Dwarf Puffer
Carinotetraodon travancoricus
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 2.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 20 litres
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
Species profile
Dwarf Malabar Puffer
Carinotetraodon imitator
Common names: Dwarf Malabar Puffer
Recognized speciesPufferfish
Adult size
Up to 2.5 cm
Up to 2.5 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A single-species planted nano tank
- A keeper happy to breed snails and feed frozen foods
Think carefully if
- You also keep shrimp or snails you want to protect, because this puffer will eat them
- You want firm care figures, because this species is poorly documented
A tiny Indian puffer almost identical to the Dwarf Puffer, and often sold mixed with it. Care is the same: a planted tank, live or frozen food and no shrimp.
Appearance and Identification
A tiny, rounded puffer with dark blotches on a yellow to green back and a pale belly, very like the Dwarf Puffer.
Very hard to tell from Carinotetraodon travancoricus by eye. Fish sold as Dwarf Puffers may be either species.
Not well documented for this species. Care sources treat it like the Dwarf Puffer, where males show a dark line along the underside.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 40–60 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 25–50 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 20 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 40 cm
- Minimum group size
- 1
- Recommended group size
- 1
- Activity level
- Active
- Flow preference
- Very low
- Planting preference
- Heavily planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Set up as for the Dwarf Puffer, with dense planting, roots, floating plants and gentle flow.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Expected to behave like the Dwarf Puffer: curious, busy and sometimes fierce with its own kind.
Treat as for the Dwarf Puffer: alone, or one male with several females in a well-planted tank.
Males are likely to defend territories, as in the Dwarf Puffer.
Best in a species tank. It can nip fins, and it will eat shrimp and snails.
Water Parameters
These ranges are for the Dwarf Puffer, as no separate figures were found for this species.
Parameter caveat
Puffers are messy feeders and sensitive to waste, so keep up regular water changes and use a filter rated for a larger tank.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Carnivore
- Feeding frequency
- Daily
- Preferred foods
- Snails with the shell onEssential. Crushing shells wears down the beak, which never stops growing.
- Frozen or live worms and shrimpGood everyday variety between shelled meals.
A carnivore that takes small live and frozen foods and small snails.
Check the beak regularly. If it overgrows, the fish can no longer eat and the teeth may need to be trimmed by someone experienced.
Breeding
- Breeding difficulty
- Not commonly bred
- Parental care
- Unknown
No separate breeding reports were found. The closely related Dwarf Puffer scatters eggs among fine plants.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- India, South Asia
- Natural habitat
- Slow River
- Aquarium contexts
- Nano Aquarium, Planted Aquarium, Species-Only Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Carinotetraodon
- Family
- Tetraodontidae
- Species group
- Fish, Pufferfish
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- Care level
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- Adult size
- 43 cm
- Minimum tank
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- Temperature
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- Care level
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- Adult size
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- Minimum tank
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- Temperature
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- Care level
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- Adult size
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- Minimum tank
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- Temperature
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