Puffer fish

"I caught a puffer fish! So cute! So painful!" —Wild World

"I caught a puffer fish! Ouch!" —New Leaf

Puffer Fish
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Diodon holocanthus (long-spined porcupinefish) Family: Diodontidae (porcupinefishes)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  ハリセンボン  Unknown  Poisson-porc-épic  Pez erizo  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Poisson-porc-épic  Pez erizo  Unknown  Unknown

The Puffer Fish (ハリセンボン, Harisenbon) is a fish that appears in the ocean between July and September at any time of the day. It is uncommon and sells for 240 Bells.

Catch details

In City Folk

#46

Puffer fish
"I caught a puffer fish! Aww... Or should I say OW?!"

Description	A nonpoisonus member of the blowfish family, these have about 400 spikes.
Time of year	Unknown
Time of day	Unknown
Peak times
Location	Ocean
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	About 14 inches (35 cm)
Selling price	240 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#52

Event availability	Fishing Tourney #2
Location	Saltwater Shores
Shadow size	Medium
Fish size	29.5 cm - 40.8 cm
Rarity	★★
Catch rate	Cannot be caught at this time.
Selling price	100 Bells
Request reward	1,500 Bells, 3 Friendship Points

In New Horizons

#55

"I caught a puffer fish! I thought you would be tougher, fish!"

Time of year	North: Jul – Sep South: Jan – Mar
Time of day	All day
Location	Sea
Shadow size	Medium
Spawn requirement	Unknown
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  250 Bells  C.J.:  375 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

In Wild World

Upon donating the Puffer Fish to Blathers in the museum, he will say this:

"Puffer fish are tastier then they look, you know! Not at all rubbery! Just imagine if you could inflate them, THEN eat them! POP! Delicious! That would be a hit with the kids, eh wot?"

In City Folk

As the Puffer Fish is donated to the museum, Blathers will say this:

"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.

In New Leaf

An information board in the aquarium displays this description of the puffer fish upon donation:

"As expected, all Puffer Fish are covered in spines. While related to the blowfish, they are not poisonous. Exaggerated claims about the fish say they have 1,000 spines; the true number is between 300 and 400. When threatened, they suck in water and air to puff themselves up in order to intimidate enemies."

Further information

File:Puffer fish.jpg

A real-life puffer fish.

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. Thus, a 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 the fish is 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.

Names in other languages

	Pez erizo	Literally, "hedgehog fish"
	Poisson-porc-épic	Porcupine fish