Bruce Museum Seaside Center Welcomes New Residents: Baby Pufferfish

There are some exciting new residents at the Bruce Museum Seaside Center, and there’s even a new nursery to accommodate them. The Seaside Center is now home to several baby Northern Pufferfish, discovered recently while conducting a seine in the waters of Long Island Sound with a camp group from Greenwich Explorers.

There are two new nursery tanks that accommodate the baby puffer fish and  larger tanks for the adults. The fish have a rich gold, creamy white and mocha-banded body with vibrant sapphire eyes.

One of the more colorful residents of Long Island Sound, the Northern Pufferfish is so called because of its ability to puff itself up. By filling its swim bladder with water, thereby more than doubling in size, the pufferfish discourages attacking predators with its imposing appearance. Unlike its close relative the Fugufish — a prized delicacy in Japan — the Northern Pufferfish appears to be non-toxic and is considered a delicacy in the Chesapeake Bay area.

About the Bruce Museum Seaside Center 

The Bruce Museum Seaside Center is a beachside museum located in Greenwich Point Park, Old Greenwich, about 6 ½ miles from the main Bruce Museum at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich. Located in the Floren Family Environmental Center at Innis Arden Cottage, the Seaside Center educates visitors about the ecology of Long Island Sound and features: • Live-animal marine touch tank open year-round • Four marine aquaria of local species open seasonally • Seashore dioramas of summer and winter birds, fish, and other local species • An underwater oyster reef • Environmental activities and video presentations • Helpful naturalists and volunteers Open for the 2015 summer season Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm