Puffer fish

← (54) Blowfish

New Horizons fish

Anchovy (56) →

New Horizons fish
← (54) Blowfish	→ Anchovy (56)

Puffer fish
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Diodon holocanthus (long-spined porcupinefish) Family: Diodontidae (porcupinefishes)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  ハリセンボン  刺豚  Poisson-porc-épic  Pez erizo  Pesce istrice  Еж-рыба  가시복  刺河豚  Poisson-porc-épic  Pez erizo  Igelfisch  Egelvis

The puffer fish is a fish in the Animal Crossing series introduced in Doubutsu no Mori e+ and appearing in all subsequent games. It appears as a medium shadow (small in Wild World and City Folk) in the sea all day from mid summer to early fall.

Catch details

In Doubutsu no Mori e+

#41

"ハリセンボンを　釣り上げた! イタ～イ!"
Translation: "I caught a balloonfish! Ouuch!"

DnM / iQue

DnM+

AC

DnMe+

Time of year	Jul – Sep
Time of day	All day
Location	Animal Island
Shadow size	Medium
Selling price	200 Bells
Feng shui	None
Furniture size

In Wild World

#41

"I caught a puffer fish! So cute! So painful!"

Description	Each puffer fish has about 400 needles. They're related to blowfish, but aren't poisonous.
Time of year	Jul – Sep
Time of day	All day
Peak times	Aug – Sep
Location	Sea
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	35 cm
Selling price	240 Bells
Furniture size

In City Folk

#46

"I caught a puffer fish! Aww... Or should I say "OW?!""

Description	A nonpoisonous member of the blowfish family, these have about 400 spikes.
Time of year	Jul – Sep
Time of day	All day
Peak times	N/A
Location	Sea
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	About 14 in.
Selling price	240 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#51

"I caught a puffer fish! Ouch!"

Time of year	Jul – Sep All year (Tortimer Island)
Time of day	All day
Peak times	August
Location	Sea Tortimer Island
Shadow size	Medium
Fish size	35 cm
Rarity	Unknown
Selling price	240 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#52

Event availability	Fishing Tourney #2
Location	Saltwater Shores
Shadow size	Medium
Fish size	29.5 cm – 40.8 cm
Rarity	★★
Catch rate	Cannot be caught at this time
Selling price	100 Bells
Request reward	1,500 Bells, 3 Friendship Points Fortune Cookie (20%), Bronze Treats (30%)

In New Horizons

#55

"I caught a puffer fish! I thought you would be tougher, fish!"

Time of year	North: Jul – Sep South: Jan – Mar
Time of day	All day
Location	Sea
Shadow size	Medium
Rarity	Uncommon
Spawn requirement	Appears from the start of the game
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  250 Bells  C.J.:  375 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

In Wild World

Upon donating the puffer fish to Blathers in the museum, he will say this:

"Puffer fish are tastier then they look, you know! Not at all rubbery! Just imagine if you could inflate them, THEN eat them! POP! Delicious! That would be a hit with the kids, eh wot?"

As the puffer fish is donated to the museum, Blathers will say this dialogue.

In City Folk

"If you actually bother to count them, the average puffer fish is said to have around 400 spines on it. Oh, and in case you don't know, while the puffer fish may look like a blowfish, it is NOT poisonous. So, on the whole, this fish is much less fearsome than it looks... Or perhaps it just believes in fair play, wot?"

It can be found in the back sea tank, with other sea fish. It spends time as the non-puffed fish, then will puff up and show its spines when another fish comes too close.

In New Leaf

An information board in the aquarium displays this description of the puffer fish upon donation:

"As expected, all Puffer Fish are covered in spines. While related to the blowfish, they are not poisonous. Exaggerated claims about the fish say they have 1,000 spines; the true number is between 300 and 400. When threatened, they suck in water and air to puff themselves up in order to intimidate enemies."

In New Horizons

When donating to Blathers or selecting "Tell me about this!" in New Horizons, he will provide the following information about the fish:

"Like its cousin the blowfish, when the puffer fish feels threatened it inflates into a spiky balloon. The biggest difference between them is that the puffer fish is not deadly poisonous like its kin. So while it may look scary, the substantially reduced risk to life and limb makes it much better company."

Fishing Tourney

During a Fishing Tourney, when given a puffer fish, Chip will say the following dialogue.

In City Folk

"You can eat puffer fish, but it takes courage. What with all those spiky pokies! Nyuuuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!"

In New Leaf

"You know, puffer fish CAN be eaten, but you better know what you're doing, like me! No amateurs on this one! Luckily, I am no amateur! Time for ol' Chip to snack! YUM!"

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

• 

  Doubutsu no Mori e+

• 

  Animal Crossing: Wild World

• 

  Animal Crossing: City Folk

• 

  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

• 

  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Real-world information

A real-life puffer fish.

As a defense mechanism, puffers have the ability to inflate rapidly, filling their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or air when outside the water) until they are almost spherical. Thus, a predator stalking the puffers may suddenly find itself facing what seems to be a much larger fish and pause, giving the puffers an opportunity to retreat to safety. When the fish is lifted out of water, there is a risk that puffers may inflate with air. This may result in problems deflating again afterward. When this happens with aquarium specimens, the recommended course of action for fish keepers is to hold the puffer underwater by the tail, head upwards, and shake the fish gently until the air escapes out of the mouth.

Names in other languages

	ハリセンボン hari-senbon	Porcupinefish, lit. "thousand needles"
	가시복 gasibok	Long-spine porcupinefish, lit. "spiny porcupinefish"
	刺豚 cìtún / cìhétún	Lit. "spiny (river) pig". From Japanese 河豚, fugu, a delicacy prepared from poisonous pufferfish
	刺河豚 Unknown
	Еж-рыба Yezh-ryba	Porcupinefish, lit. "hedgehog fish"
	Egelvis	Porcupinefish, lit. "hedgehog fish"
	Igelfisch	Porcupinefish, lit. "hedgehog fish"
	Pez erizo	Porcupinefish, lit. "hedgehog fish"
	Poisson-porc-épic	Porcupinefish
	Pesce istrice	Porcupinefish

Notes

Pocket Camp fish

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