Precious Puffy Pandas

The genus of fish called Arothron is all pufferfish that are more commonly referred to as “Dogface Puffers.” For those that don't know, a genus is the first part of a scientific name. For example, Arothron diadematus or the Panda Puffer, which we'll be talking about today, is part of the genus Arothron, and the species name is diadematus. The genus is always capitalized, and the species isn't. This specific Dogface Puffer is also sometimes called the Masked Puffer.

Panda Puffers (Arothron diadematus) come from the Western Indian Ocean and Red Sea, generally in shallowish water (less than 50 feet or so) around coral reefs. Like all fish from this region of the world, they are rarer in North America than many of the other puffers you'll see. Pandas are usually found either by themselves or occasionally in pairs. They can get up to about ten inches long (that's the biggest one we've seen), but there are reports of them up to just under a foot.

One of the best things about Dogface puffers is their personality (because apparently fishality still isn't a word). They are very engaged wet pets. They learn people quickly and will greet you excitedly when you approach the tank, especially if you are the person who usually feeds them. Some will spit water out of the tank at you, which is cute the first few times, and then you get a tank cover. The internet abounds with videos of people “petting” their pufferfish, which looks really fun, but we don't recommend it. These things can bite through crabs and snail shells and could really mess up a finger if they so choose. Keep hands clear of the toothy end and never lift puffers out of the water.

Even though Panda Puffers are one of the smaller Dogface Puffers, a ten-inch fish is still going to need a big home. When small, they'll be fine in an aquarium as small as 75 gallons, but a full-grown adult is going to need something more like 180 gallons. The preference should be for tanks that are long and wide versus deep. If you've looked at the photos, you've noticed the teeth on a puffer (remember, the bitey end?) As your little buddy swims back and forth excitedly greeting you, these teeth will inevitably come into contact with the front of the tank, and in acrylic tanks, this will leave grooves. So, we suggest glass displays (really for all pufferfish). They don't do well in high flow, because they aren't going to win any swimming races. The counterpoint here is that they do need aggressive filtration because they are super messy eaters and make large amounts of waste when well fed. Look for five to ten times the volume of the tank in gallons per hour, but make sure the return flow is diffused to avoid strong laminar currents and keep up the water changes. They will love rocks as long as there is plenty of space for them to swim between / through them and they'll even lodge themselves into cracks and take naps. They don't need sand and leaving it out will make the tank easier to clean as less detritus can get stuck places, but if you like the look of substrate, by all means go for it.

We briefly touched on the teeth of the Panda Puffer earlier.

Digging deeper, their teeth are of considerable importance when you feed your fish. They not only love clams, snails, crabs and shrimp, but their teeth need to be worn down by eating things with shells. Hard shells. Your puffer will learn how to take Nutramar Complete Sinking Pellets, and we strongly recommend that as part of their diet as it offers a nutrient spectrum that is very wide and a protein density that is very high. Your puffers will also love Gamma Cockle in Shell, which is fun to watch as they dismantle the cockle and great for their teeth. Pandas will also relish other Gamma Frozen foods like their Krill, Whole Fish, Bloodworms, Chopped Prawn and Chopped Mussel. If you want to feed them live snails, crabs or shrimp, and have the budget to do so, your Puffer will thank you for it. When they're under five inches long or so, you should feed them once a day, after that, you can feed them every other day and maybe even every third day when they get full grown.

Your next question might be something along the lines of, “hey, if they love to eat snails and crabs and stuff, aren't they going to demolish my cleanup crew?” The easy (and truthful) answer here is absolutely, and they'll love doing it! All your inverts are at risk with a Panda Puffer. They'll eat sea stars, growing tips of corals, gorgonians, and even small unwary / not fast fish. So, what do you keep them with? Honestly, the best display for a puffer is by themselves. They have the “fishality” to pull it off; they are amazing to own and engage with (and they aren't going to be friends with anything but you.) If you choose to keep them with other fish, avoid sedentary fishlike eels, rays, groupers etc. because the Puffer will take chunks out of them. Aim instead for fish that can defend themselves like Lionfish, or large Angels or Triggerfish. Damsels are often quick and aggressive enough to get out of the way and can add a splash of activity, usually without a large budget wasted on fish that get eaten.

If you're still reading this, then you're interested in fish that aren't the usual aquarium denizen. The Panda puffer will check that oddball fish box in a big way, Puffers are odd enough, one from the Red Sea is a double down on rarity. If you ever find yourself here at Quality Marine, and you start asking people what their favorite fish is, you're almost always going to hear Pufferfish as a response, we all love us a Panda Puffer. As one last huge win, they are easy to keep as long as you feed them the right foods and keep up the water changes. If this sounds like your tank of fish, ask your local fish store for a sustainably sourced Panda Puffer from Quality Marine today!