Cross River Puffer
Tetraodon pustulatus
- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 30 cm
- Minimum tank
- 540 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Species profile
Congo Puffer
Tetraodon miurus
Common names: Congo Puffer, Potato Puffer, Red Congo 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 unusual, sit-and-wait predator
- A single-species tank with a deep sand bed
Think carefully if
- You want an active display fish
- 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
An ambush predator that buries itself in sand with only its eyes showing. It grows to 15 cm, will eat any fish it can swallow, and is kept alone.
Appearance and Identification
A heavy, boxy head with eyes on top, and a mottled body that can match sand or rock, ranging from red-brown to grey or almost black.
Colour varies a great deal, and some fish are sold as Red Congo Puffers. All are the same species, with the same behaviour.
Unknown.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 270–340 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 75–100 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 68 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 soft sand bed of 5 to 8 cm is essential so that it can bury itself. Add smooth rocks and a little wood. Plants are optional.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Spends most of its life half-buried, watching. When prey comes close, it strikes in an instant.
Keep alone. It is completely intolerant of its own kind.
Intolerant of anything in its space.
Not safe with anything. It will eat any fish that fits in its mouth and usually takes chunks from larger tankmates. Some keepers report success with armoured plecos, but it remains a risk. It will eat shrimp and snails.
Water Parameters
A true freshwater puffer that 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 that needs a meaty diet. Some fish take only live food at first, but most accept dead alternatives.
It is not very active, so it is easy to overfeed. Feed less often than you would feed an active puffer, and watch its body shape.
Breeding
- Breeding difficulty
- Not commonly bred
- Parental care
- Unknown
Has not been bred in captivity.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Natural habitat
- River, Sand/Mud Substrate
- Aquarium contexts
- Species-Only Aquarium
- Audience level
- Advanced
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Tetraodon
- Family
- Tetraodontidae
- Species group
- Fish, Pufferfish
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Dwarf Malabar Puffer
Carinotetraodon imitator
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 2.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 20 litres
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
Dwarf Puffer
Carinotetraodon travancoricus
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 2.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 20 litres
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
Fahaka Puffer
Tetraodon lineatus
- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 43 cm
- Minimum tank
- 450 litres
- Temperature
- 24–26 °C