Canthigaster smithae

Canthigaster smithae, commonly known as the Bicolored toby, is small pufferfish. The lower half of the fish is white and the back is dark brown. What makes this fish stand out is the golden line separating the white and brown and another line a little lower in the white. In both lines metallic blue spots and stripes are present which are especially well visible around the eyes.

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. smithae is one of the friendliest pufferfishes, which even forms groups sometimes, 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 seagrass, sponges and crab but they also eat worms, shrimps, mollusks, coralline red algae and 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.