Puffer fish

Puffer Fish
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

←

(54) Blowfish

New Horizons fish

Anchovy (56)

→

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

The Puffer Fish (ハリセンボン, Harisenbon) is a saltwater fish in the Animal Crossing series introduced in Doubutsu no Mori e+.

Catch details

In Doubutsu no Mori e+

#41

"ハリセンボンを　釣り上げた! イタ～イ!"

DnM / iQue

DnM+

AC

DnMe+

Time of year^{[nb 1]}	Jul – Sep
Time of day	All day
Location	Animal Island
Shadow size	Small
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	Unknown
Time of day	Unknown
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	Unknown
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?"

In City Folk

As the Puffer Fish is donated to the museum, Blathers will say this:

"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

Upon donating to the museum and asking for more details, Blathers will say:

"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."

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