My confused Puffer Fish

I have a couple of Valentini that think they are Archer fish.
If I am not quick enough when feeding them, they will get impatient and start spitting at me.
I first noticed it when I was feeding them and got distracted by another fish at the opposite end of the tank. I had my hand over the top of the water holding the fish food when I felt water falling on my hand.
I looked up to see where the water was falling from, but it wasn't falling.
I looked back down into the tank to see the bigger puffer swimming at the top of the water spitting at the food in my hand.
Now the smaller puffer is copying the bigger one and it also spits.
I don't have to be feeding them for them to start spitting, sometimes I can just be looking into the tank when they both start spitting to let me know they want something to eat.




Click on the video below to watch the crazy puffers.

...........................as and interesting note, many puffers in the wild will blow or 'spit' at the substrate to uncover hidden crustaceans or other foods. In an aquarium some keepers have experienced their puffer spitting water at them from the surface of the water in an attempt to earn some tidbits of food! Be careful not to be fooled into overfeeding them.

Puffers have strong teeth that grow throughout their lives. They need to be offered hard shelled live food often to keep their teeth worn down. Acceptable foods include shellfish, crustaceans and hard shelled foods such as snails. If the teeth get too long, they will be unable to eat, requiring the owner to clip the teeth.

Hey Ian, I used to have a yellow box fish a few years back. he would do exactly that, spit at me when I got close to the aquarium.

However the other box fish I had few months ago would even come to the surface at all.............................It was a bit smaller though

The puffers are getting more accurate. They can now hit me when I am about a metre away from the tank.
I don't even have to be looking into the tank now, they will take a shot if I am hanging around the area.
The weird thing is they are only doing it to me. If someone else is near the tank, they only swim around looking innocent.
Who says fish can't recognize people?

lol they sound like real characters.! Spick and Speck