Usually, it’s the certified divers or our guides and Instructors that are the ones telling us about what their favorite aquatic creature is or what they saw during the week in Nusa Lembongan. But this time we asked one of our Open Water students Elisa, what was her favorite fish, and she told us that it was…… The Porcupinefish!

The Porcupinefish, also commonly called Blowfish, Balloonfish and Globefish are sometimes collectively called Pufferfish. They are medium- to large-sized fish, and are found in shallow temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Porcupinefish have the ability to inflate their bodies by swallowing water or air, thereby becoming rounder. This increase in size (almost double vertically) reduces the range of potential predators to those with much bigger mouths. A second defense mechanism is provided by the sharp spines, which radiate outwards when the fish is inflated. Some species are poisonous, having a tetrodotoxin in their internal organs, such as the ovaries and liver. They are generally slow in the water, but they are very very cute!

Congratulations Elisa for getting your open water certification and for being one step closer to your favorite fish! We hope you enjoy it at its best.

Also this week we welcomed our new DMTs, Yosh, Lydia and Colin from the USA who will be training with us for a couple of weeks before going to another Two Fish location to finish their Divemaster training and then on to Two Fish Amed to start their IDC. Welcome aboard guys!