THE OCEAN DEEP

The balloonfish, Diodon holocanthus (Linnaeus, 1758), aka balloon porcupinefish, blotched porcupine fish, blotched porcupine, brown porcupine fish, fine-spotted porcupinefish, freckled porcupinefish, freckled porcupinefish, hedgehog fish, long-spine porcupinefish, porcupine, porcupinefish, spiny balloonfish, and spiny puffer, is known for its large eyes, spines and it's ability to swell like a balloon when attacked. This comical species reaches between 20-35 cm, and reaches a maximum of 50 cm. There are a total of 13-15 dorsal and anal soft rays. Juveniles have spots on the ventral side, adults have dark blotches and spots on the dorsal side. There are 14-16 spines between the snout and dorsal fin. A large brown bar is found above and below each eye; and a broad transverse brown bar on occipital region, or upper surface of the back of the head.
The body of the balloonfish is covered in long, sharp spines that extend when the fish inflates by taking in water. All members of the Family Diodontidae are capable of inflation, and may also change in color when threatened.
World Range & Habitat
Circumtropical in distribution. These fish are found in the Western Atlantic from Florida, USA to the Bahamas and Brazil, in the Eastern Atlantic around 30°N-23°S, and in South Africa. In the Eastern Pacific from Hawaii to Pitcairn and the Easter Islands, and from southern California, US to Colombia and the Galápagos Islands. They are reef fish with a depth range of 2-100 m.
Feeding Behavior (Ecology)
Balloonfish are nocturnal predators, generally hiding in crevices in the reef during the day. The teeth are fused forming a strong, beak-like mouth for consuming snails, sea urchins, and hermit crabs. These fish are relatively poor swimmers. Juveniles are consumed by pelagic predatory fishes such as tuna and dolphins. Adults fall prey to sharks.

Life History
Reproduces via dioecism (sexes are separate), fertilization is external with a spawning frequency of one clear seasonal peak per year.
The balloonfish has a pelagic life stage. Spawning occurs after males slowly push females to the surface. The eggs are buoyant, hatching after approximately 4 days. The larvae are well developed with a functional mouth, eyes, and a swim bladder. They are predominately yellow with scattered red spots, and are covered with a thin shell until they are about 10 days old, after which the shell is lost and the spines begin to form. Approximately 3 weeks after hatching, the fins and fin rays are present and the teeth are formed. As juveniles, they develop their olive to brown color with dark spots appearing on the ventral side that serve as camouflage for juveniles floating in Sargassum weed. The spotting is retained until the juveniles move inshore and become adults.

Formosa Wrasse adult appears very closely in coloration to a Red Coris Wrasse as a juvenile but has more pronounced black markings on its anal and dorsal fins. The Formosa Wrasse adult is also referred to as the Formosan Coris or Queen Coris. The juvenile and adult appearances vary greatly. As a juvenile, the body color of Formosa Wrasse is orange with white tiger stripes across the back. The stripes and fins are outlined in black. As a Formosa Wrasse adult, the females have a dark blue green body with black spots, accented by red on the fins, and a light-blue diagonal stripe across the orange face. The male Formosa Wrasse adult has a light blue body with vertical blue stripes and several green stripes on the face.

Formosa Wrasse Adult is a salt water fish that is found in the Indo Pacific regions. It is a medium maintenance fish and can be handled by moderately trained aquarist. This is a moderately hardy fish. Formosa Wrasse adult requires a 150 gallon or larger aquarium with a 4-6 inch layer of sand in which to bury itself. Be sure to have some sort of covering with no large open holes that they can escape from. Formosa Wrasse adult is an excellent hunter and will leave no rock unturned (literally) in search of food. The Formosa Wrasse adult will eat urchins, crabs, shrimp, and small invertebrates. The diet should consist of seafoods, brine or mysid shrimp, live black worms, and flaked foods.
Ask for a quality and Formosa Wrasse adult has it all. Hardiness where caught and handled carefully, beauty in color and motion, and tremendous intelligence. Of course, Formosa Wrasse adult readily adapts to captive conditions and accepts a wide variety of foods. It does not have any specific swimming level. Formosa Wrasse adult is very hardy and is not usually aggressive toward other fishes though it is reported they may sometimes harass fish that are very much smaller. Provide fine substrate of 3-4 inches for them to burrow in, as this is where Formosa Wrasse adult can sleep.

Maximum Size: The Formosa Wrasse adult grows up to 24 inches.

General Size Specifications: The small size will come to you generally 1 to 2 inches; the medium generally 3 to 4 inches; the large generally 5 to 6 inches.

Minimum Tank Size: The Formosa Wrasse adult prefers a tank of at least 150 gallons with plenty of places to hide & swim. Water Conditions: Keep water quality high (SG 1.020 - 1.025, pH 8.1 - 8.4, Temp. 72 - 78° F). Formosa Wrasse adult prefers high light. The tank set up may be gravel or sand bed in which to sleep or hide in when frightened.

Habitat: Range: Indo Pacific

Feeding and Diet: The Formosa Wrasse adult is a carnivore and likes to eat Variety of meaty treats including frozen mysis, saltwater feeder shrimp, squid, scallop clam and other crustaceans.