I have been bitten by my puffer, should I be worried?

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professorjimjam

Dovii
MFK Member
May 26, 2021
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today while I was cleaning my tank with the siphon, I noticed a very sharp pain in the finger two of my hand and as soon as I pulled my hand out, I saw a bite mark and started bleeding but not very much. I have Congo spotted puffers full adult size even though I fed them first before start cleaning, they still bit me.
Excuse my naivety, as I learned that puffer fishes are poisonous, will the poison from their mouth get into my blood?

Appreciate your thoughts and feedback.


this video is couple of weeks old video that shows how big are these puffers
 
Agree, toxin poison is more from skin, spikes or internals/eating. Not aware of toxin in bites, which due to their teeth, can be anything from a messy Nick to a clean bite or even amputation (albeit yours won’t take off your finger thankfully).
But ensure the wound is clean and keep any antiseptic cream/dressing out of your tanks.
 
As said, it’s not the bite that is poisonous. You have to eat a puffer for it to be dangerous, but that doesn’t mean those teeth don’t hurt. Clean it out as mentioned as there are a lot of nasties in the water you don’t want in your system.
Feeding the tank a short bit before cleaning may help to calm their appetite- it probably thought your finger was a worm.
 
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I've been bitten by my Fahaka a half dozen times. She's a sh*t, gets me doing water changes. Always scares the heck out of me, but that's it. Leaves a small mark depending where she gets me, but never had any issues with it.

wow, so it is not just me :) Thanks!
 
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