Burrfish Video

[Paul B]

I collected this guy last year and he trippled in size.
Here he is eating some shrimp and worms.

 

[Jordani]

Very Cool, like his little horns

 

[Paul B]

Here he is as a baby when I first collected him

 

[kidkams]

wow he sure grew big

 

[CarltonsReef]

Cute fish!

 

[username in use]

I love how comfortable he is with the feeding tube. He's like a little puppy.

 

[Paul B]

He sucks worms out of that tube every day.
He is cute. But he is getting big

 

[username in use]

when he gets real big, you'll have to see if Joe will take him and set him up in the aquarium. Maybe they can put a plaque there, "on loan from the collection of PaulB" hahaha

 

[Paul B]

I probably will have to "lend" him to someone or maybe donate him t a public aquarium. I never saw one with quite the same markings. He may not get much bigger in his current tank and seems very "happy"
If I go on vacation I will have to give him to someone along with his tank to baby sit.
He is very cool,
Maybe I will catch another one this summer.

 

[AquaKnight]

Very cool Paul. I have a Burrfish as well. I caught mine Mother's Day 2007, the size of a pea drifting in the waves at the beach. She has grown many times over, and as of today is at least 10". The fastest growth rate of any fish I've ever kept. She's leveled off in the last half year. You are right about them being puppy dog, they have so much personality.

Here's a vid of her I just took, munching down a jumbo shrimp (her fav). She is quite the mouth to feed at this size.

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[Paul B]

It looks like his big brother. :lol:

I have had quite a few of them but this is the only one I collected and kept. They do have more personality than any other fish and they do like those shrimp, especially the tails.
If he gets much larger I will donate him to a public aquarium.
He keeps asking me to put him in my reef, like that could happen.

AquaKnight, very nice fish.
Have a great day.
Paul

 

[small alien]

cool video. wow, that thing can really chow down. it must be so cool to keep a fish you collected yourself. thanks for sharing.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

I love those burrfish! They are just so darn cute! I think it's those big expressive eyes that gets me.

 

[Paul B]

His eyes are the same color as mine.

 

[Paul B]

It always amazes me how these little burrfish (and porcupinefish) can just devour live fiddler crabs. Those things have a huge claw which bite really hard. But the burrfish just grab the thing and with no fear, eat the thing parctically whole.
The bites don't seem to bother them but their eyes are vulnerable. I usually break off the bog claw of the crab, the fish don't mind but I want him to keep both of his eyes.

 

[jarrod13]

I just caught one myself. It's about the size of a small fingernail!! I've got him eat live brine at the moment, but what would be a good longterm food for him?

I caught him at the mouth of the st. Johns river, in about shin high water. He was just hanging out by a floating leaf.

 

[Paul B]

Good thing you caught him there or he may have gotten caught up in the Gulf stream, came up here to NY and I would have caught him :fish1:

 

[AquaKnight]

I've got him eat live brine at the moment, but what would be a good longterm food for him?

I caught him at the mouth of the st. Johns river, in about shin high water. He was just hanging out by a floating leaf.

At that size I fed cyclopeeze (the freezer-bar kind, do not feed the freeze-dried stuff in a can), Hikari mysis, and P.E. mysis when he was large enough to eat that.