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One fish – but many names – you can be sure to come across while scuba diving on Phuket’s dive site is this one: Porcupine fish, Blow fish, Balloon fish and Globe fish, sometimes also called porcupine puffer fish or spiny puffer fish. All names are referring to the same fish which is a medium to large sized fish, and is found in shallow temperate and tropical seas worldwide.

This fish is not really shy and sometimes you even get the impression they are really looking at you.

Scuba Diving Phuket Porcupine Fish

A special characteristic of a porcupine fish is its ability to swallow up water to scare predators. The thick and rough skin of porcupine fish is covered by scales that have been modified into spines. They are extended when the porcupine fish suck down lots of water to puff out and sticks a hungry and usually bigger predator.