Puffers are highly flexible fish, capable of taking in water to puff up, presumably to make themselves larger and harder to swallow. Additionally, they are toxic, sometimes very much so, although the flesh of some puffers, carefully prepared by licensed chefs, is considered a dangerous delicacy in Japan. Many of these fish look as though they would be interesting aquarium inhabitants, but care must be taken, especially if there are small children or pets in the house. We once had a pet cat come very close to death after picking up in his mouth a sharpnose puffer that had jumped out of the aquarium. The cat simply carried the puffer, which in its distress at drying out was apparently secreting toxins from his skin, halfway across the room and collapsed. He took several days to recover. Unless otherwise noted, sizes given are maximum sizes for the species listed in Fishbase, not necessarily the size of the figured specimen.
One additional puffer has been reported from the southern Marshalls, but we have not yet seen it (link to Fishbase):
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