All fish / Tetraodontidae

Guineafowl Puffer

Arothron meleagris

Also known as golden puffer, guinea fowl puffer, guineafowl pufferfish, yellow puffer, spotted puffer, white-spotted puffer, コクテンフグ, 白点叉鼻鲀, 黄金河豚

A large puffer that is usually dark brown or black covered in small white spots, though a bright golden yellow form also turns up. Keepers value it for its curious, almost pet-like behaviour and the way it learns to recognise the person who feeds it.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

30 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

750 litres

Keep as

Keep singly

Diet

Carnivore: shelled foods such as clams, mussels, crab, shrimp, squid and snails

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-Pacific and tropical eastern Pacific, from East Africa to the Americas

Breeding

It spawns in the open sea and has not been bred reliably in home aquariums. All fish in the trade are wild caught.

Good to know

It grows big, produces a lot of waste and will crunch corals, invertebrates and the fins of slow tankmates, so it is not reef safe. Its flesh and organs contain tetrodotoxin, and it needs hard foods to keep its beak-like teeth worn down.