extreme_tooth_decay August 9, 2011 Share August 9, 2011 I was snorkeling last week in Curacao and Aruba, and 2 different times when poking my head under a big rock, I was face to face with a porcupine puffer that was substantially bigger than a basketball, when not puffed up. I had no idea they got that big. Most of my hand could probably fit in its mouth. I tried to get some pics with a cheap underwater disposable camera, they probably won't come out, but we'll see. I thought about trying to make it puff up, but couldn't find a 20' pole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 August 9, 2011 Share August 9, 2011 They get to about 2' in the wild, so could feasibly be bigger than a basketball if full grown - fun fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xyrophobic August 9, 2011 Share August 9, 2011 I remember seeing them off of West Palm Beach on a night dive. They were so I big I thought the were stalking us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve G August 10, 2011 Share August 10, 2011 I saw this guy when I was snorkeling in St. Croix. He was about 2'. I kept having to back up to get him in the frame of the picture. I agree that specimens of this size are frequently found in the Caribbean. In fact, diving has given me an appreciation that most of what we keep in our tanks are miniaturized versions of what we see in the wild. My first dive in Australia I saw rabbitfish and tangs the size of dinner plates. Corals that take me six months to grow a few inches were found in bommies the size of Volkswagens on the sea floor. A saw an anemone that was about four feet long with half a dozen large clownfish living in it. You also see the same fish species in every size ranging from tiny to huge. Only the crustaceans seemed to be the same size as what we keep at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay August 10, 2011 Author Share August 10, 2011 In fact, diving has given me an appreciation that most of what we keep in our tanks are miniaturized versions of what we see in the wild. You said it... I don't dive, but I get that very impression every time I snorkel. I saw colonies of sun corals on a shipwreck in Aruba that covered at least a 10'x10' area on shaded interior walls, as well as those giant puffers, some 2' long parrot fish, and many other common aquarium fish that were huge. And then there are schools...I saw schools of thousands of fish. Seeing these animals in their natural habitat and size really gives me perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 10, 2011 Share August 10, 2011 What, no comment about over sized mantis shrimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xyrophobic August 11, 2011 Share August 11, 2011 (edited) Taken on a street in venice, yum. Edited August 11, 2011 by xyrophobic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay August 11, 2011 Author Share August 11, 2011 I've never seen one in the wild...probably because of those huge puffers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay May 24, 2012 Author Share May 24, 2012 (edited) I've never seen one in the wild...probably because of those huge puffers... I saw one in the wild, finally... A week ago, in Belize. Crazy snorkeling, there...day and night. I saw morays, octopus, squid, lobsters, mantis, shrimp, sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, fish, etc, etc...and the best/biggest/most dense corals I have ever seen. Oh, and 1 porcupine puffer. Big one, too. And unfortunately, lionfish...I saw about a dozen total in about a dozen trips. Edited May 24, 2012 by extreme_tooth_decay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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