Triggerfishes Pufferfishes and Relatives: Tetraodontiformes

Physical characteristics: Spotted tobies have a thick oval body, a long snout, prickles on the belly, and a rounded tail fin. They are orangish red with blue spots. The belly is white. There is a black spot ringed in pale blue directly below the base of the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is short and white with a black base. The anal fin also is short. The skin contains a poison. Spotted tobies grow to a length of about 4 inches (10 centimeters).

Geographic range: Spotted tobies live in the western parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Habitat: Spotted tobies live mainly in reefs.

Diet: Spotted tobies eat invertebrates and algae.

To protect themselves from predators, spotted tobies rapidly fill themselves up like a water balloon. (Kelvin Aitkin-V&W/Bruce Coleman, Inc. Reproduced by permission.)

Behavior and reproduction: To protect themselves from predators, spotted tobies rapidly fill themselves up like a water balloon. They usually pair up but also live alone or in groups. They swim over a home range looking for food. They also swim up into open water. Pairs of spotted tobies lay eggs on algae growing on dead coral and rocks. The eggs are poisonous, and the fish do not take care of them. The larvae float in open water.

Spotted tobies and people: Spotted tobies are collected for aquariums.

Conservation status: Spotted tobies are not threatened or endangered. ∎