The puffer fish is famous for its ability to inflate into a ball many times larger than its normal size to avoid predators, also known as puffer fish, fugu, and
ball fish, as the fish devours huge amounts of water (and sometimes air) to fill its belly when threatened, and in this inflated case, It can only swim at about half its normal speed.
What is the habitat of puffer fish
Most puffer fish are found in subtropical and tropical marine waters in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, and this includes coral reefs, and are often found near
the coasts, while also living in brackish and fresh waters, and puffer fish are not found in cold water, and spend about 35 A species of pufferfish whose entire life cycle
is in freshwater, freshwater species are found in separate tropical regions of South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.
What are the symptoms of pufferfish poisoning
The first symptoms to appear are numbness and tingling around the mouth.
This is soon followed by excessive salivation, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting.
The extremities begin to feel weak and breathing becomes more difficult. , and the patient can deteriorate further and may suffer from paralysis, unconsciousness, and respiratory failure, and it is important to seek immediate medical assistance
when symptoms first appear, and if the person is still alive after 24 hours of puffer fish poisoning, the chances of his survival increase It increases, and in the most severe cases, the respiratory muscles become paralyzed, which leads to death.
How does the puffer fish defend itself from predators
The puffer fish has a set of natural defenses to compensate for its poor ability to swim, and it uses its pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins, and while it is easy to maneuver, its lack of speed makes it an
easy target, and the main feature of the puffer fish is its ability to inflate its body when threatened, and this may
be scary to predators who find the oversized creature frightening, or simply uncomfortable, and because they realize they won't be able to eat something so big.
In addition to their ability to stretch, some puffer fish also contain spines on their skin, which deter predators, and their bodies are covered with poisonous spines
that are harmful to animals and humans, while their bad taste can be enough to deter predators, and almost all types of puffer fish contain tetrodotoxin, which is A neurotoxin 1,200 times more potent than cyanide.
In puffer fish, it can be found in the ovaries, liver, intestines, skin, and muscles.
Tetrodotoxin is also found in stingrays and blue-ringed octopuses.
It works by paralyzing the diaphragm and causing respiratory failure.
Although pufferfish are poor swimmers, their tail fins have the ability to glide at a speed that helps them avoid
being eaten, and when combined with their excellent eyesight and ability to move both eyes independently, this provides an important defense against predators.
Puffer fish can change color to suit their environment, many of which are dull.
However, brightly colored species with distinctive markings may make no effort to hide from predators.
This can be an example of albinozimatism, and this occurs when an animal announces to predators.
It is not worth attacking or eating, due to defenses such as toxicity, venom, unpleasant taste or smell, sharp spines, or aggressive nature.
Blowfish breeding
Spawning occurs in the marine puffer fish after the males push the females to the surface of the water, or join the females already there, and their spherical eggs hatch and float after about four days, and produce small fry
whose resemblance to their kind is clear only when enlarged, and their eyes and mouth work immediately and must They find food within a few days, and
reproduction differs in the types of freshwater puffer fish, and the males of the dwarf puffer fish follow the females, and boast and if the female accepts his progress, she will lead him before releasing the eggs
for fertilization, and the males may rub the side of the female to help her, and it has been observed that the males carve structures Engineered on the sea floor to attract females, the structures give females a safe place to lay their eggs.