How to Get a Porcupine Puffer Fish to Eat

The porcupine puffer fish is best known for its ability to puff up to three times its normal size when frightened, resembling a spiky ball when fully inflated. Puffers accomplish this feat by rapidly pumping water into their expandable stomachs, which are pleated like kilts. Puffers are carnivores and like to eat shrimp, clams and snails. They also need to be fed small, hard-shelled crustaceans to help wear down their teeth, which never stop growing. Your puffer will eat in an aquarium environment if he is healthy and offered the right mix of foods.

Things You'll Need

  • Nail file or clippers
  • Live, hard-shelled sea snails
  • Meaty aquarium preparations
  • Water test kit
  • 180-gallon aquarium
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Instructions

    • 1

      Evaluate your porcupine puffer's teeth to see if they are overgrown to the point where it cannot eat. If the teeth are overgrown, feed the fish small snails and clams in the shell to wear his teeth down. If that fails, manually file down the fish's teeth with a nail file or use nail clippers.

    • 2

      Compare your puffer's current coloration to how it normally looks. If its color is more pale than normal, evaluate and treat the puffer for any health issues such as parasites. Most porcupine puffers normally appear lighter when they are resting, so evaluate its active coloration.

    • 3

      Offer your puffer live food such as hard-shelled snails -- puffers are predators and can often be tempted into eating if they can hunt. Offer other meaty aquarium foods such as squid, krill, clams and crabs.

    • 4

      Test the tank water and adjust the water for any readings outside normal parameters. House your porcupine puffer in a 180-gallon or larger tank. The fish might not eat if his environment is too small.