Wierd puffer behavior

[limitedslip]

Porcupine:
Over the past month or so, I have noticed that my porcupine puffer sleeps during the day, wakes up at about 10pm everynite (lights shut off at 11pm), and goes to sleep at about 1pm the following day (lights turn on at 11am). I stayed up last nite and watched tv till 4am, and the lil bugger was trying to get my attention...

Stars and stripes:
Ever since my dragon gobie went MIA...my S&S kinda took over that job, it sucks in large amounts of sand and spits them out all day. the puffer is covered (and i mean covered from head to tail) in sand, and besides that, it eats, sleeps, and acts normally...

Should I be worried about any of this behavior? or is it just puffers being puffers behavior.

 

[JustinReef]

My porcupine has started doing the exact same thing. He is only up a few hours during the day and then he seems to be up all night. I have no idea really if its normal but I have never had another puffer do this...

 

[reefergeorge]

I thought porc puffers were nocturnal? Mine lays around all day and starts cruising the tank at light out.

 

[limitedslip]

Well, my porc wasnt nocuturnal for the first 7 to 8 months, and only recently started behaving that way.

 

[JustinReef]

Mine too...I have had him about a year and only for about the past 3 months has he "become" nocturnal. I have done a bit of reading and yes they are nocturnal.

 

[Puffalicious]

maybe after a certain number of years they change behaviors. and yes they are nocturnal animals, that is why they have huge bulging eyes

 

[Puffer Queen]

What you are describing is normal. Porcupine puffers are more active at night.

Puffers naturally blow the sand, foraging for food.

 

[julianp]

I've had my porcupine puffer for 5 months and in the last month he has definitely become less active during the day (unless I'm in the room). Whenever I come home during the middle of the day, he's usually lying on the sand sleeping. He seems to get up around 4PM or so and stay up until maybe 5 or 6 in the morning.


I'd say it's just puffers being puffers.

 

[Jason1520]

I have had my pocupine for about three months. He is still small, but is beginning to exhibit these behaviors as well. I work the night shift, so I get home about 8 am. at that point the lights are not on yet and he is usually sleeping on "his" rock or the power head. The lights come on about 1 pm. I wake up at about 5pm, at which point he is usually still laying around. By 6 or 7 pm he is swimming around like a mad man looking for food.

He eats like a cow! The lights are off at 9 pm, and he continues to swim like a man man until I leave at 9:30. On days off I have noticed him swimming until about 1 am, when all the other fish have been sleeping for some time. I never knew they were nocturnal, but that is interesting!

As to the sand, it is hard for me to tell. I have two engineer goby's who do a major amount of digging! I have had the porcupine "spit" water on me right before feeding time. He was at the surface as normal and got so excited he sucked in water, came above the surface and spit it on my shirt. Has anyone ever heard of that!? I couldn't believe it. I wasn't sure if it was an accident or intentional?

 

[LisaD]

spitting water at the feeder person is not uncommon in puffers and triggerfish. I had a white spotted filefish (just about my favorite fish, ever) that spit water every time I came near the tank. I was always wiping up the tank sides and even the floor. that kind of behavior is why I always tend to prefer fish over corals. to me (sorry hardcore reefers) corals are aquascaping, fish are family.

 

[Puffer Queen]

Spitting water is not uncommon either.

 

[FishyMel]

My yellowbelly is nocturnal. He swims during the day too, especially at feeding time, but he definitely likes to do more sleeping during the day than at night.

 

[LisaD]

I have a 5" TL dogface. Mine is pretty much a daylight puffer. At night, he sleeps on the magfloat or tucks in on one of the larger powerheads.