Canthigaster epilampra

Canthigaster epilampra, commonly known as the Lantern toby, is small pufferfish. Their base colour is white on the belly and (greenish) brown on the back. Except for the back just behind the head, their body and caudal fin is covered in tiny blue spots and some blue scribbled lines. The eyes and caudal fin are yellow.

Pufferfishes are very intelligent fish and will quickly learn to recognize you and your behaviour. Their intelligence and behaviour make you soon treat these animals more like a dog than a fish. C. epilampra are one of the friendliest pufferfishes, usually living solitary or as a couple, but they remain pufferfishes so each individual can have a different temper. In a tank they can best be kept alone or as a mated couple/harem to prevent territorial fights.

Although these are one of the most reefsafe pufferfishes, they can always nip certain corals till the point that they die. In nature they feed mainly on filamentous algae but they also eat worms, shrimps, mollusks, and can nip on corals from time to time! So make sure to offer them a varied diet of meaty foods and algae to minimize the damage to corals.