Puffer fish

The Puffer Fish is a fish that appears in the ocean between the months of July and September, at any time of the day. It is uncommon, and sells for 240 Bells.

In City Folk
Upon donating the pufferfish to Blathers in the museum, he will say:

"If you actually bother to count them, the average puffer fish is said to have around 400 spines on it. Oh, and in case you don't know, while the puffer fish may look like a blowfish, it is NOT poisonous. So, on the whole, this fish is much less fearsome than it looks... Or perhaps it just believes in fair play, wot?"

It can be found in the back ocean tank, with other ocean fish. It spends time as the non-puffed fish, then will puff up and show its spines when another fish comes too close.

Encyclopedia Information
Once the player has caught a particular fish or bug, they can find information about it in the bug or fish menus. Once the puffer fish has been caught, the following information can be found in the fish menu:

Wild World

 * Size: 13.7 inches
 * Habitat: Ocean
 * Season: Summer
 * Each puffer fish has about 400 needles. They're related to blowfish, but aren't poisonous.

City Folk

 * Size: About 14 in.
 * Habitat: Ocean
 * Season: Summer
 * A nonpoisonus member of the blowfish famly, these have about 400 spikes.



Further information
As a defense mechanism, puffers have the ability to inflate rapidly, filling their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or air when outside the water) until they are almost spherical in shape. Thus, a hungry predator stalking the puffers may suddenly find itself facing what seems to be a much larger fish and pause, giving the puffers an opportunity to retreat to safety. When lifted out of water there is a risk that puffers may inflate with air. This may result in problems deflating again afterward. When this happens with aquarium specimens, the recommended course of action for fish keepers is to hold the puffer underwater by the tail, head upwards, and shake the fish gently until the air escapes out of the mouth.