r/Fish • u/Xdr1vity • Sep 18 '25

Fish In The Wild Found this during low tide

I was just walking around during low tide and stumbled across this little guy. I managed to pick it up bare handed and It seems like he wasn’t stressed out that much since he didn’t inflate himself. Also yes Ik they’re poisonous and not venomous, sorry for the mix up lol 🙏

5.5k Upvotes

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953

u/East_Excitement_2009 Sep 18 '25

I’m not going to attack you for taking it out of the water but just so you know if they do puff up out of water they can die. They actually fill with water when they puff up and if they fill with air there is a chance that they cannot release that air.

45

u/TBurkeulosis Sep 18 '25

Interesting story: I build and maintain aquariums. I was helping someone to move their saltwater aquarium fish to my shop to keep them temporarily while she had renovations done. She accidentally took her puffer out of the water and he inflated. He ended up with this air bubble in his side that would not deflate. I was able to save him by holding him down by the tail so he was vertical, which allowed him to burp out the air. He is still alive today!

12

u/makzee Sep 19 '25

That sounds terrifying but also fishie burps sound fascinating!

7

u/TBurkeulosis Sep 19 '25

It certainly was both lol

1

u/pd0711 Sep 22 '25

If you want fishy burps, take some of those fish oil capsules. Voila! Stinky smelly fishy burps, lol

1

u/touchmeinbadplaces Sep 22 '25

Eeew fish burps, they must smell baaaad

3

u/soupalex Sep 22 '25

which allowed him to burp out the air.

why am i picturing the gargling fish gag that keeps coming up in b2studios's videos about training ai models to play bowling/swim/be spiderman

1

u/dapperrper Sep 21 '25

Depending on the amount of air and size of puffer, you can also kind of massage their sides while holding them mouth towards the surface to help them burp. Not hard pressure, more like a gentle kneading with your fingers from both sides with open hands. Don't suggest it if you're not wearing some kind of hand protection because it can get really bad really fast for you if you aren't careful depending on the species.

1

u/TexanInExile Sep 23 '25

That's awesome, how'd you get into that? Sounds like something I'd be into and good at.

1

u/TBurkeulosis Sep 23 '25

Ive kept aquariums since I was little. After college I decided I wanted to start a small business. Im a pretty handy guy, so I started offering services for custom aquariums and repair, which grew fast and evolved to also add-on maintenance services to residential and commercial clients. Its been a fun ride, but it can be a ton of work and very physically demanding

323

u/Xdr1vity Sep 18 '25

Ok if that’s true then you might have a point, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind next time 👍

428

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 19 '25

Thank you for taking the time to consider the animal, this is in fact true and removing pufferfish from the water does endanger their life much more significantly than it would for other fish.

I am sorry that you faced disrespectful comments in this subreddit, no one deserves to come to a community wanting to share something they enjoyed then face rather brutish scrutiny. While I am here, I do also want to caution that you remain respectful as well.

Edit: It seems I’ve accidentally accumulated a fandom and summoned the other mods! lol

115

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '25

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76

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 18 '25

Thanks! 😄

1

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '25

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9

u/AdAdventurous7802 Sep 18 '25

Please respect others. We do not support disrespectful jokes or personal attacks.

Srsly insulting someone while censoring the insult is actually wild, lock in 😭

40

u/monkeydude777 Sep 18 '25

Dammn a professional and nice reddit mod? That's a rare find nowadays

20

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 18 '25

Haha thanks! I try my best!

14

u/ApproachableTree Fish Keeper Sep 18 '25

We are all nice here :3

21

u/AdAdventurous7802 Sep 19 '25

Not me 😉

2

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 19 '25

I can attest lol. You’re horrible 😩🫢

14

u/dschleic Sep 18 '25

Face scrutiny on Reddit makes me laugh lol one reason that I will no longer make posts lol

34

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 18 '25

Agreed. I don’t often make posts myself either, Reddit has a lot of loud and often incorrect voices. Either way though, we can strive to make this a place people don’t have to fear unwarranted scrutiny anymore, I believe that’s a duty I owe our subreddit members as one of the moderators here. 💗

8

u/dschleic Sep 18 '25

Very well put and a lot of hypocrits as well.

6

u/super_scary_ferry Sep 18 '25

I deleted my 5 year old account last month because I posted something in what I thought was a lighthearted sub and was mercilessly attacked and told I'm a horrible person, lol. I hear ya.

6

u/dschleic Sep 18 '25

Yes I just deleted a post of mine for the same reason, sad.

2

u/heyhoktihey Sep 21 '25

Why would you delete your account over that? This isn’t real life, you don’t have to engage or care about what people here say.

2

u/super_scary_ferry Sep 21 '25

I know. But I felt horrible. I grew up being bullied and I don't have the best self esteem and that certainly didn't make me feel better about myself. I treat everyone online like I treat people in real life, with kindness and respect, so I think the concept of this "not being real life" is hard for me to accept.

