The Porcupine Puffer will feed primarily on a carnivorous diet consisting of small inverts. It will use its strong jaws to pry open hard-shelled inverts when fed. They should be kept in tanks in alkaline conditions, and with plenty of live rock crevices and hiding places. Like other puffers, the Porcupine Puffer should never be transported in a net as they can expand entrapping them, use a container instead. 

It can produce a toxin, may nip on corals in underfed, and can eat small inverts so it is not necessarily reef safe. They are best kept in a fish-only aquarium and can be kept with multiple individuals.