Puffer Fish

I am always amazed how nature works, especially for species like the puffer fish I'm featuring in this post.

When I saw this photo of my father's friend holding a puffer fish, I got curious about its "blowing up" mechanism. I already know that this kind of fish blow up to make themselves look bigger, thus making them look more intimidating against predators. But, I want to know more of what's going on in their body to make them blow up! Well, I did some research and this is what I found out: Puffer fish inflates itself by sucking in air or water from the environment. It is able to stretch its skin because instead of scales, it has elastic skin. Nevertheless, it is no fun experience for the puffers to blow itself up because it's physically stressful to them.

FYI:
Puffer fish had many names such as blow fish, globe fish, Fugu, swell fish and balloon fish.
Not all puffer fishes are poisonous, such as Takifugu oblongus.
Japan and China celebrate a so-called Fugu Feast, where puffer fishes are served in different delicacies.
There is no antidote as of this day for puffer fish poison.
Puffer fishes vary in sizes and appearance depending on its species.
Puffer fishes have four teeth, thus belonging to the family Tetraodontidae
There are more than 120 species of puffer fish in the world.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for reading!