Beware Of Poisonous Fish!

By Home & Garden Last updated Tuesday, March/19/2019

When startled, frightened or harassed, the fish in this family have the ability to release a fatal toxin from their bodies. That's why we dubbed them with the name Neutron Bomb Boxfish. They can kill every living thing in your aquarium, including the themselves, leaving you with just your decorations, rocks and tank standing. Use extreme caution when mixing these fish in an aquarium, unless you want to take the risk of possibly loosing everything.

If you desire to keep them, they are best kept in a non-aggressive species tank. Cowfish are also part of the Ostraciidae family and have this same characteristic trait.

Pufferfishes (Family Tetraodontidae (Chonerhinidae)
Also known as Balloon, Blow, Globe, Toadfishes, and referred to as Fugu, these fish have the ability to store tetrodotoxin, a toxin found in some species of Pufferfishes. Considered to be a delicacy by the Japanese, Fugu can result in severe food poisoning in humans, sometimes resulting in death, if not prepared properly. Two of the most common types of Fugu in Hawaii are the Green Whitepot/Stars & Stripes Puffer (Arothron hispidus) and the Brown Whitespot/Speckled Puffer (Arothron meleagris). Some of these fish have the ability to exude their toxins too, so caution should be used when mixing these fish in your aquarium. We have had the experience of putting a Brown Whitespot Puffer in a catch bucket with a few other fish while collecting, and when we brought the fish up from diving to take them home, everything in the bucket was dead.

Some fish in the Sharp-Nosed Puffer Family (Canthigasteridae) fit into the Tetraodontidae category. We were told, years ago when we started our fish business, that the Spider-Eye Puffer (Canthigaster amboinensis) is one of the most most toxic puffers in the Canthigaster Family. Caution should be used, as some of the fish in the Canthigaster Family can exude a toxic poison.

Squirrelfishes (Family Holocentridae)
The dorsal spines of Squirrelfishes have the capability to inflict a nasty poke that can result in something in comparison to a mild bee sting. For some people this is merely a painful nuisance, but to others it may cause more serious problems. Nothing to the point of resulting in death, just redness and swelling that may take time to recover from.

In closing we would like to say that while some of these fish families do not have the capability to exude their toxins, some do have parts of their bodies that can be toxic. If left in a tank after death, other fish may eat the flesh and become sick or possibly die.

We cannot stress enough that being prepared for potential problems that may arise from owning any of these fish, and that knowing all you can about them is of the utmost importance. To learn more about poisonous/venomous fish, as well as dangerous Octopuses, Nudibranchs/Sea Slugs and other marine animals, refer to these resources:

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