Spotted Pufferfish Tetraodon Fluviatilis 4cm

Overview

The Spotted Puffer, also called the Green Puffer, is a rounded, big-eyed puffer with a bright green back scattered with black spots over a white belly. It is inquisitive, recognises its keeper, begs at the glass and can inflate when alarmed. Found in lower rivers and estuaries from India to Indonesia, it suits committed keepers with a brackish species tank.

• Adult Size: Around 12–15 cm (5–6 in); up to 17 cm
• Lifespan: 10 years or more

Origin

• Native to: South and Southeast Asia, India to Indonesia
• Habitat: Slow lower rivers, estuaries and mangroves with plants and cover

Feeding

• Diet: Carnivorous; molluscivore
• Preferred Foods: Snails, mussel, cockle, prawn, crab legs, bloodworm for juveniles
• Feeding Habits: Once daily; shelled foods twice weekly to wear teeth

Tank Mates

• Best with: Kept alone; robust monos, scats or archerfish in very large tanks
• Avoid: Slow, long-finned or small fish; other puffers

Aggression & Behaviour

• Temperament: Aggressive fin nipper
• Territoriality: Highly territorial; intolerant of its own kind except huge tanks

Experience Level

• Difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced
• Challenges: Brackish water; messy eater needing strong filtration; beak maintenance

Water Parameters

• Water Type: Brackish; tolerates marine as adult
• Temperature: 24–28°C (75–82°F)
• pH: 7.8–8.5
• Hardness: 10–30 dGH
• Flow: Moderate
• Salinity: 1.005–1.015 SG
• Tank Size: Minimum 110 litres for one adult; considerably more for any company

Final Notes

Sold small, this puffer quickly becomes a hand-sized fish that needs salt in its water and a tank to itself, so plan for the adult rather than the juvenile. Its beak grows continuously and must be worn down on snails and shellfish, or it cannot eat. Puffers are sensitive to copper medications and should never be lifted into air, as swallowed air can be fatal. Sexes look alike. Kept correctly, it is a genuine character.