Bornean Red-eye Puffer
Carinotetraodon borneensis
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 4.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 54 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Species profile
Arrowhead Puffer
Pao suvattii
Common names: Arrowhead Puffer, Pig-nosed Puffer
Recognized speciesPufferfish
Adult size
Up to 15 cm
Up to 15 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A keeper who wants one sit-and-wait predator
Think carefully if
- You want tankmates, because it will eat or bite them
- You also keep shrimp or snails you want to protect, because this puffer will eat them
A Mekong ambush predator with a pointed head. It grows to about 15 cm and will eat any fish that fits in its mouth.
Appearance and Identification
A pointed, arrow-shaped head and an often mottled brown body. Colour can shift to match its surroundings.
Most sources give 12 to 15 cm. One summary of importer notes gave 40 cm, which we could not confirm.
Cannot be sexed by external features.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 280–350 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 75–100 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 70 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 75 cm
- Minimum group size
- 1
- Recommended group size
- 1
- Activity level
- Low
- Flow preference
- Low to moderate
- Planting preference
- Lightly planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
A single fish needs about 70 litres because it is not very active. Use soft sand, with rocks and hiding places.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Spends most of its time still and waiting, then strikes quickly.
Usually kept alone. Several can be kept only in a large tank with lots of hiding places and visual barriers.
Fairly intolerant of its own kind.
Not safe with other fish. It is a voracious predator that will eat any fish it can fit in its mouth, and it often takes chunks from larger fish. It will eat shrimp and snails.
Water Parameters
A freshwater fish, and it does not need salt.
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, Predator
- Feeding frequency
- Several times weekly
- Preferred foods
- Prawns and musselsOffer with the shell where possible, to help wear down the beak.
- EarthwormsA good food for fish that are slow to accept frozen meals.
An ambush predator needing a meaty diet. Some fish take only live food at first, but most accept dead foods.
It moves very little, so it is easy to overfeed. Feed less often than you would feed an active puffer.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Substrate Spawner
- Breeding difficulty
- Very difficult
- Parental care
- Paternal care
Has been achieved in the hobby, but little has been published. It digs a small pit for the eggs.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Laos, Southeast Asia, Thailand
- Natural habitat
- River, Sand/Mud Substrate
- Aquarium contexts
- Species-Only Aquarium
- Audience level
- Advanced
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Pao
- Family
- Tetraodontidae
- Species group
- Fish, Pufferfish
- Previous scientific names
- Tetraodon suvattii, Former genus, still used in many shops.
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Cochin Puffer
Pao cochinchinensis
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 7 cm
- Minimum tank
- 40 litres
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
Congo Puffer
Tetraodon miurus
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 15 cm
- Minimum tank
- 68 litres
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
Cross River Puffer
Tetraodon pustulatus
- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 30 cm
- Minimum tank
- 540 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C