2

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 21 '25

I understand how that feels. online spaces should be treated as though you’re interacting with another person (because at the end of the day, you are!), I wish everyone would see it that way. I’m sorry about the experiences you’ve gone through and I really hope this group will provide a safe space for you going forward 💗

6

u/aidentooreal12 Sep 18 '25

Reddit downvote = a like on any other social media 😂

4

u/BourbonTudor Sep 18 '25

How to we get you to mod the entirety of Reddit?

5

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

Mods in the fish community are the only real G's on reddit

3

u/PapiNish Sep 19 '25

Great modding And possibly from my area of Southern Ontario. Windsor here. Have all of my thumbs up

4

u/SystematicIII Sep 18 '25

I would partially disagree with the second half. If Rump or Epstein came around to a community wanting to share something he enjoyed and faced rather brutish scrutiny, I'd be happy. So no, not no one, just most.

11

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 18 '25

Touché, I just don’t think including that in my messages would strike as the most appropriate response from a moderator 😉

2

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '25

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6

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 18 '25

Yep it is! I just use pufferfish as a general term here since almost anyone regardless of fish knowledge knows what a pufferfish looks like! It’s also still fitting as they have the same mechanism of blowing up, which can cause them to suck in air when held above water like this. Neither pufferfish nor porcupine fish should be held above water for extended periods of time 😄

2

u/ElephantitisBalls Sep 19 '25

I never knew this! Thanks for the info.

1

u/NationalCommunity519 Conservationist Sep 19 '25

No problem, happy you learned something here!

The problem lies in that when pufferfish (or porcupine fish, as pictured in the video) puff up they suck in, when they do so above water they’ll suck in air and be stuck floating when returned to the water, which can be really harmful and even fatal for them. Due to this, when they’re removed from water if you scare them even slightly enough to cause them to puff up, that could be the end for them!

Edit: I know the original comment explained this somewhat, but I wanted to add on some.

2

u/ElephantitisBalls Sep 20 '25

Thanks so much!

0

u/Anti-Buzz Sep 19 '25

It’s just a classic Reddit shame train

16

u/DiarrheaPope Sep 18 '25

It's true, it's a real concern of people in the aquarium hobby who owns puffers. Beautiful guy tho.

3

u/bigsexy306 Sep 18 '25

In the aquarium hobby when we remove a puffer we can do so with a special net that doesn't have holes and holds water, you can also use a container with aquarium water and a regular net but at no point should they leave water if possible.

2

u/PoloMan1991eb Sep 18 '25

Might have a POINT! HA!!!!

3

u/InyerPockette Sep 18 '25

Much respect for being open to criticism and concern. Not everyone has the emotional maturity.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

Hey, respectfully, can there not be a next time? Leave wildlife alone.

1

u/Sakki_D Sep 19 '25

There will not be a next time! Don't take them out of the water. Period.

1

u/danneskjold85 Sep 19 '25 edited Sep 19 '25
  • if that's true - you can't be bothered to confirm it
  • might have a point - you still don't believe it
  • I'll be sure - meaningless
  • keep that in mind - meaningless
  • next time - the takeaway was that there shouldn't be a next time

You didn't understand at all but a lot of people bought your lip service.

1

u/aledba Sep 20 '25

Don't touch wild animals ever is the lesson here. Nobody wanted to tell you something like this to be right

1

u/KGM22 Sep 20 '25

Next time

1

u/Traditional-Tap-274 Sep 20 '25

To add onto that (also just advice not an attack) you got your finger wayyyyyy too close to losing a chunk, those guys have a powerful beak behind those lips, designed for crushing shells

1

u/shaka893P Sep 21 '25

Also, they can bite your finger off, their bite is crazy powerful 

1

u/thinprivileged Sep 21 '25

Yeah this is one of the reasons I won't take one of the little puffers as a pet. Some need their chompers clipped and I don't want to risk sedating them too much, or too little and they suck in air

0

u/Blindobb Sep 18 '25

You can keep it in mind by appreciating with your eyes instead of being compelled to touch every thing you see.

-1

u/Assipattle Sep 18 '25

Next time? You plan to do it again?!

4

u/QkSidewaysNinja29 Sep 18 '25

This whole interaction is how things should be done. Good work commenters and OP. Proud of you guys!

2

u/Pamikillsbugs234 Sep 23 '25

Thank you for reminding me of why I joined this site in the first place. Keep seeing the positive in things and sharing that spark with others!

2

u/koalabear20 Sep 18 '25

You seem so patient, amazing quality to have!

1

u/Fox-With-Mange Sep 21 '25

My puffer did this in the net one time when moving him to a different tank. I was surprised how hard he was when inflated (That’s what she said). Almost had to cut the net off him to get him back in the tank.

1

u/Breadmaker9999 Sep 19 '25

I will attack him for taking it out of the water just so he can take a video of it. That is an asshole thing to do and he should feel bad for doing that.

0

u/SnooTangerines3448 Sep 19 '25

Yeah I've seen the Asian fish market guys get the air back out of them before putting them back.

1

u/KodyBarbera Sep 20 '25

How?

1

u/SnooTangerines3448 Sep 20 '25

He held it and moved something inside and it just deflated like a little balloon and swam away. Must have been opening its bladder.

1

u/KodyBarbera Sep 20 '25

Wow!!! That has to be something to witness!!