Puffer fish

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

"I caught a puffer fish! Aww... Or should I say "OW?!"" —City Folk

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

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

Puffer Fish
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Takifugu oblongus Family: Tetraodontidae - Puffers
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  Unknown  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.

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.