reaching 4 ft (1.2 m) in length.
• The dwarf puffer fish, on the other hand, is difficult to spot as it rarely reaches 1 in (2.5 cm) in length.
• Not all puffers are poisonous. The flesh of the northern puffer is not toxic, and it is considered a delicacy in North America.
• Generally, puffer fish can change their color in response to the environment.
• The tiger pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) is the most prestigious edible species and also the most poisonous.
• Fugu chefs are trained for three years before preparing puffer fish sashimi for consumption.

Puffer Fish Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Puffer Fish across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Puffer Fish worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the puffer fish, also known as blown fish or toadfish, which is a unique species of fish popular for its inflatable body and sharp poisonous spikes as a defense mechanism.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

• Puffer Fish Facts
• Fish Anatomy
• Kinds of Puffer Fish
• 3 Classes of Fish
• Fish Codes
• Something Fishy
• Fill Fish Fact
• Scientific Classification
• Self Defense Move
• Venom Profile
• Puffer Fish Day

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do puffer fish live?

The average lifespan of the puffer fish is 8 – 10 years.

Are puffer fish poisonous even if you touch them?

The spikes that cover puffer fish drip with a deadly toxin. Contact with the spikes will make a person become sick, and it might well be fatal. It is definitely not safe to touch a pufferfish with your bare hands.

Is puffer fish still poisonous when dead?

Pufferfish, either alive or dead, can be fatal to both humans and dogs if ingested in large enough quantities. Even just licking or chewing a puffer fish can lead to a case of poisoning.

What are puffer fish babies called?

Pufferfish babies are called fry. The fry are tiny but have a shape reminiscent of adult pufferfish. They have eyes and a functional mouth and must eat within a few days of hatching.

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