🐠 Dog Faced Pufferfish (Spotted) (Arothron nigropunctatus)
Marine Not-Reef-Safe Puffer • Grey-Brown Body With Scattered Black Spots • Genuinely One of the Most Personable Puffers • Intermediate Marine Fish
 
⚠️ Important Information — Please Read First
We want to be genuinely upfront on this one. Like all pufferfish, this species carries tetrodotoxin as a natural predator defence, and can inflate its body when threatened. Please never allow it to inflate outside of water, and always use a container rather than a net during transfers — forced inflation can genuinely be stressful or fatal.
 
📋 The Dog Faced Pufferfish , also known as the Blackspotted Puffer or Arothron Dog Face Puffer, gets its genuinely endearing name from a face shape reminiscent of a dog. This spotted variant shows a grey-to-brown body scattered with black spots, though we want to be honest that colouration and pattern genuinely varies considerably between individuals — some rare specimens even appear all-black, dalmatian-patterned, or with a yellow underside.
Native to a genuinely wide range across the Indo-Pacific, this species inhabits coral reefs and lagoons, and is genuinely one of the most personable, interactive puffers in the aquarium trade — often shy at first, but becoming bold enough to recognise its keeper and eagerly anticipate feeding time.
A genuinely interesting anatomical detail: this species lacks pelvic fins, instead manoeuvring with its pectoral, dorsal, and anal fins, and its teeth are fused into a beak-like structure that continuously grows and requires hard-shelled foods to wear down naturally. We want to be upfront: this species is not reef safe, and will genuinely destroy corals, crabs, and snails.
 
⚫🐕 Highlights
🎨 Grey-Brown Body With Black Spots: A genuinely variable, individually distinctive pattern
🐕 Genuinely Dog-Like Face & Personality: Curious, interactive, and recognises its keeper
🦴 Genuinely Lacks Pelvic Fins: Manoeuvres using pectoral, dorsal, and anal fins
⚠️ Not Reef Safe: Will destroy corals, crabs, and snails
🦷 Continuously Growing Teeth: Genuinely needs regular hard-shelled foods