Sphoeroides spengleri

Sphoeroides spengleri, commonly known as the Bandtail puffer, is a medium-sized pufferfish. Their belly is white, their side is cream and their back is greenish brown with darker patches and dark spots. Between the white and cream is a row of dark spots as well and as the common name already suggests, they have dark bands in their tail fin.

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. Combined with the unusual shape, they make up a showpiece in every tank!

And remember they aren’t reef safe! They feed on crustaceans, molluscs, sponges, tunicates, algae and corals. 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.