Is the spikes on puffer fish poisonous?

Answer 1

Yes the spikes on most, nearly all pufferfish, have a deadly poison called Tetrodotoxin which is a from of neurotoxin. Not just their spikes but Pufferfish have very high levels of Tetrodotoxin inside their bodies too, mainly ovaries and liver followed by smaller amounts in their skin, intestines and muscles etc.

Care must be taken because humans are very susceptible to neurotoxin one spike from a pufferfish will have you paralyzed and unable to breathe within minutes, because their is no known antidote combined with the very short time of toxic lethality, death is usually the outcome for humans if contact with spikes are made.

Ingesting pufferfish will net you a little bit more time before death usually a few hours. This can be prolonged and sometimes (rarely) evaded dependent on the amount ingested and medical care etc.

If you have had minor fugu (pufferfish) poisoning people can sometimes survive, the inital 24 hrs is the killer (no pun intendedf) if you survive the first 24 hrs most people usually recover but this can come with a coma that can last a few days to a week.

Pufferfish even when dead can kill as the Tetrodotoxin in pufferfish is a bacteria not a venom with a glands, so their is no need for living muscles to inject poison.

My advice (as we have a lot of puffers in Autralia and have caught quite a few myself) is to stay away from them, your probably thinking "well der im not stupid" but a deflated puffer fish can be quite pretty and attractive to unwary children. Whether it be they are washed up on shore or swimming etc.

If you catch a puffer whilst fishing don't try and retrieve your lure no matter how much it cost or how sentimental it is, just cut you line and live another day.

AND NEVER EAT THEM this is the main cause of puffer death. but anyone stupid enough to eat fugu well......

Answer 2

It depends. Some have more some have less. I'd say about 80-120