Cyclichthys orbicularis

Cyclichthys orbicularis, commonly known as the Birdbeak burrfish, is a medium-large burrfish. They’re quite variable in colour, ranging from crème to greyish to rust brown. On their body they have grouped black and red-brown spots and the head is about as large as the rest of the body.

Burrfishes are closely related to porcupinefishes but differ from them since they can’t lay down their spines. They are very intelligent fish just like pufferfishes 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. Combined with the unusual shape, they make up a showpiece in every tank!

In nature they often live in areas with large sponges in which they hide during the day. In an aquarium they often become active during the day quite soon.

Remember they aren’t reef safe though! They feed on almost anything they can catch, like crab, molluscs, worms, echinoderms, sponges, tunicates, all kinds of algae from coralline to fleshy and corals (mostly at night, but in an aquarium they soon learn to eat during the day). It can be aggressive towards other fish, so make sure you pick the other fishes with care! Because their teeth will grow their entire life, they need to eat hard/shelled food constantly to keep them from growing too large. Be sure to offer foods like crab, whole shrimp and snails on a regular basis.